few months back i bought a new alternator, because my old mount snapped when tightening after installing new belts, just recently i hooked my volt meter to it, and it read 12.12v, so i warrentied that one and got another, same issuse, now only read 12.45v with loads off. replaced the ground cable, still stays the same, batteries new, and holds a charge and starts it up, just after running awhile it slowly dies. any ideas or suggestions?

 

are these new or reman?

 

Local advance or other parts store should be able to do a free chargeing and drain down system test for you.Might wana give it a shot.If you do find the drain its just a matter of finding the culprit.I think anything more than like.03 drain (with alarm)Is a bad thing.

 

blu, there reman. i think its my + cable, cant really explain it well, mine has the little black cylinder on it, and a wire goes off to the alternator, but the other ones are chopped off, i had it bench tested at 15.27. dont have an alarm system on it, i do have an aftermarket stereo but even d/c it does a steady 12.45

 

If youve got a meter then you can do your own test, as far as I can tell the local parts jockeys are idiots, atleast over here I argue with them regularly lol voltage drop of over .05 ampsis bad iirc. If the alternator is charging that high then id look at the fusible links, those cylinders you mentioned, meter voltage on both sides if they dont match replace it, theres 3 down by rhe starter and ive got 2 more in my engine bay at the junction block but apparently my car is strange cuz everyone I hang out with from cascadecrew only,has the 3 down by the starter, we just went thru this fight with my room mates SSA firebird, it got the royal tweaker treatment and ive spent the past few weeks fixing all the issues with him lol

 

There are a couple of things to check. First when were both the battery cables last replaced? Upgrade to 2 guage cable. Second, you said the additional wires on the cables were chopped off? On the negative cable there should be a lead going to the fender for ground. You can buy short 4 guage battery cable with eye-lets on both ends. I used this for the engine to firewall strap and going from the negative terminal to fender. Also the cable going from the altenator to the battery is only 12 gauge. Upgrade this to 10 gauge. I did this simple change on my T/A and saw a big difference on the volt meter reading when starting up and only a half a volt drop when turning on heater fan, lights, etc. The black cylinder you saw on the positive cable should be a conector going to the computer.

 

I dunno the year of the car but this might help make sure things are right.I agree alot of the parts people dont always know alot, But here in kansascity they do have a damn nice charging system machine
http://www.austinthirdgen.org/mkport...8_charging.jpg

 

A little confused - so it's not charging while running? Not measuring 14V or so? Assume this is not a 1-wire job - is the field exciter wire hooked up? Do you have an charge idiot light - if so does it light when ign is turned on, or is the bulb blown?

 

yeah i replaced the ground, and mounted the smaller wire to the fender, positive cable, who knows how long. no battery light turns on but after driving around for awhile lights get dim, then nothing. all loads off is 12.45, ill try replacing the + cable and go from there.

 

If that 12.45V (measured at the batt terminals) is with engine running, then it's not charging. If it's a new alt, and behaves the same way the old one did, it's probably not the alt.

Assume now you have a charge light - if it does not come on with key on engine off, then most likely the bulb is shot or gauges fuse blown, and not supplying exciter voltage to the alt, result = no charging.

 

I just about rebuild my engine i got a new tranny new starter new fly wheel, i have 2 alternators and both of them are reading around the same thing 12 40 or so, the battery reads around 11, and just slowly drops when my cars idleing, when im driveing it fights to stay on, i cant turn on my lights, and i put a new radio in but i have to keep it unpluged or the car just wont run properly, it starts to putter really bad and wont go anywhere, i know its cause im not getin the right charge, but ive went threw alot of the wireing, ive had both alternators tested, im just not sure what the problem is

 

oh its a brand new battery as well.. i had the engine out so now that ive got everything back togeather, it just isnt running properly , so frustrateing, cause i cant even drive it somewhere if i wanted to have someone else look at it, i just dont think i'll even make it, not that i really wanna spend any more money on it then i have anyway, but at this point i just want it to run right, any helpful tips or info, would be apprechated!

 

im not sure what u mean by a charge light can u give me alittle more details, i can change the fuses all out to see if thats the problem, the car was about a 3 month resto, and it was chargeing ok before, now its not, its like i fixed all the other problems it had, now i got a new one -.-

 

I got mine fixed up, now i have a fuel pump issue, it needs replaceing, but all i did was change all the fuses, and charges properly, might want to check all of your fuses. even the bigger ones up under there the 24 volt ones Good luck on getin that resolved