94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

So i followed a wiring diagram that was provided off of here however I'm having a charging issue. To start with I just purchased a brand new ALT because my last one was squealing all though tested good, the new one is squealing as well even worse when I turn on my head light so I'm picking up another tomorrow to see if that takes care of it that issue. Both test good though! On to the main concern, the diagram will clearly show you how I ran my wiring, did I do something wrong? I can start the car and run just fine however it seems like its just running off the battery because when I stop some where and then go to start it again it has a lack of power and the Volts are down and the bitch barely wants to crank. It's weird cause I can turn the Kill Switch to off and the car completely turns off like it should do so I'm stumped. As you can see I have the ALT and the battery power wire on the positive side and then the 0 gauge ran to the front which is connected by a bolt that splits off to the fusable links, EWP and starter. Any help would help

Brand new yellow top with 1000 cold cranking amps and new alt, something is going wrong here.... Oh a tad bit more info I forgot to mention. When I went to disconnect the power wire on the back of the ALT with the kill switch off the ALT sparked when i touched the wrench to it so how come it kills it when I'm running but like there is constant power there when I go to remove the power wire. Thanks for the help in advance!

00SLPSS

iTrader: (15)

I just got done dealing with battery relocation, with a yellow top just like yours, and a painless wiring switch. I did all wire upgrades about the same as yours. I broke down and got a powermaster alt 145 amp and now I have solid 13+ volts with no dimming of lights with operating headlights. (mines ls1 setup but I figure the basics of wiring should match up)

I'd say once you get an alt that doesn't squeak, get the car running and try testing voltage directly off the alt if you can, if not even the alt wire running to your disconnect switch and see what kind of voltage you have going there. I ended up replacing my exciter wiring going into the alt (don't know if yours has a similar setup) but for $15 I wanted a whole new plug and wire going in there. I have my alt wired to the off side of the switch as opposed to being on the on side, that may or may not explain the sparking, but shouldn't account for the voltage issues. If any wiring is left over go ahead and add an extra 2ga or whatever left over wiring you have for a ground off the block.

more things would be checking to make sure all grounds are secure, and to test out that disconnect switch too. maybe try removing it from the system for a moment and see what you get.

94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

Well got the squealing finally to go away after swapping out another ALT.... Still I'm having the charging issue though. Pisses me off honestly! I haven't had a chance to test it with the mullimeter yet.
As for the ALT being on the POS side, it has to be on that side of the battery to charge and also having the ALT on the other side will not kill power to the engine because the ALT is still keeping the motor running. Found this out when I wired it all up!
As for grounds I have a 2 gauge ground for the the battery that goes to the seat belt bolt that is bare metal. The motor has a 1.25 inch braided strap that replaced the stocker small engine ground that is on the driver side chassis and the passenger was upgraded to a 2 gauge as well that runs to the chassis. I was reading a little bit more and maybe leaning towards the Voltage regulator inside the ALT not being swapped out on refurbished units. They show to be working when cold all though wants heated up they are junk. At this point I have no damn clue. Really strange!

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

Your schematic shows various segments of 2GA wire
going to ground points, but these had better not be
chassis sheet metal "ground". All of that 2GA ought
to be continuous copper and then strapped well to
the block.

Jeff94TA

I just did this to my 94 Trans Am a few weeks ago and didn't follow a diagram but did what made sense to me after looking at how the factory did it. I bought the relocation kit from Summit that came with 2 gauge cables and fabricated the balance myself.

I relocated my Optima Red Top to the passenger side of the well in the hatch area and grounded it to the rear frame rail with the 2 gauge cable supplied. I mounted a master kill switch to the rollbar and ran a 2 gauge positive cable from the battery to the kill switch. From the other side of the kill switch I ran 2 gauge cable to the starter solenoid. From the same lug on the starter solenoid I ran a 6 gauge cable to the power block on the passenger side inner fender. I also ran a 6 gauge cable from the alternator to the same location on the passenger inner fender power block. If you look at the factory battery cable this is in essence what it did. I also ran a 6 gauge ground cable from the ground lug on the passenger inner fender to the block.

I know people may say that 6 gauge is too light but it's way heavier than the factory ran in those locations. I'm getting great voltage and the cables all stay nice and cool. Just my $0.02 on what worked for me.

One thing that strikes me on the above diagram is that the kill switch never kills power to the alternator so the spark you experienced at the alternator doesn't surprise me. The only way to kill it is to disconnect the battery. Personally I'd move the alternator to the opposite side of the kill switch but the above diagram should function fine.

I ended up spending $50 on a hydraulic crimper tool so that I could make sure the cable ends were good and solid so make sure you have good continuity on your cables. That's the only thing I can think of at the moment.

94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

Readings taken tonight at idle...
Car off:
Battery 12.4
Alt .9

Car off, key in acc:
Battery 12
Alt .5

Car Started:
Battery 14.2
At Taylor Switch: starts at 9.2 and decreased to 8.6
Alt sparked like it was fourth of July

Only reading taken at 1500 rpm was the battery which was 14.1 steady

Wasn't for sure how to test the plug and play connector on the alt for 12 volts because the headers are right there, tried and now I have a burnt thumb, lol!

Any thoughts???? Seems like the alt is not pushing enough back to charge the battery YES?????

Jeff94TA

The 14.2 volts while it's running indicates that the alternator is charging. You had 12 volts when it was off so that extra voltage is coming from somewhere. It's the low voltage at the switch that is concerning and indicates you've either got some serious resistance across the switch or a huge draw somewhere.

I'm assuming you're talking about the kill switch btw. Either measure the resistance across the switch, it should be very low if not zero, or bypass it by bolting all of the cables to one side of the switch and test it that way. I'm betting it's a bad switch or high resistance in one of your cables after the switch.

94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

Well took a good break from the car and got back to it. So I did what was posted. I ran the Alt wire directly to the battery,+ side. Then from the battery to the switch. I then ran from the other side of the switch directly to the starter, off the starter to the rest of the + leads located up front. Needless to say I have yet to take it for a drive all though my ALT is now squealing like crazy again like the bearings are shot again until its warmed up. I let it run for about 30 minutes outside the house, killed it with the switch which is still functional and went to go fire it up and the volts where low and it barely wanted to start. Oh yeah I just swapped out the battery for another brand new yellow top with top mounts for ease. Back to the drawing board I guess.

One new peice of info I found, My stereo face plate lights up in the car if I flip the kill switch a few times. It goes off when you open the door. I know the stereo has a constant power however not sure if it should pop on when cycling the kill switch a few times and returning back to ON. I have my AEM wideband tapped into the radio power wire for a power source so it comes on as well..... Like I said they both go right out when I open the door. Any thoughts to this?????

94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

Ok so did some testing tonight, come to find out car not started reads 12.4,starts up charges to 14.4 which is great all though the alt still squeals. After more testing we read that there is a perfect flow until we get to the starter which drops when starting from 12.4 down to 9.1 when starting which is taking alot to get it to turn over. Weird part is my buddy rebuilt it as a high torque about 8 months ago. Is this the problem it's taking so much to crank it over? It seems to be charging however it's a bitch to start even after starting or during at a point. Any thoughts?

Jeff94TA

It sounds like you've narrowed it down to the starter so that's the next thing to check. I would pull it and have someone test it.

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

If the starter voltage is dropping, that's got to be its
ground (case-block, block-bat) or hot (bat-solenoid)
or the battery internal resistance.

Bat-block is one bolt, and that connection ought to
be pulled, wire-brushed, and made clean & tight.

Side-terminal batteries can corrode the terminals and
this can extend to the crimp connection where the
cable joins the hardware. My factory one was plain
bare copped, and all crusty after two Delco leakers.
The aftermarket replacement was a more old-school
molded lead style which can't get the acid wicked
into it from above. Pull the red and black booties and
check for crust.

94BlueZ28

iTrader: (34)

Not following u jimmy. Battery is brand new and test good, brand new cables with big cooper connections. I have no red covers and no rust any where. Not sure of the the bat block stuff your talking about. My battery is in a battery box in the trunk. Please elaborate. Thanks for the help guys. Sets like it is pointing to the starter for sure

jimmyblue

iTrader: (11)

If the voltage -across- the starter is sagging, either the
starter is pulling way more than normal current, or there
is resistance somewhere else in the current loop. Have to
think in terms of current, how does it get there & back?

For starters (heh) what is your path from Bat - to engine
block made of? Anything short of 00 welding cable is not
up to par. Chase it by hand all the way end to end, any
not-fat-copper that can give you a hundredth of an ohm?