I just bought a 1992 350TPI Firebird Formula on monday. 1 hour after i picked it up, it wouldn't start. I could hear the starter motor turning but not the engine. At first I thought it was the starter, but the volt meter in the dash was pegged at 8 volts. So my gf took me to her house to pick up some tools and when I retured about a half hour later, the car started right up. Agaist my better judgement, I decided to try and drive it to AutoZone to have battery and alternator tested. Well, it stalled right by an Amacco. Long story short both the battery and alternator tested bad( I had to remove them both and take them in). I finally got a Delco rebuilt alternator and a Diehard battery. Everything is hooked up correctly and the car starts right up. I got a digital multimeter on the battery and found that it wasn't charging.

Huge dissapointment. It is possible that I got a bad alternator however I think it is something in the wiring. The car has an alarm installed and the wiring is all hacked up (nightmare). Can anyone offer any advice as to where to start looking for faulty wiring and/or connections? Also, where can I find a wiring schematic (sp?) for the car?

I just spent every dime I had on this car and I only got to drive it for an hour! If I can't figure this out, there is going to be a super clean 92 formula for sale... cheap!

Thanks for any help.

Jon

 

It could just be a bad altinator from the parts store, its been know to happen or the wrong one. Make sure you have the proper amp altinator for your car. If there is not enough amps it wont charge. Its happened to me beore where the store gave me the wrong part. Have it tested again if you can. Also the battery is supposed to be fully charged when installing a new altinator or alitinator death can occur. I know batterys dont usually come new with a charge and you should put it on a battery charger when you intall it. With that alarm it or something else may be causing a draw on the battery which could cause it to go dead but it shouldnt cause it to not charge. Also you you have any hight powered stereo system that may need like a 100 or 140 amp altinator? Hope this may help... Erik

 

Jon-

Try checking the wiring from the alternator to the battery, and the grounds from the alternator. Also, try not to rev the engine too much after you have trouble getting it started.

Tape up any wiring that looks exposed and check the ground wire coming off the block.

Also, to whoever said that new batteries aren't sold with a charge, that is false. I can go into details if you want..

 

You might want to check and see if you fried a fusable link. I had that problem when my car wasn't charging. I replaced the alternator (it actually died on me) and the battery. In the end, it ended up being a fusable link.

 

Hey Sonar, thats kind of what I was thinking, can you elaborate on that and possibly tell me where those fuses are? Also, where can I find something that will tell me how the stock wiring is setup? Thanks...

Jon

 

Jon,
I n my experience with Generous Motors, they put the fusable links down at the battery stud on the starter.
They are in-expensive, but a pain to get to.

Check your grounds. (bat to fender, bat to block, block to chassis/body)

I'm not 100% familiar with the 92 alternators, But here goes:

Take the pos. lead from your volt-ohm meter and put it on the output terminal of the alternator.
Put the neg. lead on the neg. terminal of the battery.
You should have battery voltage.
If you don't have battery voltage and your grounds are good and the alternator is mounted clean and tight, then I'd say you have a fried fusible link.


Good luck

 

yeah, the fusable links are right beside the battery. They are little red wires. Its easy to tell if one is burned up. Just replace that one wire and you should be all set.