Hi, recently my alternator hasnt been chargeing my battery. ive checked all the wireing and fuses and im guessing its fried. my question is, this alterntor probly worked with the ecm to regulate voltage, but i no longer have an ecm in my car, could this be why it fried? i pulled it apart and everything inside looks fine, my guess is that the module in the back is gone. i need to get a new alternator asap, is it possible for me to get an older style alternator that was meant for carburated engines and has the same bolt brackets?

 

It's an internally regulated alternator, the ECM doesn't control alternator output.

Have you verified alternator output with a DVOM? Should be 14.4v constant output. If it's way over that, then it would be the voltage regulator going bad. If it's under 14.4v, then it could be the rotor, the field, or the brushes. If it's outputting A/C voltage over about .2v, then the at least one diode in the rectifier is bad. Only real way to test this stuff is with a DVOM. Good news though is that the problem is likely the brushes, rectifier, trio, or regulator. You can pick up all those parts brand new for under $15 total. If the rotor or field windings are bad, then you're probably better off buying a new or quality rebuilt one.

If you rebuild it, replace the bearings while your at it. It's only a few bucks extra.

EDIT: Have you performed voltage drop tests on all the wires? They can physically look fine, and pass close to no current...

 

I havent done any testing. im not exactly a mechanic, but im guessing you are talking about a digital volt meter? this alternator isnt that old, everything inside and out look fairly new(includeing the brushes). if it is internaly regulated like you say, then ill deffinately get another one, i was just thinking mabey it blew because of the way i wired it up when i took the ecm out. untill now it was working great with no problems, and it ran solid for over a year. Id dont really have the time to try and rebuild an alternator, id rather just buy a new one. are there any high quality alternators that you recomend i should buy? thanks for your help and suggestions, i appreciate it. I will have to wait untill the weekend before i can test the voltage though.

 

As far as quality goes, I'd either buy a Delco new or ramanufactured one. Either that or have a competent shop rebuild the one you have with quality parts. If you get one of the cheapo rebuilt ones you're gonna be in the same prediciment 6 months down the road.

The DVOM is a digital volt meter, like you said. If you dont have one, you can pick a cheap one up at radioshack for ~$7. That way you can at least see if its charging right.