needtransam

iTrader: (2)

Ok, i've searched a lot on the forums and google the alternator problems ls1's have, have found a lot of useful information but not sure why im still having this problem

Ok when i bought my 01 z28, the alternator died the day after so i took it to o'reilly and it checked bad so i bought a new one, that same day i guess they gave me a bad one cause it bearly lasted 4 hours so i replaced it again and made them tested before i swap it on my car

The car was working great and everything, but yesterday (about a week from the alternator install) my f body club and I were racing on the freeway and after some races the "check gauges" came up and my batter voltage was low again like before, so today jacked the car up took out the alternator and it was bad? Could it possibly just be bad remanufactured alternators or i have a short or something?


Also was checking my alternator connections, and extended my exciter cable since it seemed that the person before installed an aftermarket exciter cable and probably spiced the cable wrong so i extended it just to make sure

BennyB

iTrader: (12)

I never "like" using remanufactured parts or brands that are sub par from OEM. I would try a used OEM junkyard alternator or one from the classified section. That way you can see if it was junk remanufactured parts or not that were the problem. Good luck on your issue man.

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

While it may not be an issue, I've killed an alternator due to a leaking power steering pump - beyond that, alternators don't seem to like sustained high RPM operation, but that doesn't sound like the case here.

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

it died after a few WOT races so im assuming its not liking all the load, ill get a new one from o'reilly instead of a remanufactured one, do the cables look okay? should the 12v cable that connects to the back of the ALT be like that (two sperated black cables)? Is the ground suppose to have that little black piece of metal on it ?

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

It looks like the battery -> alternator wire has been modded. From the picture, it looks like he didn't have a ring terminal that was big enough to fit the wire, so he split one wire into two and used two 10-12 ga. ring terminals. Classic.

What exactly is that fuse running in the last pic?

Everything else looks okay I guess (at least from what I can tell at a quick glance) - ground strap from the block to the frame looks okay, although I don't remember seeing a black plate the last time I messed with mine (but it has been a long time).

crainholio

iTrader: (2)

Advance Auto sells a brand new (not rebuilt) Delco-Remy alternator for not much more than a rebuild. I put one in mine last year after I smoked a year-old NAPA rebuild during a road course event...haven't been to a track yet this year but so far so good.

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

So should I leave those cables like that? Or should I buy a single cable? The fuse was already like that so I'm not sure what it could be

massls1guy

iTrader: (9)

I hope that wire with the fuse isn't running directly to the exciter. If it is you need to add a resistor in there, that would cause the alt to burn out.

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

i dont think it is, but i swaped it in a new ALT, clean all grounds, reconnected starter and tighten it properly, removed and put back in the pcm for any possible lossness and i think its good so far but only the second day since i swaped it in, hope its good

What could that cable be? im not sure at all why its their any help would be appreciated? and how can i test the exciter to see it its working properly?

MeentSS02

iTrader: (11)

About the only thing you can do to figure out what that wire goes to is to follow it - looks like the previous owner wired something up, but what? I have no idea...

As for the exciter wire, as long as you are showing a good charge on the voltmeter, that's all I would worry about. It just needs to be intact.

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

well i think its bolted on to the batter cable aux post on the drivers side and the other little end goes to the fuse box i think?

its really wierd cause could this have caused a short that killed my last alternator? i dont want it to kill my alternator again?

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

what do you guys think?

OUTLAWZ RACING

iTrader: (9)

that looks like speaker wire on the exciter wire. plus it needs to be solider.

needtransam

iTrader: (2)

well i just extended the wire not sure if its a bad thing, and how can i check for voltage on the exciter just to make sure its working fine?