The fix for my endless alternator failure's
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Memphis, TN
btw i took the exciter wire and clip off of my old alternator and put it on the new one just plug and play .... i didnt have to do anything special did i or jump a diffrent pin? which pin was supposed to be jumped it was the second one from the place where the terminals mount.....
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Memphis, TN
i also did the big 3 while i was at it .... but i didnt put a fuse like others did .. in all my cars i do the big 3 and have never had a problem without a fuse .... just want to get this annyoing *** problem fixed
Well fellas, I've experienced the same issues as stated by the OP. I did the big3, got a new battery, new tensioners, belt, also a KG3 Alternator and I'm still experiencing the same problem. The car is a 2000 m6 camaro ss with heads and cam. No underdrive pulley, no smog or air pump, disconnected my amp to my highs. I've checked every ground (even those behind the head) on the car and even piggybacked the engine ground strap with a 0gauge. I've checked all the fuses (interior and engine bay) and nothing is blown or blackened. The car starts up great and the volts are at about 14.5, gradually the volts creep down as the car warms up until just above 13v then comes the bouncing gauge that I was originally getting. I noticed when the fans kick on the volts start to bounce, is there an inline fuse I'm missing?... I'm at a loss right now, I'm not sure what the next step to take would be... Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Can someone tell me what to look at next? I put my battery in the rear of the car, and used 1/0 welding wire from the battery to the fuse box, ran 4 guage from the batt to the alt, and then another 4 guage from the fuse box to the starter. Start the car up cold, its up around 13, soon as I hit the brakes or anything it drops. I swapped alts for another stock, didn't work and I came across this thread, I went today and purchased a 145 amp alt off a 05 silverado, still same prob. I checked my ground in the rear, seems ok. It is mounted on the rear seatbelt mount. I am running a redtop optima. Any info would help, I am at a lost.
I have no idea why, it sounds like a short somewhere, maybe some wiring that shorts or stretches when the engine twists one way from being in reverse and not in drive, but I do know that until you start looking you won't find it. This is one of those problems that you are just going to have to start hunting down wiring and looking for anything abnormal. Also try checking the connection at the fuse box like I stated earlier, my Saturn would chime and shut off at times also and when I cleaned the connection at the fuse box the problem went away.
Last edited by 00pooterSS; Jun 29, 2011 at 04:23 PM.
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Memphis, TN
good point will investigate once i get off from work.......this is the weirdest problem ive seen !! another set of questions..... how can i tell if the alternator is actually working?
also where does the gauge on the dash get its reading from and is it accurate ? once i turn on my HIDS...the meter actually rises.... um nooo more strain and the meter should go lower!!! i must have a short then..anyone seen that happen
also where does the gauge on the dash get its reading from and is it accurate ? once i turn on my HIDS...the meter actually rises.... um nooo more strain and the meter should go lower!!! i must have a short then..anyone seen that happen
Yes I do have an underdrive, and i also have the smaller pulley on the alt as well. So Should I run another wire to my starter? I am running 4 guage wire now. And I wired it as per a diagramn in the drag race section I believe.
Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Memphis, TN
so i redid the ground from the block to the chasis cleaned up the terminals triple checked all connections and ....NOTHING..... i jacked up the car from the rear put it in reverse and floored it and the problem dosent happen i put the car on the ground and sure enough it does ...must be flexing or the tq converter messes up and kills the car..anyway the damn volt gague indash goes up when i turn my hids on.....i have the standard 35 watt kit.....maybe i need a ground kit? any insight would help
And on the alternator pulley, is it an underdrive or overdrive on the alternator, they make both. I understand you have a underdrive on the crankshaft, that can cause voltage drop at idle, and so can the alternator UNDERdrive, the alt OVERdrive pulley is supposed to make up for the reduced speed caused by installing an underdrive crankshaft pulley. Some people have issues with underdrive pulleys causing voltage drop at idle, others don't...
so i redid the ground from the block to the chasis cleaned up the terminals triple checked all connections and ....NOTHING..... i jacked up the car from the rear put it in reverse and floored it and the problem dosent happen i put the car on the ground and sure enough it does ...must be flexing or the tq converter messes up and kills the car..anyway the damn volt gague indash goes up when i turn my hids on.....i have the standard 35 watt kit.....maybe i need a ground kit? any insight would help
Other than that I don't know, your problem is abnormal and just can't be diagnosed on the internet with the little bit of info you have, try starting a thread about it, that will help more than posting here. It will get more attention if it is it's own post, you may need to take it to a mechanic though.
Here are some ideas though: Did you check wiring to the fuse panel? Did you verify the erratic voltage with a voltmeter at the battery and at the alternator or are you relying on your voltmeter in the guage cluster. Have you looked up and down the wiring loom under the hood and around the transmission for frayed/shorted wiring? Have you checked to make sure you alternator case is grounded well with an ohm meter? These are all things you need to check plus some..
But again, you would get better help if you started a thread about your specific problem.
LS1 Tech Stories
The Best V8 Stories One Small Block at Time
Gas Monkey Built a 6-Wheel Ferrari Testarossa With a Corvette LT4 Engine
Verdad Gallardo
7 Most Reliable High-Performance Engines GM Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
Amazing '71 Camaro Restomod Is Modern Muscle Car Under the Skin
Verdad Gallardo
6 Common C5 Corvette Failures and What's Involved In Repairing Them
Pouria Savadkouei
Retro Modern Bandit Pontiac Trans AM Comes With Burt Reynolds' Autograph
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Greatest Cadillac V Series Performance Models Ever, Ranked
Pouria Savadkouei
Top 10 Most Powerful Chevy Trucks Ever Made!
Hennessey's New Supercharged Silverado ZR2 Has 700 HP
Verdad Gallardo
Coachbuilt N2A Anteros Is an LS2-Powered C6 Corvette In Italian Clothes
Verdad Gallardo Staging Lane
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 61
Likes: 0
From: Memphis, TN
actually my exciter wire was long enough with plenty of room to spare the clip on the alternator is on the top of the alternator closer to the drivers side .... and its not loosei will try to giggle that wire
the voltage does not change tho, when I am in the throttle. I even did this with my headlights at night. No change, I have been advised that the gauges are not at all correct, my thing is, it didn't do this until I moved my battery. The pulley that I am running on the alt, is a lot smaller than stock.
the voltage does not change tho, when I am in the throttle. I even did this with my headlights at night. No change, I have been advised that the gauges are not at all correct, my thing is, it didn't do this until I moved my battery. The pulley that I am running on the alt, is a lot smaller than stock.
Edit: Almost sounds like you have a connection breaking down. I would take a spare piece of wire and run it from the alternator to the fuse panel lug and see if it changes anything. I would start there.
Oh and sorry DVOW is Digital-Volt-Ohm-Meter, in other words a volt meter.
Can someone tell me what to look at next? I put my battery in the rear of the car, and used 1/0 welding wire from the battery to the fuse box, ran 4 guage from the batt to the alt, and then another 4 guage from the fuse box to the starter. Start the car up cold, its up around 13, soon as I hit the brakes or anything it drops. I swapped alts for another stock, didn't work and I came across this thread, I went today and purchased a 145 amp alt off a 05 silverado, still same prob. I checked my ground in the rear, seems ok. It is mounted on the rear seatbelt mount. I am running a redtop optima. Any info would help, I am at a lost.
I would think it would work just as well if not better if you took that 4 guage that runs from the batt to the alternator and hook it to the starter instead, and I would take the wire you have hooked to the starter and hook it to the alternator. This way the starter is hooked directly to the battery, the alternator directly to the fuse panel lug that powers everything in the car, and the battery will be charged by the 1/0 wire that is hooked to the fuse panel.
It's a shoot from the hip idea so if something I typed didn't make sense that's why.
On The Tree
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 108
Likes: 0
From: Ft. Lee, VA
I would hook up a voltgauge to the battery and watch and see if the voltage does fluctuate or maybe the gauge is just going retarded, start there first. It could still be a faulty radiator. Did you check the connector that connects to the fuse box? My Saturn did some weird things because of a bad connection there.
I have hooked up a multimeter and yes it did fluctuate after warming up at the battery. The fuse power source could be the problem, since i've done mostly everything else possible to hunt this problem down, it would only make sense to replace that power wire also. I'll post the results on here over the weekend once i can get my hands on it.
I just replaced the pigtail on mine, if you wanted to do the whole wire you would have to open up the wiring harness, trace it to the computer, pull the pin out of the socket at the computer and re-run the wire.
I got a pigtail at NAPA, I wouldn't be as concerned with the entire wire as I would the pigtail. And if you wanted to replace the whole thing, you would have to go buy a pigtail and get your own wire and pin to re-run it anyway since you can't buy just one wire, you have to buy the entire harness.
I got a pigtail at NAPA, I wouldn't be as concerned with the entire wire as I would the pigtail. And if you wanted to replace the whole thing, you would have to go buy a pigtail and get your own wire and pin to re-run it anyway since you can't buy just one wire, you have to buy the entire harness.
https://ls1tech.com/forums/generatio...lternator.html
my monster alt install is complete......chek it out
my monster alt install is complete......chek it out