Okay, I'll start with a few things that you guys should know about, so it will help you out in this complicated issue (as far as I think!).

I bought an 84 Camaro a year ago with a blown 2.8 (LC1) engine. I had it swapped with the LB8 2.8, which was originally TPI, but got converted to carb, since the lack of the electronics in the car.

The stock alternator died after a few months after the purchase, but I had a replacement one, that died this winter. The replacement one would only work if you reved the engine to 2000RPMS, then it would stay functioning at idle.

I had fun (if you can call it fun....) with scrap yeards with alternators, and I had at one point another alternator with 4 wires, but mine being 2 (AC Delco 10-SI). So, to my joy, I cut wires and made it fit, only to have it charge at 18+V, which blew my battery...yeah you can see I'm not the brightest in mechanics.

Anyways, I ended up buying a rebult alternator that worked fine for a little while, but then it started to do its own mind of its own.
If I left the car for a week, the battery would be completely drained, ending up to boost it each time. The charging cycle would work afterwards, but then, now, it's getting inconsistent voltage. It would be at 13V, then all of a sudden, it would drop to 10V, then up at 15V, and once it went to around 16V, being the first red bar.

Now, if I turn off the car, it won't start unless I boost it, which makes me think I fried my new battery...again.

I did unplug it, once and gave the battery a full charge, and it kept it, but if I plugged my alternator back in, it would die after of week of non usage.

I'm at loss...is it the alternator that is draining it, or could there be a wiring issue? I'm aware that rebuilt isn't a really good choice, but I don't want to fork up cash for a new one only to screw it up because of a wire issue, should it be the case.

So...help? I'm smelling a burnt smell, but it's coming out of my head this time.

 

Hmmmm....... I freely admit I'm not the brightest bulb on the string, but this is a real stumper here.... I'll have to give this some more thought. I'm kinda struggling right now.

Really? My suggestion would be to lose that awareness, and substitute for it, an awareness that for a quarter the price of new, it's usually the way to go, as long as you don't try to go TOO cheeeeeep. That is, if the store has multiple "grades" of rebuilds, don't go for the cheeeeeeeeeepest; not necessarily the most expensive, but not the bottom-of-the-barrel one either.

First thing to do is to restore the hacked-up wiring to as near pristine, factory condition as possible. You can get a new 10SI plug hanging on a card in the electrical section at most parts stores. Put the car back together the way it belongs, free of hacks.

Then get a KNOWN GOOD 10SI alternator (rebuilt is fine) and install it just exactly like it's supposed to be.

Then make sure your batt hasn't gotten fried by overcharging. If it smells like rotten eggs, it's smoked; get another. If you have ANY DOUBT WHATSOEVER, get another.

Then after you hook the battery back up, turn the key to ON without starting the engine, and observe the dash. You should see a light glowing that says "Choke". If you don't, replace the bulb. For reasons known only to some beaurocrat in Washington with an inflated ego and sense of self-importance, the light is mis-labelled; I suspect it's because the Choke relay (feeds 12V to the choke to heat it up and make it pull off a short time after start-up) is driven by the alternator output and NOT the battery, and therefore if the alt doesn't work the choke doesn't get power, and if it doesn't get power it doesn't pull off, and therefore the car's emissions aren't within spec. Evidently this was a much more critical matter to the said beaurocrat than actually communicating what's wrong with the car to the owner.

Then start the car up, make sure the "Choke" light goes out, and check the voltage between the batt terminals and between the big red wire terminal of the alt and its case; the alt terminal should be at about 14.2 V and a tenth of a volt or so higher than the + terminal of the batt, indicating that power is flowing FROM the alt and TO the batt. Also check the voltage between the alt case and the - terminal of the batt (red lead of meter on - terminal of batt, black lead of meter on case of alt, meter range on the lowest DC volts setting, or DC mV if it has it); should be very low, well below a tenth of a volt (or 100 mV). If it's higher than that, you have a problem with your negative battery cable, and if so, find it and fix it, and repeat the voltage tests.

Then come back here and let us know what you found at each measurement, and we'll help you with the next steps, in the unlikely event that any further steps are required.

 

Well, the wiring is pretty much a giveaway, but I checked it tonight and all seems to be in place, so wiring is definately not an issue.

I orderded a new rebuilt alternator, since they don't carry new ones anymore, and this time, I'll keep the bill! The battery is getting recharged as we speak as well, so I'll make sure that's not fried.


As for the Choke light...well, it doesn't light on when I turn on the ignition...it used to turn on, but now, it won't. They only time I see it on, is when I turn the car off. It'll light really fast, but will turn off right away...that's all I have as a choke light.

I also got my hands on a load tester as well, so tommorow, I'll be sure to know if my batt is good or fried. The alternator is out, so it won't discharge.

Also, I forgot to mention that last night, I had two high spark of voltage, resulting in my radio to turn off and my dash lights went really bright.here was definately a voltage regulator issue on it to say the least.