Alternator issues..

[sst]

Ok, my alternator kicks on when I rev the engine up past 2000 rpm.. As of yesterday, the alternator is not kicking on at all - even if I rev up past 3500 rpm..

This a rebuilt alternator I replaced the original alternator with about 3 months ago - I don't think I can pull off the Saturn conversion, so had to go with a rebuild..

Question is.. other than the alternator being shot, are there other issues that could be causing the alternator to NOT kick on? I'd sure like to explore any other issues before pulling that thing out and making use of the "lifetime warranty".. Meaning, sending it back and re-ordering another one..

Thanks..

Son of a .... THATS gonna leave a mark!

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Hey! SST!

First, check for bad connections at the alternator and at the black terminal in the middle of the red battery cable. These corrode badly. It is usually bad diodes in the alternator that cause a unit to fail.

I have two alternators setting under my work bench if you can tell me what the back of yours looks like, I will send you but!

I think you would be a lot happier with the Saturn one. If you can take one out and put it in, you can do this conversion. You can use a stake-on tool and cut wires, Right?

The hardest part of the whole conversion is finding the correct pulley.

Here, go to my download site and get the Alternator.doc file. Read it and you will see that it is fairly easy. I added some notes to the thing when I did mine. The 96 amp unit might not be available anymore so get the 100+ amp one.

Here is the download site URL: [url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/wa/default?user=jclaythompson&templatefn=FileSharing4.html&xmlfn=TKDocument.4.xml&sitefn=RootSite.xml&aff=consumer&cty=US&lang=en"]Clay's Download Site[/url]

Have fun, drive fast & safe, be kewl,

jclay

[sst]

JClay - you da man.. I think the best thing for me to do would be to just shoot a pic of the back of the ALT and email it to you.. I will try to do that after work today..

I've downloaded the alternator.doc from your site.. I'm still not sure I can pull that off, even tho I'm sure I'd be much happier with the Saturn ALT.. I'm like you - any time I can replace something with a non standard part, I'd like to be able to - just not sure I can get all the parts and get them all together for the Saturn..

Thanks JClay - will try to send you a pic later today..
Steve

Son of a .... THATS gonna leave a mark!

[rsamis]

I was going to start a new thread, but my question fits perfectly into this one...
I did the Saturn conversion last year using an alternator from the wrecker (yes, SST, I'm sure you can handle it). After it was done, I started having a battery drain that would make it go dead in a day or two. Using a test light and methods described elsehwere in this forum, I deduced that the leak was going out through one of the two small wires to the alt. I tried driving with the wires reversed, and the result was the alternator quit working completely.

Back to the wreckers for an exchange (bless them), and the second ring of Saturn charges my battery just fine, like the first one did... and the power drain is still there. [:(!] So, have you others with the Saturn alt had this problem? I realize buying a used alt is risky, but two with the same defect seems unlikely. Is there some sort of incompatibility with the wirings of the TR and the Delco?

As a fix I plan to put in an under-dash switch to interrupt the leaky wire when the car is turned off. Any better ideas? Thanks.

Royal
76 FHC, 4-spd, dual Strombergs

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

Hi,

My car has been sitting in the garage for two months now. It had to be moved last Saturday and it started right up, no battery drain. Even with the clock running!

[krewat]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by rsamis</i>

As a fix I plan to put in an under-dash switch to interrupt the leaky wire when the car is turned off. Any better ideas? Thanks.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Put a relay in line with that draining wire to the alternator, that comes on only when the ignition key is ON. Or find some other key-on voltage source. How much of a drain is it in terms of amps? It might be smarter to use a seperately fused relay.

Sounds like the alternator needs an exciter input - as in, it needs a little bit of voltage to start it charging. Funny, eh? An alternator needing voltage to begin providing voltage [:D]

--

I once used a Motorola alternator in my TR7 8-valve that came out of a '81 Rover 3500 (SD1?). Don't remember how I got it mounted up, but I did use the stock mounts, with a spacer... But the Saturn solution might be cheaper overall.

My friend had a Rover 3500, and we went to a swap meet (Carlisle, PA). He found a spare alternator for his Rover, but never used it. One day, the alternator went in my TR7, so I said to myself "Hmm... can't be TOO hard".

It worked. Might have needed a little more amperage for the electric AC fans, but it worked well for everything else.

[marknotgeorge]

<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Century Gothic, Verdana, Arial, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"><i>Originally posted by krewat</i>

Sounds like the alternator needs an exciter input - as in, it needs a little bit of voltage to start it charging. Funny, eh? An alternator needing voltage to begin providing voltage [:D]

<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></font id="quote"></blockquote id="quote">

Alternators DO need a voltage to start charging. That's one of the functions of the battery/ignition light circuit. If the battery light's blown, the alternator won't charge.

Mark, Derby, UK.
'80 DHC Sprint - '95 Vauxhall Astra - '00 Vauxhall Zafira
http://www.marknotgeorge.co.uk - http://www.eggsandantlers.co.uk