Thought i may have posted in the wrong area so i am moving my post to here..... Ok I got a situation going on....... so my Alt light started coming on now an then, not only at stop light but also at cruise speed on the highway, volt gauge dancing all over the place and everything. changed the alt to new one with the same result in the end. Decided to go with a 1 wire GM type which i have hooked up now..... the alt light only comes on now when i switch the car on but is off when the motor is running so i am sure that it should work if the alt went out (I hope)...... but my volt gauge is still all over the place.... at idel its at like 14.5-15, at cruise it verys between 11/12 - 14.5/15 and that with everything off... lights, wipers, radio ect... once i turn on any acc. its all over the place again and i can see my head lights surging if i drive at night. I have a stero with a amp and with bass thump my volt guage shows it. the reason why i am concerned not is that it did'nt do that in the past..... it was always smooth and pretty much stuck on 14.5/15 at the volt meter. All the normal acc. except for MSD box and blistor coil Stero with amp, 2-6x9, 2-5" speakers and 1-8" subwoofer I have my volt guage pluged in at the fuse box, should i have it hooked at a different location? (any suggestions?) Alt. grounded to the engine block, Alt connected to the Pos side of the Starter solenoid..... Any suggestions or help would be great!!!!
Does the 1-wire alternator have a self-exciting regulator or did you have to connect a trigger wire from the alt light? If it's self-exciting the alt light won't warn you of a failure. It sounds like yours has a trigger wire but it isn't turning on the regulator. Check the voltage at that wire with the key on. Make sure the alternator case, spacer, and engine block are free of paint so the case has a good ground where the large top bolt goes. I used a file on mine. A common problem is the ground wire between the battery (-) post and the engine block. Make sure the cable is in good condition and the connections are clean and tight. The volt meter should connect to the battery (+).
