charging woes partII

[tim eh?]

Time to wade into this one I think...

Thanks very much Ferret... was just doing a lot of this just now, I'm getting better at the multimeter. Actually I have two now... one works well, the other doesn't work on the 10A setting (errr... is there an embarrassed smilie?) but it still comes in handy...

I do have an aftermarket stereo head unit and cd changer but nothing and it never gave me trouble in my old car, also it worked fine with the old alternator.

The reason why the fuse kept blowing on the meter is because something resets itself every time i connect it so there is a surge of about 2A it looks like upon contact with the terminals with the 10A tester (normal i hope?). After that drops (takes a second or so) I can connect the <315mA tester, then remove the 10A tester and get a decent reading.

The overnight voltage drop was still there but keep in mind the little terminal was still connected... sure did suck doing that at 4am this morning with a flashlight.... got covered in rustproofing again oh god i hate that stuff.

here's what i got today on the draw test today...

everything connected ... 500mA
...glovebox closed (d'oh!) ...150mA

main terminal on alternator removed... 150mA
small terminal on alternator removed... 20mA

aha!

so i reconnected the alternator... 20mA wtf?

so that's all i had time for if i wanted to get it tested today, so i took it out and told the guy to make sure he let it heat up for a while before he tested it... hope to get it back today.

i'm guessing the alternator develops a short when it warms up which goes away if it's disconnected for a bit... definitely a guess....

so... assuming it's the alt, do i piss around with another a/m alternator or do i tell these guys to stuff it and go to someone who sells bosch? - quite a price difference... paid around $270 for this one (...these ones i mean) IIRC bosch would set me back around $450 i think.

bmg- when you finally get a good one does it STAY good???

in hindsight guess i should have changed the regulator and brushes on the old (bosch ) one but it really crapped out 100% and it was very old and covered in road ick.

noob question #godonlyknows... can i put a hella/bosch regulator/brushes on an aftermarket alternator?


*-oh yeah, almost forgot.. when i reconnected the battery after removing the alternator the craziest thing happened, I think it's just a freak thing and not related though. The locks just kept opening and closing like they were possessed, up/down/up/down really fast. I looked at all of them they weren't stuck or anything just locking and unlocking perfectly in sync. I didn't want to jam anything so I disconnected the battery, trying to time it with them being open but i timed it badly and they stopped on 'locked'. I was worried b/c I have never been able to use the manual unlock on these doors (managed it on my old original doors). Anyway, when i reconnected the battery they stayed locked but thankfully the key worked.... freaked me out! I think my car is possessed... it eats alternators...
then it laughs at me...

[tim eh?]

damn

tests come back all good

for now i can drive the car as far as the battery will take me, I'm supposed to call back tomorrow and maybe get the same alternator back. they're in walking distance at least... how much fun do y'all think I'm having?

maybe the charge light wire could be shorting against something... (?)

... fusible link? no way right?


*- as far as the battery goes... took it to my regular indie and hooked it up to the big yellow machine - i don't know what they jack out of it but it stayed above 11v and he said it could only be bad if it went near 10.5v or so... so battery? no way right?

[bad_manners_god]

It's a defective alternator...believe me now?

[Ferret]

Hmm, bmg may be right here, but there's something bugging me.

The initialise/field line (the small alt wire) should NOT be live while the car's shut off, hence it shouldnt be able to leak current.

With everything off, unplug the small alternator connector and measure the voltage on it, relative to ground/bodywork/engine block. Your alternator warning lamp does light up when you have the key in pos2 with the engine not running doesnt it? (It shouldnt while the alternator is out of the car!)

Send it back and get a replacement under warantee, it cant do any harm!

[tim eh?]

bmg i totally believe you, it's just it's the second one i've sent back and they are telling me it's ok. (i still believe you, i have to convince them)

Hmm, bmg may be right here, but there's something bugging me.

The initialise/field line (the small alt wire) should NOT be live while the car's shut off, hence it shouldnt be able to leak current.

With everything off, unplug the small alternator connector and measure the voltage on it, relative to ground/bodywork/engine block. Your alternator warning lamp does light up when you have the key in pos2 with the engine not running doesnt it? (It shouldnt while the alternator is out of the car!)

Send it back and get a replacement under warantee, it cant do any harm!

There was no overnight voltage drop with the alternator out (battery terminals connected).

20mA draw this morning (alternator still out).

I measured voltage at the alternator leads to ground. (alternator still out)
- main lead reads same as battery
- small lead reads zero

The warning lamp was functioning with the alternator in. (on in pos2 pre-ignition otherwise off) With the alternator out the lamp does not funtion.

How do I test that there are no shorts in those circuits... i think i just okayed the main circuit but how do i check for problems in the small wire?

I guess I'll try and talk them into giving me another one, man this is soooo brutal but I'm happy to have discovered the problem sooner rather than later. The guy at the parts store tells me his guy says it's ok and I'm going to talk to them both today... I guess I just tell them everything...

fusible link... no way right? no way it gets hot and then restricts current? i guess that doesn't explain the battery drain...

[Ferret]

bmg i totally believe you, it's just it's the second one i've sent back and they are telling me it's ok. (i still believe you, i have to convince them)



There was no overnight voltage drop with the alternator out (battery terminals connected).

20mA draw this morning (alternator still out).

I measured voltage at the alternator leads to ground. (alternator still out)
- main lead reads same as battery
- small lead reads zero

The warning lamp was functioning with the alternator in. (on in pos2 pre-ignition otherwise off) With the alternator out the lamp does not funtion.

How do I test that there are no shorts in those circuits... i think i just okayed the main circuit but how do i check for problems in the small wire?

I guess I'll try and talk them into giving me another one, man this is soooo brutal but I'm happy to have discovered the problem sooner rather than later. The guy at the parts store tells me his guy says it's ok and I'm going to talk to them both today... I guess I just tell them everything...

fusible link... no way right? no way it gets hot and then restricts current? i guess that doesn't explain the battery drain...

Before you return it, just do me one favour....

Switch everything off in the car, pull the small wire off the back of the alternator and measure to see if there's any voltage from it to ground there. It's still nagging at me that your fault may be voltage leaking onto this line from somewhere - at which point it would be natural for your alternator to sink the current.

EDIT: Just spotted that you already have. Your alternator's totally shot, backwards leaking current.

[Tiger]

Who did you buy the alternator from?

[Ross]

The locks jumping around tells me you have a problem there. maybe an actuator failing. Naw not on one of these cars.

[tim eh?]

thanks ferret

Who did you buy the alternator from?

bought it at 'Pieces St-Henri', it's a 'DNS 2000' this is the sheet that came with it.

The locks jumping around tells me you have a problem there. maybe an actuator failing. Naw not on one of these cars.

no, i think it's possessed.

[Tiger]

Take it to autozone and similar... have them tested there.