Alternator

[Boy Buick85]

I have a new Started and Battery on my car and the car is not holding charge. I also think this is why I was having so much trouble with my belts. What Aftermarket Alternator will fit on our cars or should I just go with a rebuilt one from Advanced ?? Need Help ???

 

[Jerryl]

Have you verified that the alternator is in fact charging while on the car?

Could be:
Bad battery (unlikely)
Bad battery connections
Charging system not working (Belt, alternator/charging lamp in dash)
Electrical Short

 

[Boy Buick85]

Well what i did was ran the car then unhooked the Battery and the car was still running So the Alt must be Good. Battery is Brand new so the only thing i can think of is some kind of Short but where ??? Every Time one of my Preluber Wires Comes off The car Drains Over Night But all the wires Are intact ??? Anyone with Ideas Would Be Appreciated .

thanks Jerryl

 

[luisturbog]

shorts

disconnect the negative side of battery. Link the battery post to cable by using a test light. ie one side to batt, one side to cable. if you have a short the light will turn on. then just unplug fuse by fuse until the light turns off, when the light turns off at that circuit that is where your short will be. hope this helps some.

 

[gsbuick65]

i need to try this on my car too, if it sit for a couple days battery stone dead. I think mine is the climate control module. I heard the blower motor turn on once with the key off. :frown:

 

[Boy Buick85]

disconnect the negative side of battery. Link the battery post to cable by using a test light. ie one side to batt, one side to cable. if you have a short the light will turn on. then just unplug fuse by fuse until the light turns off, when the light turns off at that circuit that is where your short will be. hope this helps some.

So where can I get the Test Light Advanced ??? So Just attach the Test light to the neg Side of the batt then unplug fuse by fuse until light turns off Right??

So where else do I check besides the Fuse Box and my Preluber Fuses ?

Also I forgot to mention Yesterday when I was Driving Home My Scan master was reading 13, .....12 ,.......12.7 etc all the way down to nine then it started beeping but I didnt stop since I new the car would Die. But the strange thing was when I Turned the lights off to save the Battery my Number slowly went up until it got to twelve or thirteen and then it Stoped ??

 

[luisturbog]

So where can I get the Test Light Advanced ??? So Just attach the Test light to the neg Side of the batt then unplug fuse by fuse until light turns off Right??

So where else do I check besides the Fuse Box and my Preluber Fuses ?

Also I forgot to mention Yesterday when I was Driving Home My Scan master was reading 13, .....12 ,.......12.7 etc all the way down to nine then it started beeping but I didnt stop since I new the car would Die. But the strange thing was when I Turned the lights off to save the Battery my Number slowly went up until it got to twelve or thirteen and then it Stoped ??

You should be able to get the test light at any auto parts store. The test light is going to become your connecting circuit. one side will go to negative side of battery post. other side of test light will go to your battery cable. the test light is the link between them both. if you have a short it will light up. if it does not your fine and problem lies elsewhere. but by the sound of it, from your charging system fluxuating I think your alternator is starting to take a s#!t. my hot air did the same thing 1 month ago. started slowly until it was gone. I just got mine rebuilt, because my alternator is the black original one. cost me $40.00. get ready to solve your problem, I think your headed the same way. Just a heads up.

 

[Jerryl]

................ The test light is going to become your connecting circuit. one side will go to negative side of battery post. other side of test light will go to your battery cable. the test light is the link between them both. if you have a short it will light up. if it does not your fine and problem lies elsewhere. ............

Good advice.
One correction though ........... Unless you unplug the ECM connectors and the radio wire, the test light "should" be on from the ECM/radio memory circuits.

Not talking about the "orange ECM wire". If you unplug the orange wire, the ECM still has power. See ECM connector diagram/layout. A better test may be a Amp Draw test.


BoyBuick,
Take the alterator off and have it tested.
That way you will know with a high degree of certainty if that is the problem. :biggrin:

 

[Boy Buick85]

So I put in a new Battery ran around town in it for about thirty to forty min was reading good high 14 to mid 13 for two days. Today it was between eleven and twelve with the lights on or off. What Now??

if I use the test light How can I bypass the Radio and Ecm???

 

[fgordon]

So I put in a new Battery ran around town in it for about thirty to forty min was reading good high 14 to mid 13 for two days. Today it was between eleven and twelve with the lights on or off. What Now??

if I use the test light How can I bypass the Radio and Ecm???

Got to put in my 2 cents worth. Be careful connecting the ECM.
Make sure the battery is disconnected before you plug or unplug the ECM!
Fried one in my 84 when I forgot to disconnect the battery before connecting the ECM. I had been told that this would happen, I guess I didn't really believe it until I got first hand experience.

 

[luisturbog]

ecm fuse

you should be able to pull the fuse for ecm and that would disable it from showing up as a short.

 

[Boy Buick85]

Well She left me Stranded again Today Belt Completely Gone. Went ahead and bought an 85 Amp alt and Belt So hopefully this will fix my problem. By the way what is the amp rateing on the stock Alt. Will the Lt1 Alt fit on a hot Air ?

 

[luisturbog]

95 amp

I beleive it is 95 amp. It is stamped on the housing.

 

[Boy Buick85]

Well I went ahead and put on a new Alt I think its an 80 or 90 something alt Brand new for a Chevy. Anyway Car is Running Great No belt noise Volts have not gone Below 13.5 its mostly Stays at 14. So hopefully it stays that way , and only the next few days will tell :redface: Merry Christmas Guys and thanks for all the Help

 

[luisturbog]

Well I went ahead and put on a new Alt I think its an 80 or 90 something alt Brand new for a Chevy. Anyway Car is Running Great No belt noise Volts have not gone Below 13.5 its mostly Stays at 14. So hopefully it stays that way , and only the next few days will tell :redface: Merry Christmas Guys and thanks for all the Help

so how is it holding up boybuick85?

 

[Boy Buick85]

Its been RUNNING AWESOME Low 13.6 high ...... 14.4 !!! GREAT VOLTS EVERY thing is Brighter lol . It has been Cold lately I got a little Squeel this Morning So I may Tighten up a little. Man I have been Playing with E85 This Stuff is great running a 25% Mix and twelve to thirteen pounds of Boost WOW ! Car FEELS AWESOME ! Any of you guys Playing with it ????