ok heres my problem i just put in a new battery its 2 days old and the alternator is new i took it off and took it down to autozone to get it check out and they said it was fine,but my volt gauge wont even get to the 13 volts it had b4 and they keep slowly droppin like the alternator isnt chargin how it should be anyone got any sugestions im stuck and idk what else to check and its really buggin me so any ideas would be great thanks

 

Have you confirmed it with a VOM on battery terminals ?
Was the battery fully charged BEFORE starting the car first time with the new battery inplace ? the alternator is really sensitive to empty or half full batterys..

Hows your wires, check them for resistence and corrosion.. (they can be bad from the inside if they are old to...)

 

yeah i checked with a VOM on the battery terminals and it was fine with the old battery but when i hooked it up on the alternator it was chargin real slow with the headlights on and fans and i havnt checked with the new battery but i did drive the car a couple of times with the new battery and it cranked right up but the volts were still low on the guage i havnt checked the wires for resistence or corrosion could i be having a voltage loss somewhere like it touchin something it shouldnt be? thanks for the help in advance i really apreciate it cause this has been buggin me for the last couple of days

 

Also check fuses, I now on camaros you got a relay for the charging on the same fuse as the F/P and that fuse can be blown and pump still running because its getting power from the oilpressurewitch (its wires thru that one to) So check the fuses just in case one is blown..

Keep me posted

 

well idk if the fuse box layout is the same i dont see why it shouldnt be and could it possibly be a relay to the fuel pump? and which fuse would be the f/p?

 

Do you have a voltmeter? This is the only sure way to figure it out. Measure the voltage AT THE BATTERY with the car off, then with it running. You should see 12V or more with the car off and 14.5V with it running. If you see about 14.5V then your alternator is working properly. I would check the connections to the alternator and battery anyway.

 

dam well then im way off cause i got a voltmeter and it reads about 12 and a half with it on and car off is like almost 13 and i did some check with amperage that my automotive instructor told me to do in school you set the voltmeter to amps and you put one of the leads on the negative on the battery then the other lead off the voltmeter on the connecter that goes to the battery on the negative side also and it should read .02 with nothing open like the door and the first time i did that it read .90 and he told me to start checkin fuses which i did and i had a 40amp fuse on a spot where a 20 should have been and i swapped it out and it reads .02 how it should be but my volt gauge still doesnt get near the 13 like it did befor?? so im like extremely confused about it what do you think i should check now

 

Are you saying the voltage went up with the car off? That doesn't make sense.

I'd wouldn't recommend using the ammeter, it can short out, requires breaking the circuit to take a measurement, not to mention you shouldn't need it.

 

Double check the battery voltage with the car running, then check the voltage between the post behind the alternator and the alternator case. You should see ~14.5V. If not there might problem with your alternator.

 

Possible bad gauge??? mine kinda does the same that yours does. but the battery is charging and the alternator is doing its job but my gauge fluctuates as well. i changed the gauge and it seems to work fine.

 

see thats what i was thinkin too but the gauge goes up just not where it should be or where it was befor
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well the way he told me to test it, it checks to make sure your not drawing current from the battery and its reading what its supposed to on the vom the vom i have is a pretty big one and has all these diffrent settings on it,and its350 tpi

 

Yes, using an ammeter is for locating current drainage, but that's not the problem in your case. Your alt is simply not charging, explained by the lower voltage with engine on (ignition etc. draws current then).
Measure the voltage at the alternator post (should be the same as at the battery, 14.4V +/- 0.3V with engine on), and also at the brown(/white) wire going to it. If the brown wire lacks voltage then change the c/h fuse. If both have power then the alt is shot. If the alt post voltage is different from the battery voltage then you have a bad fusible link or connection between them.

 

If your alternator is from autozone, just tell them you want another one, even if it tests fine. I was having issues with my alternator and it tested good at autozone, but I knew it was the culprit, so I told them I wanted another one. I swapped the new one in and my problem went away. Their test machine just can't account for real life conditions (heat, vibrations, etc.)

 

well on the batter it puts out 12 and a half is it supposed to be 14.4? and do you think the alternator isnt the one intended for the car cause at autozone they said its a 105 amp alternator and idk what i have on it now it dont say its an ac delco im thinkin its from gm and im not fully understanding what your sayin how could i go about checkin the voltage at the brown/white wire

 

With the car running its supposed to be 14.5V, thats what I was trying to tell you.

The next thing to try is checking the signal to the alternator. With the ignition on, but the car off, the weathertight plug should have 12V on the brown wire. You can remove it from the alternator to check it. Hook the black lead of your meter to the battery ground, or any ground for that matter.

 

i still say change the gauge. good luck.

 

Your not saying if you have a system hooked up or not. You could be drawing it down with that. I can draw mine down to ten volts with the system I have. Now if that is the case sounds like you got a bad battery. Like it has a dead cell in it.

 

i do have a system but its not hooked up to the battery cause i figured it was drainin it down and ive went trough 2 batterys already the original and a new one
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i might just go ahead and do that to elimate the possibility of the gauge being messed up

 

alright thanks alot for the help i really apreciate it ill keep in touch and tell ya how it went

 

Just because it is a new battery does not mean it can not have a dead cell in it. Batteries sometimes set on the shelf for a long time. Also you said your brought your alternator in and it tested good. That also does not mean it is good as well. It can have one bad spot in it that does not show on there test machine. I have had that problem before. And the guy saying that it should be 14.5 on volts running. That is not always true it differs from vehicle to vehicle.

 

yeah i understand what your saying the machines cant act like real life driving situations and same way for the battery about the dead cell the new one i had did have a dead cell in it and idk about the one i have now,and what about the volts what should it read on voltmeter with the car running

 

With just the engine running nothing on other than normal on the car. Which that means no A/C running just the car and say the fan kicking on and off. It should run between 12.9 all the way to possibly 14.5. My truck right now at idle with nothing but the truck running only puts out 13.9. Like I had said with everything on A/C and system head lights. At idle I can draw it down to 10. Personally I would bring back the alternator and tell them to give you a new one if you want to try that. if you want to hook the system back up you can put a capacitor or put a bigger alternator. Capacitor is cheaper than the alternator. If you or buying them optima 6 pack batteries go back to a acid battery also. Those batteries or not meant to carry big loads on them.
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Or you running and electric water pump?

 

no i have a regular acid battery and its belt drivin waterpump