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Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / Maintenance and Repair / December 2005Charging System Problem
Hi, My car is a 1998 Grand Am 4Cyl. I was driving home the other day and the battery light came on. Tested battery and it tested o.k. Started car and and checked if alternator was charging the battery, tester did not register that alt.was charging. I changed the alternator, twice. Still no charge. I was told that the battery needed to be fully charged to 12.6v. I charged the battery, the dash light is still on and the alternator is not charging. I am currently at a stand still, any suggestions??? Thanks Nevets what is the voltage at the battery terminal when the car is runing? what is the volatge at the alt output terminal when the car is running? 13 to 14 is normal... under 13 = not charging over 14 = overcharging Mark 12.2v ---taken shortly (5min+-) after the charger was removed >Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 13 lines] >Thanks >Nevets cables, Nevets. Or you have a fusible link burned out. check the cables from the alt to the batt with an ohmeter. IOW, remove the cables and check them out for corrosion, continuity. Also there might be a MegaFuse somewhere, or something like that, in the circuit that is keeping the ciruit Open. Start with the cables. This ain't rocket science. Get an ohm meter, pull the cables out of the car, test. OR, measure voltage at alt output terminal, and see where you lose it on the way to the battery B+. Lg you dont have an external regulator do you? > >Hi, > > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] > > Lg >you dont have an external regulator do you? It is attached to the outside of the alternator with a few screws. Lg >> >Hi, >> > [quoted text clipped - 27 lines] >> >> Lg > you dont have an external regulator do you? I went to my Alldata account, hoping that my 90 Reatta information might be close enough to the Caddy system to tell me something. For the Reatta there were two types of alternators used, the Bosch system and the Delco. Both seem to have only internal regulators, and neither is computer controlled. Agreed, his may be totally different. IF they are similar, then it seems to me that there must be an issue with (1) connections from alternator back to battery, which would intermittently leave the regulator guessing what to do. Could be multilayer battery cables, glitchy fusible links if applicable, battery terminal to cable contacts, or a battery with a weird internal problem. (2) a bad regulator. I pulled the general lists of GM TSB's, but found nothing exactly like his problem. Low voltage gripes, yes, but not varying voltages. Maybe someone else with better access to these particular resources can help. > Hi, > [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > > I am currently at a stand still, any suggestions??? When you changed the alternator, you should have taken the old alternator to an auto parts store that has an alternator tester, then before buying a new alternator, they would have tested the old one to make sure it was indeed broken, and tested the new one to make sure it worked before you left the store. If you happened to buy your replacement alternator at an auto parts store that did NOT have an alternator tester, then you probably went to a "consumer grade" auto parts store, not a "professional grade" auto parts store, where the parts may be cheap but they have a high failure rate. It's not uncommon for people to go back 2 or 3 times to such places before getting a working alternator/starter/water pump/etc. etc. etc. Ted |
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