Alternator/Ground Strap/dead battery question...
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Alternator/Ground Strap/dead battery question... Hey all. Fired up my LS1 swap again last night. It was weak cranking the first few times. Then i relized I forgot to hook up a ground wire. So I hooked that up and it fired right off. I let it run for a few minutes...then shut it down. Started it back up again...let it run... Then shut it down. Waited a little while...went to start it back up, and got a very slow crank then nothing.
Now...I dont have my voltmeter in the dash hooked up yet...so I dont know if it was charging or not. My question is about the ground strap that is on the driver's side of the engine. Does anyone know if I dont have that hooked up...will the alt still charge? its not hooked up right now. I plan to find/make a spot for it this afternoon. I was just curious if that would cause teh alt to not charge the battery. I have the alt plugged in with the 1-wire plug. And the battery wire is attached to it. So the only thing left is that ground strap.
Any ideas??? Im also getting the battery charged and tested today to make sure its in good shape. Thanks!
justin
Now...I dont have my voltmeter in the dash hooked up yet...so I dont know if it was charging or not. My question is about the ground strap that is on the driver's side of the engine. Does anyone know if I dont have that hooked up...will the alt still charge? its not hooked up right now. I plan to find/make a spot for it this afternoon. I was just curious if that would cause teh alt to not charge the battery. I have the alt plugged in with the 1-wire plug. And the battery wire is attached to it. So the only thing left is that ground strap.
Any ideas??? Im also getting the battery charged and tested today to make sure its in good shape. Thanks!
justin
i had the same problem man my ground came off and i didnt realize it then my battery kept dieing and i was like what the hell then i got the alternator and the battery checked both were fine then i when i hooked the alternator back up i saw the ground and totally forget that it wasnt connected hooked it back up and never had a problem with it again good luck man
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Cool. And it was the same ground that Im talking about?? The one that is a flat strap on the driverside of the engine??? I think Im going to just try a self drilling/tapping bolt into the "frame rail". See if that does the trick.
J.
J.
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Ok...I just hooked up that ground strap. Still nothing. Start the car and it stays right at 12.xx volts. How long does it take for the alt to begin charging?? It should be right away right??
I pulled the connector off the back of the alt. and measured for voltage with the engine off and with the engine running. But I didnt get any reading. Im supposed to have 12v there right???
Ok...so now Im stuck. That red wire comes right from the PCM doesnt it? Or does it go somewhere else first? About the only thing I can think to do is do a continuity check on the wire to see if its broken somewhere.. which I hope it isnt after I finally had my wiring routed nicely.
Anyone have anymore input??? Please???
Justin
I pulled the connector off the back of the alt. and measured for voltage with the engine off and with the engine running. But I didnt get any reading. Im supposed to have 12v there right???
Ok...so now Im stuck. That red wire comes right from the PCM doesnt it? Or does it go somewhere else first? About the only thing I can think to do is do a continuity check on the wire to see if its broken somewhere.. which I hope it isnt after I finally had my wiring routed nicely.
Anyone have anymore input??? Please???
Justin
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Well...asusual... I got all excited and posted before I used my head and checked everything out. I even gave speartech a quick call. Im not sure who I talked to...but they helped me out. I wasnt sure if the wire for the alt went right to the PCM or not... Well I went out and did a continuity test on that little red wire. The wire was bad about 1cm away from the plug.
So I took the plug apart, "un-crimped" the little insert, soldered on a new wire, soldered and heat shrinked it back together. I gave it alittle extra wire too so it wasnt so tight.
And viola!! 14.5 volts at the gauge...and at the battery. All is well!
Thanks!
Justin
So I took the plug apart, "un-crimped" the little insert, soldered on a new wire, soldered and heat shrinked it back together. I gave it alittle extra wire too so it wasnt so tight.
And viola!! 14.5 volts at the gauge...and at the battery. All is well!
Thanks!
Justin
