alternator

[93vinx]

last nite i was just driving around breaking in the new motor when i noiticed my alt wasn't charging, i swore then started heading home, in a few minutes it came back on and and did this several times more. the gaugae works, it never dropped below 12 volts, optima battery in back,
i checked the battery wires all are tight, today i checked the wire on the back of the alt , tight also, starter wires are tight too, the car cranks kinda hard but starts good. befor the new motor the alternator went out, or maybe so i thought, but now it seems to be doing the same, the part i do not get is the battery light ( the little battery) doesn't come on and from whati under stand this only happens if the regulator goes bad in some certain way. what else could cause my problem?

[93vinx]

thanks guys!!!

[pocket-rocket]

The light comes on any time the alternator is not putting out a charge. Be it bad diodes, windings shot, or regulator. Check your grounds well. I have heard of people having problems with their charging systems after moving the battery to the back, so I have kind of held off on doing it to my car.

[93vinx]

well the alt stilll won't charge sometime, its just goes dead with no batterylight, volts drop and just uses battery, i'm pulling it off today with hopes it is defective, should be a fun project speacially sisnce i just got my wisdom teeth out

[bud36light]

This guy must be a glutton for punishment. Pulling teeth and alternators, which hurts worse?

[Juglenaut]

Do you got AIR... If so check and or replace the Air Relay.

Duh sorry all DOHC bottom mount alts have AIR to cool it.

[RednBlack]

This guy must be a glutton for punishment. Pulling teeth and alternators, which hurts worse?

Dunno which is worse, but he will need a large amount of alcohol at the end of the day. Sux to be him. This may help ease the pain... http://www.60degreev6.com/index.php?p=pages&pid=4

[bud36light]

Man whatever you do do not try and rebuild that thing. Go and buy a quality alt. They for sure last longer. About $175 to $200 would be a good price range. I hadnt looked at the alt page for a while. And still hurts to look.

[RednBlack]

Man whatever you do do not try and rebuild that thing. Go and buy a quality alt. They for sure last longer. About $175 to $200 would be a good price range. I hadnt looked at the alt page for a while. And still hurts to look.

Hurts, but...Lot easier than doing it the GM way though. And I agree, Don't play with a rebuild. The labor involved and time just does not warrant it. (Nice time to check CV joints too)

[93vinx]

wel i don't rebuild them a shop does, i trust the guy, he does all our starters and altsf or my family never had a problemn yet, he uses heavy duty rectifiers also.

[93vinx]

is it possible to getr the alt out the back?>behind the block

[bud36light]

I trusted my guy too. Just look at it and forget about it being " just an altenator" You are into a unique situation here. The dealers charge 6 shop hours to do this job. Follow this sites directions. You can do it. It depends on your " bitch factor " tolerance. You can get thew fucker out the back ifv you drop the cradle down about a foot or so.( Not Recommended tho). Need directions just ask. Everyone here has changed one or two.

[93vinx]

thats a big nope doesn't come out the back unles yopu remove the aluminum bracket, do all lq1's use the same oil pan or did they ever change it?

[93vinx]

lol this isn't my first either i got it out in about 2 hours, its not that big of a deal to me? alt tested bad see what the guy wil do on mondya i'm doing the output shaft seals too and seems like i have a very small leak on my oil pan where the u is on the timing cover, i used a 94 pan could this be why?

[pocket-rocket]

I was the one that came up with that way of changing the alternator, but the pics have not been put in it since the site moved to this server. I think I have the job down to right around an hour now. As for the air to cool it question. 92 on up have an air duct that goes down behind the oil pan to scoop up air to cool the alternator, and the 91's have a tube (if an auto) that comes off a fan that sits by the ECM that blows are on the alternator.