Thread: Alternator...maybe?

Hey everyone, my car has 232k on it, but the engine has been replaced and every connection has been cleaned (during engine install). Lately I've noticed my lights dimming a bit more than usual, and it's been getting worse. I have my charge wire (from alternator to fuse box stud) and ground wires upgraded, along with extra grounds from the battery to the body and from the body to the block. Also, I have the DIY alternator booster installed. The more the load, the more often it dims, mainly when I'm stopping. I can feel\hear the blower motor slow down, and see all the lights dim, and if I make ABS do something, they dim more.

I have no clue if this thing had been replaced or not so it could very well have 232k on it. My voltage at idle seems to hover around 14.5v, but whenever this happens, it happens so quick I don't see the voltage drop on torque pro. A friend of mine had an extra alternator I'm going to try today, but I was wondering if there is anything else you guys think it could be?

Oh yea, I forgot to mention, the Battery was replaced with the engine as well. Not to say it can't be bad either, I just forgot to mention it. Thanks! I'll have it checked while I have the car apart.

all cars seem to get a dip the electrical system power when coming to a idle. i hear my fan slow down too. as long as the battery stays charged its part of life in my book.

It definitely doesn't seem normal to me, but it might be. I'll try my friend's alternator for awhile, he's waiting on a new engine so he won't be using it very soon, lol. Should I need to replace the alternator, are there any higher output versions I can swap in? Don't the Bonneville's have a 125 amp alternators?

you can do a swap. or have yours rebuild wth the upgraded parts to up its out put. the parts are like 40 bucks, but you need a press to get the alt a part, seen vids, looks easy enough, the press is the tool you need to have. i dont have one lol

mine is doing this very same thing actually. replacing the battery did nothing.

Yea, no press here either, so I'd probably try a JY alternator to tell ya the truth. I have better luck with OEM parts than rebuilds or Chinese junk. I don't think it's the battery either, but I will have it checked either way, just to be safe. Based off of the condition of the rest of the car when I got it, the alt has most likely never been replaced before.

well do let us know if this corrects the issue please!

Originally Posted by Booba5185

Yea, no press here either, so I'd probably try a JY alternator to tell ya the truth. I have better luck with OEM parts than rebuilds or Chinese junk. I don't think it's the battery either, but I will have it checked either way, just to be safe. Based off of the condition of the rest of the car when I got it, the alt has most likely never been replaced before.

i had mine rebuilt at a local starter and alt re builder, cost 80 bucks. they can up grade it for you im sure. came with a warranty and cost way less then the parts stores.

just google for your local re builders, they are out there.

A JY alt is a hit or miss you never know how long the cars been sitting outside in the yard. If you pick one up from the parts store better believe your getting a rebuilt unit 9/10 times that was just disassembled rebuilt,, painted and thrown in a box. The same thing can be done by a rebuilder. I paid $90 to have mine completely rebuilt w/ a 2 year warranty then I powdercoated the casing and sure beats the hell out of paying Advance $250+ for essentially the same thing.

support your local re builder lol if it fails hes right there for you to complain to, face to face.

I'll have to see if Springfield has a rebuilder, I know there isn't one around me, my town has 3,000 people in it... Aren't there people that put CS144 alternators on these cars? Those things put out like 110 amps at idle, that'd be great, lol.

http://www.accurateelectricinc.biz

http://www.grandprixforums.net/showthread.php?t=84037

http://www.grandprixforums.net/showthread.php?t=83927

Awesome, I had seen them before (just hadn't looked them up in awhile), but I'm trying to find out which cars\trucks\vehicles would have the 3 ear CS144. I've seen a few of the CS144's that only have 2 ears, 180 degrees apart so it wouldn't work. I take it the wiring is plug and play? Aside from the heavier charge wire of course.

Also, what do you guys think of the DIY alternator boost? I've had it for some time, and I do notice it's benefits, but could it be causing this problem at all? My idle voltage is typically 14.6 or so.

In all fairness, I noticed the voltage issue. Had a volt booster layin around, threw it in. And it went up maybe .3 volts. Which is what it's supposed to do. But when it dips down to 12.0 it doesn't really matter lol

This is true, this is true, lol. It increases voltage, not amperage, lol. I have it apart now and found that my horizontal mounting bolt was stripped, so that might have something to do with it. I'm headed out to buy a bolt and nut to replace it now. I'll probably still use my old alternator, the spare alt I have has noisy bearings, but it might just be a leaf in there or something.

No change with the bolt installed, so I swapped it out to the spare alternator and so far so good. After putting the bolt on I started the car (with the old alternator), set up all the settings on my head unit (which is actually a lot, 3 crossovers, 2 EQs, etc.) then put it into gear and the blower motor slowed way down and the lights dimmed. I tapped the gas and it all brightened back up. Pissed off, I shut the car off, and swapped the alternators in 13 minutes (remember, I had to set the time on my head unit), and did the exact same test. The blower motor stayed steady, and the lights only dim when I have the stereo turned up quite a bit, which is to be expected. Looks like a CS144 upgrade is in my future!

nice. I test my alt output today with a multi meter and it was just a hair higher than what the aeroforce said. so if aero was at say 12.2 it would be at .4 or .5. either way, alt output should be ~14.5