Alternator /charging problems.

[Bass J]

Basically ive got a problem with my alternator ...to which i thought it was a ground ..so i took all connections off last weekend ..noticed a connection for my power wire(for battery/starter) crimp had snapped ..so i went down to a car parts place ..all they could give me was a car amp wiring kit ..so i used the power lead(with inline fuse). for it.

In a nutshell my power wiring consists of a big power lead going to a 1 into 3 junction box ..one power goes to dash loom...one power to starter motor and one power to the alternator( if i remember ..was a long time ago) ..the wire i changed was the wire to the alternator as the crimp snapped).

Now here's my problem ..while doing this i found a yellow wire coming from the alternator which was brocken ..so i crimped it up and put it on the positive terminal on the alternator.

I have a problem basically when the engines running the positive terminal glows orange/red. It started charging the battery as i checked on the multimeter ..but as soon as the car warmed up it stopped charging.

Sorry for rambling ..has anyone any idea's?

Ive ran a ground from the alternator to the block ..also have a ground from bulkhead to the alternator bracket so ive ruled out the grounds lol.

Could it be that my cable is the wrong grade?

[Os8472]

:eek: er you put the yellow wire to the positive terminal, thats ya problem, it should go to the connector at the top of the alt next to the purple wire

[Bass J]

ah! ...would this be the reason it aint charging then?

[Os8472]

more than likely, with luck you haven't damaged the alt or the wiring loom

[Bass J]

luckily i aint using a 5gtt loom ..its more a custom loom ..only wires going to it is a power wire and a power for my manual fan switch (temporary this is before i get slated lol) ..so any wire can be replaced if it has been damaged :)

[Bass J]

has anyone any pics of how the wires go on the alternator? ...as ill be fixing these wires at the weekend.

Cheers :)

[Kris M]

grotty pic i know, but any good ???

http://www.rtoc.org/boards/album.php?albumid=53&pictureid=10615

[Bass J]

see the yellow wire coming from the top ...ive got mine going to the positive connection on the alternator and the positive connection on the alternator is glowing red(ie going hot) when the engines running.

Any idea's? ..also it isnt charging ...could this be the grade of cable im using for my alternator power wire?

[Spooky]

The yellow wire is the 12v feed for the regulator in alternator, purple is for the dash light.

[Bass J]

back in a mo ..ill go take pics of my alternator wiring (its dark tho ..ill try me best LOL)

[Bass J]

excuse my ****ty paint skills lol ....i tried me best :laugh:

here's a pic (it was dark as hell ...had to use a torch) -
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e167/Bass777/Wire.jpg

Is this ok?

[Nick k]

Wtf!!! :d

[Bass J]

ahaha ...aye it really is a crap drawing :laugh::laugh:

[old skool turbo power]

tbh its best to try and get a pic in the daylight then it will be alot easier for ppl to try and see what your problem is.the haynes manual drawings are pretty simple to understand.funny pic though:laugh:

[Kris M]

Bass, Nick is going to give you a bit more of a better answer than this in a moment but........That yellow wire of your IS supposed to go to the posotive terminal. It comes from within the alt somewhere and bolts to the Posotive terminal. Dont get confused with the other yellow wire that is the 12v ign supply that goes onto the spade connecter at the top of the alt along with the purple dash warning light wire

[Kris M]

BTW, what have you got attached to the two spade connecters on the top of the alt ?? I cant see any wires. The alt wont charge if it doesnt get a 12v supply to the yellow wire when you turn the ign on. I think you have a wireing fault elsewhere if your terminal is glowing red hot !

[Nick k]

Look at Kris M photo of his alternator.

The "Said wire" comes from the reg inside the alternator and goes on to the + terminal of the alternator. There should also be a red wire to the battery. and a grey from the battery to the starter. (Hence your amp kit)

There should be black wires on the (-) terminal of the alternator and they go down the the engine block below the oil filter the bolt to the block. other earth runs from below water pump to bulk head near washer bottle.

The 2 terminal on the top of the alternator. You should have a seperate yellow wire for ignition + to tell the alternator to charge when the engine is running and a purple wire that runs back to the clocks to tell you if its not charging.

If the terminal is glowing when its running i would say its not tight or there is a short somewhere and its pulling a **** load of current through that terminal.

There should also be some other wires on the alternator too for the rad fan if they are there

Enjoy;)

[Bass J]

Sorry about the crap pic last nite folks :laugh::laugh::laugh:

Basically ground wise ..i have one from alternator to the block ..and one from the altenator bracket to the bulkhead .

Power wise ..one for the manual fan switch and a power going to a splitter box.

My explination of the box is one massive power lead coming from back of the car from the battery to the junction box ..which then splits the connections into 3 powers.
One goes to alternator..one goes to starter ..and another goes to the dash loom.

Here's a pic of my alternator -
http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e167/Bass777/Photo0096.jpg

The yellow crimp bits are to fix a brocken connection on the yellow wire im talking about (goes to alternator power terminal).

Its weird as ive never had charging problems untill now ..its a recon'd unit and ive hardly used the car ...i got it recon'd before last years FCS.

[Tony Walker]

That main positive wire certainly doesnt look like its got the amperage rating to run all the components that are drawn through the alty? I'd double that wire up.
the problems probably made worse when using lights/rad fan/ rear window demister, and/or a low battery. the alty probably pushes out around 60amps

[Bass J]

Just seen this ..since this thread ive had no problems with it since sorting it :laugh: