Trans_AM_88

hey guys, i have an 88 TPI engine with all the accesories on it and it's in an '86 body. the harness is still in the 86 however i do not have the 88 harness. the 86 harness has only 2 wire and it's a different connector. i found a GM alt. connector at autozone that plugs in fine, but there are 3 wires coming out of it (red, black and brown). how do i hook these up? theres 1 wiring bolt on the back of the alternator

stage20

iTrader: (3)

i have an 88 alternator as well. the post on the back would take a cable from the battery. the red is power(igntion) and one of the others works the gauge.(brown i think) take the black one and put it to ignition so the internal regualtor knows when to "excite" a charge. if not, your alternator wont charge. good luck

hope i helped.

Trans_AM_88

well what i have setup right now is the black and the red wire are on the post on the back of the alt. and then i have a third wire going down the the starter post (the same post where the positive battery cable is going to) but when the car is not running i hear the alt. whining and i always get a dead battery over night or over a long period of time with the car not running. if i unplug the alt. the battery stays alive. the battery does however charge while the car is running ~14volts.

AaronIROCZ

iTrader: (5)

I think that one of those black or red wires is supposed to be ign on only and the other is a voltage sense, right now the alt thinks that the key is on and the alt is ready to charge, just need to turn the pully, unhook one of those 2 and see if the whine stops, if not hook that wire back up and unhook the other. The wire that makes the whine stop needs to be switched on when the key is on. Hope this helps.

stage20

iTrader: (3)

take the lil wires from the plug and put them to ignition.

you alternator is getting superhot cause the fan isnt running, thats why you hear the whine. reason behind your dead battery as well.

get them where they have power with ignition and you will be just fine.

Trans_AM_88

ok guys..thanks ill give this a try tomorrow.


one other thing: this might sounds nuts but could this be causing a weak ignition system? like a weak spark? because i'm also having this problem as well

stage20

iTrader: (3)

id say you are having a weak spark due to a low battery. get the alternator going and see if both problems dissapear.