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Stupid Electrons...

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by hotskins, Oct 29, 2010.

  1. Someone please help!! I have gone through 6 alternators on my Fury in the last two months. I finnaly was able to take my car on its first real test run when about 15 minutes into it, the car died. Tried to restart it and the battery was dead. Found out the my alternator was bad. Well I bought a new one and installed it into the car and found that it was bad as well. Now the alternator that I got today tested good at the parts store, I put it in and I still have the same issue. I am not charging the battery, I get about 12.2 to 12.6 Volts on the battery when the car is running. My neighbor said to remove the negative bettery cable and if the car runs the alternator is good, well as soon as I did that, the car died. I checked the input to the Voltage regulator and I have about 1 volt, the other side had 12.5 or so volts.(what ever the battery was reading) I redid the wiring from the alternator to the battery and the voltage regulator. The old wiring was bad, as well as my alternator gauge in the car. All the wires that I replaced were to specs as per the factory manual. The rest of the wores ae in good shape. I replaced the battery because it was bad as well. I am at a lost, I have no idea what else I can check. If anyone out there can help, I would greatly appreciate it, thanks for your time.
     
  2. tjet
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,335

    tjet
    Member
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    Try a 1 wire alt & bypass the external reg. That's what I would do.
     
  3. 49dodgecoronet
    Joined: Oct 14, 2010
    Posts: 75

    49dodgecoronet
    Member
    from Roland Mb

    i would replace the regulator if it's an external type i had the problem on my old f100
     
  4. Sam Navarro
    Joined: Jul 16, 2009
    Posts: 758

    Sam Navarro
    Member

    Had the same problem on my 52, we temp fixed it for now. I'm wondering where do I find a 1 wire alternator? I asked the parts store guys but they didn't have a clue. Sam
     

  5. i believe "one wire" if a reference to a gm internally regulated alternator. funny, because it really has three.
     
  6. tjet
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,335

    tjet
    Member
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    Try this
    http://www.powermastermotorsports.com/
     
  7. belair
    Joined: Jul 10, 2006
    Posts: 9,015

    belair
    Member

    Summit, among others.
     
  8. 53sled
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 5,817

    53sled
    Member
    from KCMO

    make your own for $25 including an alternator the 10si, and family are everywhere. I have 3. one jumper wire, one "sensor" wire and the hot post. use a 168 peanut bulb in a .99 replacement housing so it stops when the key is off. Its real easy.
     
  9. Rebel 1
    Joined: Oct 25, 2010
    Posts: 568

    Rebel 1
    Member

    Single wire is the way to go. Very simple and reliable.
     
  10. ironpile
    Joined: Jul 3, 2005
    Posts: 915

    ironpile
    Member

    I know that GM alternators can be converted to run with just the battery connection.If your does not have that option,you may want to use a GM alt simply for the convenience. I have a GM alt on a Chrysler 440 and it works perfectly. Good luck:D
     
  11. ironpile
    Joined: Jul 3, 2005
    Posts: 915

    ironpile
    Member

    You are at the wrong parts store. Find a place that rebuilds starters and alternators,they should be able to fix you up. My man can convert an alternator to one wire in about 10 min.:D
     
  12. Ebbsspeed
    Joined: Nov 11, 2005
    Posts: 6,257

    Ebbsspeed
    ALLIANCE MEMBER

    Two hydrogen atoms meet. One says, 'I've lost my electron.' The other says 'Are you sure?' The first replies, 'Yes, I'm positive.'

    That said, are YOU positive that all the replaced wiring is "to specs as per the factory manual" as you stated. Sometimes it's pretty easy to flip connections on wires. These charging systems worked well from the factory, no reason they can't work as well years later. After that many "bad" alternators, I'd start looking at something else, like the regulator or wiring.
     
    Last edited: Oct 29, 2010
  13. 53sled
    Joined: Jul 5, 2005
    Posts: 5,817

    53sled
    Member
    from KCMO

    Last edited: Oct 29, 2010
  14. d2_willys
    Joined: Sep 8, 2007
    Posts: 4,290

    d2_willys
    Member
    from Kansas

    I agree! Even though the hydrogen atoms are somewhat close to rocket science, alternators, regulators, and wiring are not! I would take the car to a very good auto electric shop and have them fix it right.
     
  15. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 56,093

    squirrel
    Member

    What alternator are you using, does it have one or two field wires? what regulator are you using? How is it wired up? Did you fully charge the battery with a shop battery charger before running the engine?
     
  16. If the wiring is OK, sounds like it must be the regulator. They're pretty cheap. I would have changed it along with the alternator.
     
  17. I am using an OEM type alternator, I have replaced the regulator, it is some solid state type. I don't know how to check to see if it is operating properly. I do have an alternator that checked good at the parts store. we checked it three times just to make sure. I have rechecked the wiring several times and still can't find anything.
     
  18. squirrel
    Joined: Sep 23, 2004
    Posts: 56,093

    squirrel
    Member

    Is everything the 1960s stuff? Should be one big wire from the alternator to the ammeter, and a smaller wire from the alternator Field to the regulator. There is also a wire from the ignition switch to the regulator. Pretty simple system.

    Have you checked to make sure the ammeter is working properly? If the car has the original in dash ammeter, it could be causing problems. The output of the alternator goes thru the ammeter, and if the meter is open circuited then the battey won't charge, even if the alternator is fine. Also thse cars have problems with the wiring connector that goes thru the firewall, the contacts get loose or burned and make an open circuit.
     
  19. joe_padavano
    Joined: Jan 18, 2010
    Posts: 263

    joe_padavano
    Member

    THANK YOU!

    It's even more hilarious that now that the aftermarket has brainwashed everyone into thinking they MUST have a one wire alternator and eliminate the idiot light (because that is SOOO difficult to hook up), now the aftermarket is selling $25 electronic voltage light kits to replace that function you all disabled when you went to the one wire alternator. :rolleyes:
     
  20. The ammeter in the dash burnt up, I have it bypassed by connecting the input and out put together. You would think that this is simple, but it is kickin my butt.
     
  21. Dennis D
    Joined: May 2, 2009
    Posts: 851

    Dennis D
    Member

    IIRC the old Mopars had to have a good amp gauge in them for the charging system to work. I know that back in the early 70's I had to replace them to get the system to work as it should. Dennis D
     
  22. tjet
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,335

    tjet
    Member
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    Here's the WD print for your car. Study it so you can understand how the system works. Start with the ignition switch & follow the routing. You're gonna need a multimeter or test light.
     
  23. tjet
    Joined: Mar 16, 2009
    Posts: 1,335

    tjet
    Member
    1. Early Hemi Tech

    If you look at the print, the alt B wire will be always hot & have 12.6 volts.

    Does it?
     
  24. Francisco Plumbero
    Joined: May 6, 2010
    Posts: 2,533

    Francisco Plumbero
    Member
    from il.

    Do you have an over drive pulley on your alternator, an alternator has a designated RPM which will activate it, once you do activate it, it will continue to produce energy until it stops rotating, it will need to hit RPM again to reactivate, if you put a pulley that is oversized on it it will effect the RPM required to activate it. Do you have the proper ratio in your pulley system, proper sized crank pulley water pump pulley? Is your block grounded to the frame? Is your frame grounded back to the negative cleanly, bad grounds can cause these problems. I suggest redundant grounding, multiple return paths for the electrons to flow back to the battery. Is your alternator ground proper? Remember this is a system not just a few unrelated components.
     
  25. All the pullies are what came with the car when I bought it, I have no idea what they should be, but I am guessing that they are stock. I have good gounds from the engine to the frame, the body to the frame, and it all goes back to the battery. As far as the RPMs go, I have never heard that before. Although I have checked it at idle and i have brought the RPMS up fairly high and still no change. I did take the BATT wire off the alternator and checked that while the engine was running. At idles I was getting half a volt, with the RPMS up I got about two volts.

    Thanks for everyone help and inputs, it has been a great help. I have identified a few problems and I am hoping that i will get this thing figured out soon. At least now I have an Alternator that tested good at the parts store.
     

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