Alt Trouble, wiring problem?, back from the dead, can anyone help? Options

[jcbass7]

ok when i take of the negative terminal and test between that and the negative post on the battery i get

511 milliamps when the digi meter is set to 2000MA setting..

what now?

[Batman722]

hey just a word...Jesse make sure all 3 wires in the 3 wire plug (on the alt) are connected. If they are not, then once the batt dies you will have no power (I tested it with the ST when I got you the plug)

[jcbass7]

alltrac:

I retested the parasetic draw test and it now reads 21.. when i close the hatch. It was reading 512 because i had the hatch open causing the door lights to go on.

so no parasetic draw.....


i still have 11.7 volts going TO the negative terminal...

[Vissi]

so the alternator is good, but your still not getting power?
Is the voltage regulator on our cars on the alternator?
if its not maybe thats the problem

[alltracman78]

Why are you so sure your alt is working fine?
V reg is part of the alt.

hey just a word...Jesse make sure all 3 wires in the 3 wire plug (on the alt) are connected. If they are not, then once the batt dies you will have no power (I tested it with the ST when I got you the plug)

Correct.
The alt gets is power to make more power through this connection.
Since you are making 12V, probably not it, but won't hurt to check.

[jcbass7]

I own two celicas and i took the working alt from my other one and put it into this one. therefore i beleive the alt is fine


tried the volt drop for pos and neg at the alt and here is what i got

pos- 1.5ish
neg- 1.1

This post has been edited by jcbass7: Feb 18, 2007 - 5:44 PM

[alltracman78]

As in 1.5 and 1.1 volts?
Bad connections.
Where did you connect the multimeter to?

[jcbass7]

we did the pos terminal and then the B post on the alt

and then

neg terminal and the Ground wire at the Alt bracket


oooops my bad i meant to say

.15ish and .11

[jcbass7]

can i make a 100 mile drive on three batteries? lol.... thats about where im at now.. if i charge three and go during the day with no acc running (no radio etc etc.. ) will three batteries get me that far?


one red-top and two run of the mill car batts..

[alltracman78]

Well, it sounds like your alt is weak man...
What did it put out in the other car?
I take it the connection on the alt is good?

From Gloucester to Newport?
Probably.
You can also stop and get one or two charged if need be.....
Run the redtop last, because draining it will probably junk it.

Beats being UA....

[jcbass7]

Well, it sounds like your alt is weak man...
What did it put out in the other car?
I take it the connection on the alt is good?

From Gloucester to Newport?
Probably.
You can also stop and get one or two charged if need be.....
Run the redtop last, because draining it will probably junk it.

Beats being UA....

It put out 14.5 when it was on the other celi


DEFINATLY beats being UA...



I'm gonna try it, I'll let you guys know if i make it

[x_itchy_b_x]

id check the charge wires that go to the alternator. I've had the same thing happen to me before where my car just died because it didn't have any power to even keep itself running. but my alt was fine it was the wires that connect onto the stud, they actually burned up on the inside of the insulator and were so brittle they cracked in half! but only the wire on the inside, the insulator looked fine so you couldn't tell the wires we only charging spontaneously when ever they were in the right position to make contact. haha i hope you find your problem man!

[jcbass7]

ok so i just made my attempt... failed

i got about ten miles down the highway and the voltage on the first battery slowly went down, and when it hit about 11.. it plumitted.. i barely made it to the next exit before the car died and i rolled into a lot.

so i strapped on batt two, turned around and came home


Itchy,

with the car running are there any voltage tests or anything i can do to test if the wires going to the alt are working properly?

[x_itchy_b_x]

you could check how much power is coming off of the charge stud. then check how much power is coming out from the wire that goes to the charge stud but only like 6 inches back from the stud, wiggle things around, if theres still power in the wire go father back up the wire and trace out were the power is going or if the wire is damaged. Im sure theres more professional ways that i'm not familiar with though

you just need to find out were your charge is going, trace wires and check connections and grounds.

[alltracman78]

That's what the voltage drop test I had you do does.
Check from the stud to the other end of the wire [battery pos terminal].
.15V means the wire is in good condition. Assuming it was done correctly of course [no dig at you man, it's hard to tell online what someone is doing at their house.. ].


That battery should have lasted longer than 10 min. You probably have a weak or bad battery. Or something in the car is draining it.
Most batteries have a 1hr reserve time. Basically meaning they will run your car for roughly 1 hour with all accessories off. The redtop should last longer of course.

[jcbass7]

That's what the voltage drop test I had you do does.
Check from the stud to the other end of the wire [battery pos terminal].
.15V means the wire is in good condition. Assuming it was done correctly of course [no dig at you man, it's hard to tell online what someone is doing at their house.. ].


That battery should have lasted longer than 10 min. You probably have a weak or bad battery. Or something in the car is draining it.
Most batteries have a 1hr reserve time. Basically meaning they will run your car for roughly 1 hour with all accessories off. The redtop should last longer of course.

I didn't want to risk having the car get stranded.. but once i upgrade my AAA to the 100 mile tow limit then ill take a stab at it and get towed the rest of the way if i need it

Anywho, I made it back to base, took the train to boston and had a friend drive me back from there.
The car is back home along with my HID's that came in seconds after i left....

once i get home again I can try to fix the problem.... I'm getting sick of one issue after another..I just want the car to run reliable so i can spend my time improving it instead of repairing it..

This post has been edited by jcbass7: Feb 20, 2007 - 1:05 PM

[jcbass7]

bump.. still need to figure this out

I'm getting 11.4 volts at the alternator post. This is with a good battery and a GOOD alternator.
Ideas?

PS: this is basically an electrical thread now so if the mods want to move it i won't complain

[jcbass7]

bump

what should the three wires in the plug going to the alternator be putting out when the car is under load? I understand one should have power correct? not sure about the others.. I think the problem is there somewhere

[jcbass7]

bump..

no one has any idea why a GOOD WORKING alt would be putting out 11.4 volts instead of 14.25ish?

[Batman722]

check the main wire you soldered. Dig deeper in the harness and check the voltage before the splice.