I guess I have what you would say is a 4 wire alternator, one big red wire on the post that goes to the battery, a connector with 3 wires(red,brown/white, and brown).

With key on I have volts at the red wire in the connector, nothing really on the brown or brown/white. I spliced the brown/white wire to key on voltage and the alternator charges. I would like to use the factory wire touring and not do a hack job. For some reason I am not getting key on power to the brown/white wire and I believe that wire runs to the ign switch? The car is an 88, the motor is an 87 and the only wiring diagram that I found that looks like what I have is an 86 diagram I don't want to burn up the alternator seeing as the brown/white wire has a resistance wire? Is anyone familiar with this set up and wiring? Everything I read through only talks about something that I don't have or was never resolved when the post ended. Also the gauge does work. I followed the brown/white wire and it goes into the big connector at the firewall by the brake booster but I have no idea where it leads to. I checked all the fuses and they were fine.

 

http://www.austinthirdgen.org/index.php?pid=19

Here is a site with some good diagrams.

 

That's the site where I got the diagram I posted. I went through each individual year to try and find the same setup I have

 

the brown wire should have power from the ign fuse that feeds to the gen light then thru a diode to the alternator brown wire.
possible a fuse but that would effect other stuff can be the light bulb in dash is burned out .. probably not the diode ..

 

I'll check the bulb, gauge fuse is fine, come to think of it I don't remember seeing the charging light when the alternator wasn't charging. But if the gauge is working wouldn't it mean that the circuit going to the alternator is bad and the gauge wouldn't work at all? And what about the brown/white wire? Also at the alternator, the brown wire and the brown/white wire don't show voltage at all. Which is weird because the gauge works just fine.

 

I do not have your wiring diagram for your vehicle specifically. the brown wire is the excitation wire. that as I stated goes thru the dash bulb and diode. that is setup that way to not require a resistance wire. so if the bulb burns out then no volts to get the alternator to charge.. not much current flow just used to get the alternator to start creating the current flow diode is in that circuit so no reverse spike volts .. current flows into alternator one way to protect the vehicle electronic components.

dash gauge does not go to the alternator, its a volt meter .
since you have a 5.7L engine that alternator may not be the one that was used in the OEM factory engine as built. IMO you have a 3 wire alternator .
not sure on the brown/white wire that maybe used on another vehicle wiring system to turn on the dash low battery/alt fail light.

key on eng off see if that light comes on .if not on then cheap fix..

 

Ok, so I took apart the cluster and there is no low batt. Light or indicator at all. Only a brake light, fasten seat belt, SES light and a shift up light. There is an indicator for choke but underneath there is no bulb or even a socket for a bulb, same with the coolant light, So what now?

 

no choke light no battery volt light no gen light ... is this the dash that is OEM for this camaro ? I cannot help this dash ..

 

this may help ?

 

I was clueless at first. There's no indicator for the battery at all. Only one for choke but it had no socket or bulb and the SES had no bulb socket in it as well. I figured it out though, the harness for my car is for the dash that has the idiots lights instead of the gauges. I had to move a pin on the right plug to complete the circuit for the brown wire because where the pin was originally on the connector was blank on the circuit board so I moved it to where it completed a circuit for the pink/black wire which is for the SES LIGHT. All works now. Thanks!

 

good you did power up that brown wire so now its charging .. alternator brown wire only needs the volts not much current flow so that is why a light bulb is in series with the volt feed to the alternator brown wire..
since these are so old many owners do mess up the wiring ...even mechanics ...