any ideas? posted in the tech/general board.https://www.thirdgen.org/techbb2/sho...16#post1530016

 

read your post , my first oiece of advice is to discount any testing auto zone has done for you !!!!!they bench test alternators all the time and test "ok" but in the real world (read load test) those tests mean nothing . I have bought 2 alternators in the past from those jokers that both "tested ok " then i also scratched my chin, my head , my *** and any other body part you can think of until my "gut " finally told me to go buy a delco (read: not rebuilt by a hungry mexican for .05 an hour ) alternator and had no worries ever since ..... that was 3 yrs ago. If you want more electrical help check out M.A.D enterprises web site not sure about the web address but they have enough electrical info to keep you busy for days!!!!!!!!!good luck, carry on, and i hope this helps

 

what about a 1 wire alternator? is it true that all i would have to do with that is put the alternator on the car and then 1 wire to the battery? no ground or anything?

 

you would have to read up on that one I am pretty sure you can only use certain alternator models for that . and the only draw back is that they will not charge until they reach a certain rpm to turn on the alernator. in other words if you have a one wire alternator and start the car and let it idle , the alternator has still not turned on yet . you have to rev the engine to a certain point and the alternator will kick on. def check out mad electrical good stuff and they will tell you what alternator to use for a one wire hook up.