Traxide/Battery Light Question

[wcryer]

Update Test Results:
(Traxide) disconnected, LED Solid, engine off: crank - 12.57 V , aux - 12.50 V

connected, LED Solid, engine off: crank - 12.53 V , aux - 12.53 V , hidden LCD diag - 12.0 V

connected, LED solid, engine on 2 min: crank - 13.70 V , aux - 13.68 V , hidden LCD diag - 13 V

disconnected, key turned: crank - 12.20 V , hidden LCD diag - 11.5

disconnected, engine on: crank - 13.70 V , hidden LCD diag -10.5

So I believe this would indicate my traxide unit is working just fine. Ove the course of the last few days i have gotten a good amount of driving in. The battery indicator would turn on and off (occasionally), but would always return and was on for the larger majority of the time. I also noticed some of the strange burning smells indicating it could be the alternator.

Before i bite the bullet and just buy the replacement part wondering if anyone has input regarding these:
1. dealership will diagnose problem for $130, including if there is a short anywhere (which i would imagine would be miserable to track down?)
2. fan removal - anyone have pics of this process? seems to be the biggest obstacle in getting to the alternator
3. british parts of utah was where i was looking online for the alternator, any better sources?
4. finally, driving with the problem - what happens if the alternator just straight up fails while im driving?

thanks again for your input drivesafe, glad the unit has been cleared as a possible source of the issue.

 

[drivesafe]

Hi wcryer, and what was the final outcome?

 

[wcryer]

As you may have seen, I ended up replacing my alternator. The read out on the secret little dash screen has been pretty consistent at 13.5 V with the engine running. I have not hooked the traxide unit back up yet though. Wanted to make sure the new alternator actually solved the problem first.