Hi,
I got a '98 Mitsubishi Montero and from the last two years I had battery/alternator problems or at least I think so. I refurbished the alternator many times and after a few months still with the same problem. Also I noticed that the dash instrument lights sometimes blinks. Air conditioner fan in the morning doesn't turn on after a few minutes, Fuel gauge goes down and then works normally again. And sometimes I noticed that when I turn the switch to the ON position the battery indicator doesn't turn on. I think it could be a switch issue too or some issue with a relay. My electro mechanic recommend to replace the alternator too, but I think it could be something else. Any suggestions?

 

I hope somebody can shed some light on your 98...mine also has a lot of the same problems.
I'm waiting on a new alternator for mine hoping it will fix some of my issue's.
I'll let you know if I learn anything.

 

I'm confused what the problem is? Is the problem all of those issues with the guages, lights and fan? Or is the problem you keep replacing the alternator but the new one fails?

Its easy to figure out if the alternator is working or not working. AT some set RPM, it will spec some 12v. current/voltage.

It kinda sounds like you have a short of some kind. A bad relay will cause or act like a short. Where the short is or which relay is bad...is difficult. I would suggest you find a schematic and see if all those things are connected. I believe the fuel guage, fan and a lot of the instruments come on when you click to auxilary on....I suppose there is a relay that trips the current from the battery instead of the alternator since the car is off. Its probably bad. If you find the relay, you should be able to feel it click on or off and try and correlate this to the problem happening or not happening.