I bought a rebuilt, upgraded 3g alternator off of Ebay a while ago. I finally got the rest of my new battery cables so tonight I went to install the alternator. I did alternator -> 200A fuse -> + solenoid. I also attached the exciter wire (green, correct?) to the battery cable post. I left the idiot light wire (yellow, correct?) dangling.
The way to check if an alternator is charging is by checking the voltage of the battery before starting the car, then after starting. Somewhere between 12-13v when it's off, and somewhere between 13-14v when it's on... right?
I have 12.2v when it's off, 11.7 when it's on. That looks to me like the alternator isn't charging. I get perfect continuity from the alternator battery cable post to the positive terminal on the battery, so it's nothing in the cables. That means it's the alternator, isn't it? Is there any other way I can test the alternator without throwing one of the $$$ testers on it? My job has one but I know they won't let me bring it home, and the car isn't street legal currently.
To me it looks like I have a defective alternator. Does anyone have any ideas? Unless there's any other way to check it at home, I'm going to have to e-mail the seller and see if he'll back his "1 year full replacement warranty".
The way to check if an alternator is charging is by checking the voltage of the battery before starting the car, then after starting. Somewhere between 12-13v when it's off, and somewhere between 13-14v when it's on... right?
I have 12.2v when it's off, 11.7 when it's on. That looks to me like the alternator isn't charging. I get perfect continuity from the alternator battery cable post to the positive terminal on the battery, so it's nothing in the cables. That means it's the alternator, isn't it? Is there any other way I can test the alternator without throwing one of the $$$ testers on it? My job has one but I know they won't let me bring it home, and the car isn't street legal currently.
To me it looks like I have a defective alternator. Does anyone have any ideas? Unless there's any other way to check it at home, I'm going to have to e-mail the seller and see if he'll back his "1 year full replacement warranty".
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