Hey everyone, I have a 2006 mazda tribute v6 with 155k on it. It's getting a little rusty.

Recently i just turned the car on and had my gauges turn off for a little bit, then they turned back on, however now after driving a little longer they turned off. This is what i learned.

- The negative terminal clamp did corrode almost in half so i replaced it
- my battery was dead so i charged it fully
- i had the battery tested at napa and they said it was good
- i ran an alternator test using volt meters on the battery terminal, they read 12.3 before starting, then when starting voltage went to 17
- i then turned on the headlights and AC and voltage went to 15
- i also noticed that when i turned on the AC and headlights to lower the voltage that the dash turned back on

So from all of this i can deduce that the dash is turning off when volts are around 17.

I am trying to figure out if this is my alternator or something else. I checked the alternator fuse under the hood and it looked fine, i also checked the dash fuses inside and they looked fine.

What should i do next?

Thank you in advance.

 

It was the alternator