on my 3rd Alternator

[jcawley3]

First one I figured just went out from old age….. second one died in about a week….. took the voltage booster thing off thinking it may of been the villain….. put a 120 amp for a Impala SS in it…. and now its done….

its putting out 7-8 volts or so… same thing the second one did…..but tomorrow I may crank it and it puts out 12… then 10 miles later 8…..

anything ideas on what may be causing this…..

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Exciter circuit from the dash/light working?
Did you have the 2 previous units spin tested, to determine the issue is actually in the alt?
Are the bat grounds clean and tite? All grounds in place?
Does the dash light come on?
Any powder coated brkts at the alt?

 

[jcawley3]

^^^^^^ checking right now

 

[jcawley3]

light in the dash that says
VOLTs is not coming on......

 

[jcawley3]

I have the cluster out of the car

 

[DR BOOST]

I have the cluster out of the car

BINGO! Alternator will not work without a functioning volt light unless wiring mods are done

 

[buickGN3:16]

BINGO! Alternator will not work without a functioning volt light unless wiring mods are done

I kinda have the same thing going on with my alt, sometimes volts are 13-14 sometimes volts are between 9 - 11. my volt light does not come on when my scanmaster shows the voltage drop. how do i fix this volts light to see if it will correct the problem?

 

[TurboWh1]

The use / addition of a diode can serve the same purpose as the dash idiot light. Had the same issue on my car and that’s how I repaired it. Its worked well for about 12 years now. I also get the alternators custom built to my specifications. Not a fan of the rebuilt crap from the aftermarket suppliers out there. Parts are always loose inside causing typically causing the regulator to fail. My alternator consistently puts out 14.6 to 15.1 volts. I made my own volt booster too Probably adds .5 of a volt on average. You can basically trick the regulator to charge based on battery voltage. It took me a while to figure everything out but it can be done.

 

[buickGN3:16]

The use / addition of a diode can serve the same purpose as the dash idiot light. Had the same issue on my car and that’s how I repaired it. Its worked well for about 12 years now. I also get the alternators custom built to my specifications. Not a fan of the rebuilt crap from the aftermarket suppliers out there. Parts are always loose inside causing typically causing the regulator to fail. My alternator consistently puts out 14.6 to 15.1 volts. I made my own volt booster too Probably adds .5 of a volt on average. You can basically trick the regulator to charge based on battery voltage. It took me a while to figure everything out but it can be done.

im not quite sure what a diode is. also i jave a caspers volt booster

 

[TurboWh1]

It basically allows electric current to flow in one direction at a desired voltage. I ended up replacing the single wire alternator connector with a plug that has terminals for all the pins on the regulator. I believe I used the original and middle pins but I'd have to verify that on my car. I'm basically telling the alternator to charge. I made a stand alone harness to control the functionality. It serves the purpose of what the light on the dash does since my light didn't work properly either. There was a broken wire in my factory wireharness between the alt and dash light. Once I figured out how the system worked I made some improvements. Cheap easy fix for me.

 

[Steve V]

It basically allows electric current to flow in one direction at a desired voltage. I ended up replacing the single wire alternator connector with a plug that has terminals for all the pins on the regulator. I believe I used the original and middle pins but I'd have to verify that on my car. I'm basically telling the alternator to charge. I made a stand alone harness to control the functionality. It serves the purpose of what the light on the dash does since my light didn't work properly either. There was a broken wire in my factory wireharness between the alt and dash light. Once I figured out how the system worked I made some improvements. Cheap easy fix for me.

Need a schematic for this!

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Cheap easy fix for me.

Mind sharing???
Maybe, it should be a sticky.

 

[TurboWh1]

You bet, Let me get some more info together and maybe some pics too. I already have the alternator built for my Limited I'm restoring. Just need to build another harness if I want to go that route. Trying to make the car stock appearing. Really, my intentions were to design a volt booster / alternator life extender. I went through several alternators before I figured out what the real issue was. Its been working for a decade so I guess we are good to go. Maybe I have stumbled upon a new concept here

 

[GNRick]

So no mention of Casper's field fix?

 

[turbo nasty]

http://www.installationinstructions.com/FYI/alternator_charging_tech.pdf

 

[Gene Van Horn]

Hey thats some great info there. I chased a charging problem for years. This explains alot. Thanks Gene

 

[TurboTdr3.8]

I use this , http://www.casperselectronics.com/store2/product_info.php?cPath=64_1&products_id=1344

 

[jcawley3]

UPDATE:
sent my cluster to caspers...... got cluster back pretty quick... STILL DOING THE SAME THING!!! caspers put some type of "jumper" looking thing across what they considered the bad part of the ribbon..... if I push on the dash where the volt light is it will come on and the volts jump back up... I called them he said...ok your problem must be inside the cluster at some connection.....awesome.

 

[TurboWh1]

UPDATE:
sent my cluster to caspers...... got cluster back pretty quick... STILL DOING THE SAME THING!!! caspers put some type of "jumper" looking thing across what they considered the bad part of the ribbon..... if I push on the dash where the volt light is it will come on and the volts jump back up... I called them he said...ok your problem must be inside the cluster at some connection.....awesome.

Are the terminals corroded that meet the cluster? Sounds like you need to just by pass the cluster at this point.... I apologize I haven’t had time to put together the info for the stand alone harness. I need to go to the local electrical shop to get the components I need so you will understand what’s required. Might be just as easy for me to make it and send it to you. There is soldering involved and a special connector, etc. You want my volt booster option too? Not sure if you repaired your alternator yet, My guess is the regulator is fried. Attached is what my new alternators look like when I'm done with them (Before/After). Bead blasted and painted up-no more corrosion!

 

[turbo nasty]

If you push on the cluster then it sounds like either ribbon is bad or the connections in teh dash it self. The dash coonections are easily cleaned by using a #2 pencil eraser (it removes the surface tarnish that could be hampering a good connection) and then wipe them down with rubbing alcohol on a q tip or contact cleaner. I find it hard to believe that Casper @GNVenom would send you back a bad dash. Im betting its the dash. Clean them up and see if that helps.