1999ls1sscamaro

Went through 3 alternators within 3-4 years. Bought the best high end brands from Advance Auto & Autozone. Don't care about lifetime warranties. I'm going with GM Alternators. First one went due to power steering fluid dripping on it (original one with around 150,000 miles. Second went due from oddly over charging when it's cold and dips in the red when you rev past 2500 RPMS. 3rd failed I'm guessing due to the short belt since the car doesn't have a power steering pump because the steering isn't that bad without on and the car seems to pull faster with the smaller belt and liked it. I'm guessing this one that only dips in the red when I rev it is due from it spinning faster with the small belt the alternator basically got tired like the bearing or something. Getting tired of the alternators that dip in the red when revving it a little over 2,000RPMS. Going to drive the damn car slow till I get a new one. I also try and buy the best batteries as well. Had the last few load tested.

Car has about 168,000 miles.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

IMO, there are no "high end" units in-house from Advance or AZ. They are all poor quality rebuilds in my experience, and they often fail in the short term.

The GM remans are (or were at least, haven't needed one recently) much better, but Powermaster would probably be my #1 choice at this point.

1999ls1sscamaro

They are 100% brand new, I bought a rebuilt one and you know what happen? My 94 Chevy K1500 Z71 alternator caught on fire and had to use my hose to put out the fire lol. I was 2 mins away from my house. Rebuilt alternators you don't save that much money I always try and buy new. I seem to have bad luck with alternators.

I was going to buy a PowerMaster but something scared me off maybe it was the price and warranty maybe. Will look into them now. Just getting really tired of changing them out and that little one wire looks very weak. Would the short belt wear out the alternator due from spinning at higher RPM? I do a few high runs with the car but we all do that with LT/LS cars. 90% of the time I drive slow like 60-65MPH on the highway. Maybe I gotta stop doing those rare hard runs.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

Not sure that matters in this case, their quality often seems to be poor to bad anyway.

My experience with Powermaster has been nothing short of excellent. I'm currently using one of their one-wire units on my '71 (most wiring harness sources and "experts" caution that NO one wire unit can provide good charging due to no remote voltage sensing, yet this Powermaster unit defies such claims; I've had it for many years now and it's still doing great.)

The little red wire on top that you're referring to is the exciter wire. It provides initial voltage from the PCM to start the charging process - it doesn't need to be heavy gauge, but you do have to be careful with it (and the connector) when swapping units, it's a common thing to break on folks who aren't familiar with how fragile it is.

I'm not sure how the alternator would know that the belt is any shorter, nor how this would spin the unit any faster. However if you've changed the pulley size on the alternator and/or crank, that's a different story (or if the shorter belt isn't short enough and the tensioner isn't holding it tight enough, slippage from this could also cause charging issues.) Otherwise, your only risk of overrevving an OEM-spec alternator is if you've raised the engine rev limiter and you're shifting at much higher rpms than stock.

RockinWs6

I've been buying new alts from Advance, so I've had good service from them. Usually in the 160-180 dollar range.

TTur1996

Just out of curiosity, you didn't happen to reconfigure the belt path and change the rotation when you went to a shorter belt did you? That would explain why it goes into the red at high rpm. It should no do that. I use Autzone alternators all the time with zero problems. You really can't beat a lifetime warranty. And let's face it. How hard is it to change an alternator?

ragtopz28

iTrader: (57)

Alternators don't know or care which way they are spinning...

1999ls1sscamaro

It's a custom belt and was a pain to get. I did notice the last 1 or 1.5 years the shorter belt was charging the alternator really high but after a 30 min drive or more it would go back to normal. I believe what may of shorten it's life is from running my HIGH BEAMS as well. Since April of last year the Blue HID's went well one of them so I used the high beams one night and since then it would never go back to the normal lights and one night I clicked them over and there were no lights at all then finally the switch on the steering wheel finally worked and ran my high beams but aimed my lights down. I should of fixed it but I was working a lot and used my truck as well. I'm thinking using the high beams for so long stressed out the alternator.

I hope the exciter wiring isn't messed up I HATE splicing wires. I swear one time they checked my alternator and battery and my friend gave me both for Free under warranty but did tell me my car was over charging lol?? He passed away in a bike accident recently and can't find the warranty papers.

Also note the original owner changed most of the lights to LED's. I found out from changing one the housing of the signal light was brown and melted and changed the car 100% LEd's.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

I still don't see how a shorter belt would cause this to happen. Crank to alternator pulley ratio and engine rpm determine how fast or slow the alternator will spin, belt length doesn't have any impact on either as long as the belt is properly tight (meaning not slipping.)

pdxmotorhead

Pully size affects speed belt length does not, BUT,,, serpentine belts do generate some heat, and its possible the belt isn't getting enough air time to cool correctly.. That would maybe make it slip.. (Wild *** guess based on nothing but poor logic... )

1999ls1sscamaro

Well I used my truck for a few days then used my Camaro this morning. The dipping and dimming of interior lights wasn't as bad but now only does it over 2,500RPMS and sits near the red and the gauge moves fast and goes back to normal. Oddly and worked for about 2 hrs of test driving but if you blast the heat or AC the alternator was back to normal! It seemed to like to be under load. I will be testing the alternator and battery and bought a new belt that will be ordered in a few days so I will be driving like a grandpa so I am not left stranded on the road.

LOL I just don't get why the alternator 99% of the time never dipped when running the heat and AC even at high RPM.

Would I damage the PCM or other electronics from the variety of charging and hitting the red gauge? If I drive really slow it dips a hair from the red sometimes but someone said the fluctuating of charging states may ruin my PCM?

imma_stocker

iTrader: (19)

Assuming when you say voltage goes into the RED you mean Low voltage. If you mean high voltage red we have a very different problem!!

I'm running a $40 used OEM alternator from escalade or whatever junkyard classified it that puts out 140amps.

Zero charging issues. No radio, no fog lights, no high beams, no AC.... really only electronics left are PCM, BCM, headlights, turn signals, tails, some interior lights, and autometer gauges. Rock solid voltage from idle to 7k rpm. Alternators with less than full load are more stable/consistent while excessive load causes heat/erratic issues. Its just an electric field generator driven from a belt so they don't need higher load to operate correctly (unless you're thinking about wet stacking a diesel powered generator which is actually a diesel engine issue not a generator issue).

Belt length is not your problem. Only things hanging on the front of my motor are water pump, 10% UD crank pulley, and alternator on adjustable bracket acting as tensioner. Belt TENSION will cause issues you're describing. Same issues come into play with lack of wrappage as they still let the belt slip.

Voltage and amperage fluctuations can damage electronics and/or battery. Had batteries on my bike that were going out along with the voltage regulator/rectifier, never figured out which was the cause in the end. Battery and VRR went out leaving me in traffic so they got replaced at the same time.
Check your battery under a good load test, I had an Optima replaced under warranty due to bad core and it caused some funky issues. Imagine chasing grounds only to find it was the fairly new battery. At least my engine has 9 or so ground straps now lol Faulty grounds will cause all kinds of problems.

1999ls1sscamaro

It get's low meaning under charging. I thought maybe the gauge was fautly but seeing the dimming of electronic lights proved that theory wrong even though I was going to see what the readings were on HP tuners software or Palmer Performance. If I find out it's the alternator or that delicate one wire that is on top of the alternator is bad what shops or people that are honest in CT or direct me to someone on this forum. I finally got some money from horrible street bike accident from a drunk driver so money isn't really a problem. I usually have done most stuff by myself or my friend but he past away 4 years ago. I hate doing anything electrical unless it's a Harley or Street bike stuff that my best friend taught me before passing away. I hear you man on regulator/rectifiers on older street bikes or Harleys. Owned a few ZX9R's and what a pain and Honda CBR 900 had over charging issues and my boy almost lost his junk from his bike's battery exploded and almost burnt his nads. Nothing worst then being stranded while riding.

I have a horrible feeling all that power steering fluid that dripped on the alternators I had ruined that wire.

imma_stocker

iTrader: (19)

Hydraulic fluid would draw in and settle corrosion. That little wire usually only breaks due to moving after its settled in from heat cycles.

Try this one, unplug from alt and cell phone pic of which pin it uses (I always forget those little details). Look close at all 3 sides of connection: alt plug socket, connector plug in side, and back side where the pin locks in. Clean it with rubbing alcohol regardless then dab it with dielectric grease aka silicone before plugging it back in.

If the wire or connector are broken just grab the replacement connector from local parts store. Its a very simple snip, solder, shrink wrap repair. Be sure to plug the wire into the same pin when you put it back together.

If wire and connector are solid then it could be a break somewhere else in the wire (time consuming to trace).

Hope its not your BCM going out, there's a few threads buried around here for common problems and easy fixes. Replacing the BCM requires some work with the laptop and VATS.

RPM WS6

iTrader: (3)

It doesn't sound like the typical BCM issues to me, those usually involve problems with intermittent interior accessories/controls and such, not poor charging. Regardless, there's no laptop or VATS work needed to replace a BCM as long as you start with a new unit:

https://ls1tech.com/forums/stereo-el...l#post16038149

In addition to checking the exciter wire and connector, I'd recommend making sure that the woven ground strap that runs right near the alternator is not too close to, nor making contact with, the alternator case. My '98 was like this, the ground strap was laying on top of the alternator near the open vents. Under certain conditions (such as engine twist under hard acceleration), that ground strap would drag across the ventilated area of the alternator and somehow upset its operation (I would see quick dips into the red.) After trying several other fixes, including a new alternator, I finally insulated that ground strap and all my issues went away (and have stayed away for over a decade.)

And again, I'd like to stress that belt length (as long as it is properly tight) does not change alternator speed; such is determined only by crank to alternator pulley ratio and engine rpm. However, if the belt is slipping (due to being the wrong length, and/or a weak tensioner) then you could certainly see poor charging during those moments. If your tensioner is original at 168k miles it might be getting weak which, combined with a belt that may or may not be the perfect length for your custom application, could cause some slippage and related charging issues.

DANOZ28

iTrader: (1)

i bought a mechman 150 amp from texas speed , no problems with my alt.

1999ls1sscamaro

You might be right, when my brother and I installed it this weird brown ground cable and the wires in the black plastic shell looks crush when the alternator was installed last year.The single wire is fine but the other two things I stated is kinda squished where the bracket is and back bolt that goes to the block. I will take a pic tomorrow and tell me if it looks incorrect. I don't understand why it would take a year but the wires and brown ground strap looks fine. Car was a little better today as long as I drive it under 2,000RPMS it doesn't dip down in the red. Over that RPM it shoots down and goes back to normal when it goes into a higher gear.

00pooterSS

iTrader: (40)

Changing the belt DOES NOT change anything with the alternator speed. Only changing the drive pulleys (crank or alt pulley) will affect the alt speed.

You may be getting some belt slip though.

I'm with you about rebuilt alternators, click my name and read my alternator thread, its roughly 50 pages long.

1999ls1sscamaro

Yes the ground wire is touching the bracket and alternator and looks squeezed or crushed. It's wedged between the alternator and bracket. I will post a pic later today. I'm thinking my brother and I installed it wrong but why would it take a year or so to go bad.

I moved the wires, added a new belt, tensioner, battery terminals and connections all clean with a metal brush. I think I made it worse, THIS MORNING THE ALTERNATOR GAUGE IS GOING CRAZY! Even at idle or a touch of the gas pedal it goes down in the red.

1999ls1sscamaro