Factory camaro alternator question
What if you don't have an F-body PCM - does that mean the 99+ alternator won't charge properly?
Also, does the 99+ F-body alternator need the 470 ohm resistor, or just the 98 alternator? I don't want to burn mine up...
Also, does the 99+ F-body alternator need the 470 ohm resistor, or just the 98 alternator? I don't want to burn mine up...
What does that mean? What do I do if I don't have an F-body PCM - does that mean I can't use the 99+ F-body alternator?
I included a screen shot of the 1999 Camaro Z28 charging system diagram. There are two wires coming off the alternator: 1) heavy red charge wire that goes to the battery, and 2) blue/white wire that goes to the battery light and then to +12V. Where is the PCM connected to the alternator?
I included a screen shot of the 1999 Camaro Z28 charging system diagram. There are two wires coming off the alternator: 1) heavy red charge wire that goes to the battery, and 2) blue/white wire that goes to the battery light and then to +12V. Where is the PCM connected to the alternator?
Last edited by FastKat; Feb 12, 2011 at 11:44 PM.
Camaro alternator wiring diagram and service manual This should clear up a lot of problems and answer a lot of questions on the 1999-2002 Camaro alternator. It's the service manual for the CS130D alternator. The link below starts at page 3, but you can go backward and forward to see all the pages.
http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_sbpage3.htm
The biggest take-away is that the single thin wire coming off the alternator (not the heavy charger wire) can be connected to two different terminals on the alternator - the "L" or "I" terminal. The "I" terminal is used if you do not have a battery trouble light, and the "L" terminal is used if you do have a battery trouble light.
Also, some resistance is generally required, between 33 ohms and 500 ohms, depending on the power rating (wattage) of your resistor. I will tell you now that if you put a 470 ohm resistor inline with terminal "L", your dash light will not illuminate. With a 22 ohm resistor, my dash light would barely glow.
According to the manual, it looks like you could also use the "L" and "I" terminal together, if you wanted to, to raise the resistance of the of the +12V signal to the alternator.
If you're looking at the schematic, the Camaro alternator follows the diagram on the right.
http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_sbpage3.htm
The biggest take-away is that the single thin wire coming off the alternator (not the heavy charger wire) can be connected to two different terminals on the alternator - the "L" or "I" terminal. The "I" terminal is used if you do not have a battery trouble light, and the "L" terminal is used if you do have a battery trouble light.
Also, some resistance is generally required, between 33 ohms and 500 ohms, depending on the power rating (wattage) of your resistor. I will tell you now that if you put a 470 ohm resistor inline with terminal "L", your dash light will not illuminate. With a 22 ohm resistor, my dash light would barely glow.
According to the manual, it looks like you could also use the "L" and "I" terminal together, if you wanted to, to raise the resistance of the of the +12V signal to the alternator.
If you're looking at the schematic, the Camaro alternator follows the diagram on the right.
Last edited by FastKat; Mar 12, 2011 at 09:18 AM.
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im running into a charging issue with my nova, seems to charge fine at idle but even with the 470ohm resistor in sometimes the battery will discharge to the point it wont start then all of a sudden at a stoplight you will hear the fuel pump come up and it will charge normally.. but its left me stranded twice and I don't have any confidence in the charging yet.. should I put a higher ohm resistor in?
Holy thread revival, Batman! This thread is 11 years old. 
Dezlfrek, to answer your question, higher ohms won't help. I'd guess your issue has nothing to do with the actual resistor, but more of an issue with a bad connection somewhere. I can see a situation where an intermittent connection would cause the problem you are experiencing. Have you traced the wire with the resistor all the way from end to end? Look for bad crimps or loose plugs/terminals.
Dezlfrek, to answer your question, higher ohms won't help. I'd guess your issue has nothing to do with the actual resistor, but more of an issue with a bad connection somewhere. I can see a situation where an intermittent connection would cause the problem you are experiencing. Have you traced the wire with the resistor all the way from end to end? Look for bad crimps or loose plugs/terminals.
my alternator is labeled P L I S....should I do anything different than a P L F S alternator that you guys are hitting on?
at this point I just planned to run the L wire to a keyed 5V source in my PCM. is that the right plan?
at this point I just planned to run the L wire to a keyed 5V source in my PCM. is that the right plan?
I was too excited to wait for an answer lol. I connected the 'L' pin on the alternator to a keyed 5v source and cranked it. it charges!
I still need to know if I need to connect any of the other pins to something to make it work correctly.
I still need to know if I need to connect any of the other pins to something to make it work correctly.
I recently ran across this thread while researching how to wire up an 06' CTS-V alternator. A good thread but I believe there is some incorrect advice / confusion about what to do with F terminal. The recommendation is to hook it up to 12V IGN. From what I've gathered so far the F (Field) terminal is basically a diagnostic output used by the ECM to determine alternator duty cycle and ultimately it's health.
If you look at the internal alternator schematic posted by FastCat above: http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_sbpage3.htm you can see there is a diode in the F terminal circuit which probably means voltage is only going to travel out of the alternator. So probably no harm in connecting it to 12V but I just don't see any point at all in doing so. And a member above seems to have reported adverse results from doing so.
When wiring an alternator the F terminal can be wired to the ECM but not all operating systems seem to care about it. I've noticed the corvette PCM wiring diagram takes it as an input but the Camaros are missing that input.
Here's some good related info on this: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...or-wiring.html
If you look at the internal alternator schematic posted by FastCat above: http://www.alternatorparts.com/cs130_sbpage3.htm you can see there is a diode in the F terminal circuit which probably means voltage is only going to travel out of the alternator. So probably no harm in connecting it to 12V but I just don't see any point at all in doing so. And a member above seems to have reported adverse results from doing so.
When wiring an alternator the F terminal can be wired to the ECM but not all operating systems seem to care about it. I've noticed the corvette PCM wiring diagram takes it as an input but the Camaros are missing that input.
Here's some good related info on this: https://ls1tech.com/forums/conversio...or-wiring.html
On an unrelated note an FYI on the newer Alternators. They are not compatible with the older PCMs. Don't know where the cut off is for all applications but around 07' they require a special PWM from the PCM to turn on properly. You can't just hook up the L terminal so easily like the older units.
Need Help Ok, another question, I posted a while back an thought I had my answer, but reading through this thread gets confusing because the info is all over the place.
But I have a:
-2004 5.3 Truck Harness and PCM
- 2002 Camaro Alternator
On the alternator plug I removed all the wires but the brown and made sure it's in the correct spot per directions from the members.
The brown wire goes back to the PCM and is for the Charge Indicator Control. I am assuming this is all I need for the alternator to work correctly? Other than the wire that connects to the lug and goes to the battery?
No resistors or light bulb needed correct?
I'm installing an AAW harness in my 71 Camaro and I have a brown wire coming from the dash that goes to the alternator (assuming I had an old school set up). This wire runs to the volt gauge in the dash.
What do I do with this now? Should I just connect it to the battery or on the main alternator lug to give 12volts to the guage?
But I have a:
-2004 5.3 Truck Harness and PCM
- 2002 Camaro Alternator
On the alternator plug I removed all the wires but the brown and made sure it's in the correct spot per directions from the members.
The brown wire goes back to the PCM and is for the Charge Indicator Control. I am assuming this is all I need for the alternator to work correctly? Other than the wire that connects to the lug and goes to the battery?
No resistors or light bulb needed correct?
I'm installing an AAW harness in my 71 Camaro and I have a brown wire coming from the dash that goes to the alternator (assuming I had an old school set up). This wire runs to the volt gauge in the dash.
What do I do with this now? Should I just connect it to the battery or on the main alternator lug to give 12volts to the guage?
Joined: Nov 2001
Posts: 1,707
Likes: 33
From: Anderson, Indiana
That should work fine the way you have it. No resistor or bulb needed.
Don't hook the gauge directly to the battery. Just use a switched ignition wire instead so that the gauge isn't on all of the time.
Yes, there's a lot of old info in this thread.
Don't hook the gauge directly to the battery. Just use a switched ignition wire instead so that the gauge isn't on all of the time.
Yes, there's a lot of old info in this thread.
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91 Z28 LS2 408CI, LS9 Supercharger, LPE GT7 cam, Yank3000, 3450 raceweight.
Latest numbers: 9.71 ET, 141.42 MPH, 1.40 60' , 610 RWHP Mustang Dyno
www.speartech.com
91 Z28 LS2 408CI, LS9 Supercharger, LPE GT7 cam, Yank3000, 3450 raceweight.
Latest numbers: 9.71 ET, 141.42 MPH, 1.40 60' , 610 RWHP Mustang Dyno
www.speartech.com
