Cascade Crew

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject: need charging system help now!

alternator is new, battery is new. charge guage still reads 10 volts. what gives? will it start low and climb as the battery charges or does it indicate what the alternator is putting out?

i used new battery studs and cinched em down good and tight, any ideas? car starts and runs but charge gauge reads low.

chevymad · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:23 pm Post subject:

Check for voltage on the main alternator post. Should be battery voltage there without running.. and 14.5 or so running. You could have a fuse link or something burned out. Also at least one of the wires in the small connector should have voltage with the key on. Thats the excite wire.

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:26 pm Post subject:

thanks B. i'll check on that now. i'm guessing the red one is the "excite wire"

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 5:35 pm Post subject:

11.6 at battery. 11.6 at alternator. red wire on plug hot even when igntion off.

with engine running i read 28.8 volts at the alt, still 11.6 at the battery.

Twilightoptics · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:01 pm Post subject:

if you really read 28v your alt is bad.

chevymad · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:13 pm Post subject:

Ok. just bout mentioned this in the first post. There's a disconnect somewhere in that main power wire. Without the battery connected the voltage will go alot higher.. was expecting more like 18.5 though.

Look at the wiring diagram and follow that red wire back to each junction with your volt meter. At some point you should hit battery voltage again. I would start at any fusible link first. Give them a good pull. I'll bet you've got a really shitty connection at some point.

Xophertony · Posted: Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:33 pm Post subject:

looks like i will be up early tomorow. if i don't have this licked by noon i gotta rent a car. Shocked

thanks for all the help guys.

so i need to follow the red main wire from the alternator stud back to the battery and test any links in between. it goes to the starter first right? I'll figure it out tomorow morning. starts getting lite around 6am. looks like thats when i am getting up. if i finish early enough i can go back to bed. Very Happy

step one should be to wire brush the hell out of all the connections at the battery and alternator and things.

thanks again Brandon.

Xophertony · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:13 am Post subject:

problem solved*. turns out i DID in fact have a poor connection at the excite wire. i fixed that, started the engine and was rewarded with 14.x volts all the way to the battery, then i started smelling burnt wires. i looked down at the source of the smoke and saw the little distrobution block on the radiator support (alt wire goes to it, and then to the battery, a few small things connect to it).

i shut the engine off and feel which wires are hot. just the alternator/battery wires. i give them time to cool, and start the car with the alternator wire unbolted (just battery). no smoke. i look all along them for a short to ground and find nothing. i reconnect it and restart the engine. expecting to see the smoke again. no smoke. the wire does warm up however. a watch it for a few minutes, then look at the gauge. ~14v. nice.

prognosis/theory: driving almost 1000 miles shook a poor connection loose. upon fixing it, recharging a low battery was too much for that wire. looks like i need a bigger alt-bat wire. 1 of the "big three" the TGO electronics board are always talking about. that however will wait until the weekend.

i do have a few questions. where does the excite wire go? does that other wire on the little plug go to the charge gage? if not where does it go?

thanks to everyone for your help.

*knock on wood

iansane · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 3:33 pm Post subject:

I don't know about your car but my alt wire comes from the fan fuse under my dash.

Glad to hear you've gotten it figured out Tony. Sucks to be stuck someplace crazy trying to solve a problem.

Xophertony · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 7:55 pm Post subject:

so this cheapo parts store alt I got whines a lot. its louder then the engine below 1500rpm. sounds like a supercharger. I think i'm gonna keep the delco one (after I exchange it for the proper fit) as a spare. that way when this one flys to pieces I am not stranded.

Al Hasse · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 8:12 pm Post subject:

Tony, if you can wait, I have my old stock V6 alternator in my garage. It still has the serp pulley attached to it. I removed it in favor of a rebuilt higher output alternator.

Xophertony · Posted: Wed Mar 12, 2008 11:42 pm Post subject:

what side did it come off? mine is on the passenger side of the car. and if nothing else i will buy the pulley off of you. i have two alternators and only one correct pulley.

update*
so after driving around 40 mile round trip to work today.. the whine has doubled in volume. i now hear it over the engine at any RPM. and the alternator is now only charging at about 12V. this is what i get for going with one form a parts store instead of Genuine GM. 1st thing tomorow morning is to get this delco one swapped out for the correct part. so i can run it instead. perhaps the parts store will give me my money+core back if i ask real nice. (or at least another piece of shizzle alternator). i just hope it lasts through tomorow.

Al Hasse · Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 6:40 am Post subject:

It goes on the passenger side. It's the same one I used as a backup on the trip to cows last year when the one I have crapped out.