Alternator belt ? URGENT!!!

[MilTownSHO]

I just replaced the alternator on my 92. Stood out in the cold and snow for hours...but anyhow my question is... When driving I can hear the climate control kicking (the fan) soft than harder and back and forth, the lights also will be dimmer until I hit the gas.

Is this the belt needing to be tightened more? Uncorrect torque on the pulley bolt?

One other thing it might be, is the ground broke to the alternator bolt, so we had to use a new connector, and since we were outside in the cold for hours, we electrical tapped the **** out of it. Could possibly be a unstable ground?

<small>[ January 25, 2004, 09:16 PM: Message edited by: MilTownSHO ]</small>

 

[Mr Anonymous]

Uh, that's not a ground, that's the B+ lead that powers the car and charges the battery. You might want to repair it properly with a new ring lug and that may solve your problem.

<small>[ January 25, 2004, 08:14 PM: Message edited by: Mr. Anonymous ]</small>

 

[MilTownSHO]

Mr. Anonymous:
You might want to repair it properly with a new ring lug and that may solve your problem.

There is a new ring lug on it, sorry if I did not point that out before. I want to solder it in the near future, but the situation prevented that from happening today...

 

[MilTownSHO]

UPDATE!

I all the sudden happened to think, maybe I didn't put the plug back into the alternator, so I popped the hood, and sure enough it was unplugged. Plugged it back in, restarted the car, now I have a battery light. Give it a little revs and it goes away, it stayed on for about a block, then it's been fine since, so maybe my battery is just recharging and the alternator isn't putting enough out at idle? shrug

<small>[ January 25, 2004, 09:14 PM: Message edited by: MilTownSHO ]</small>

 

[rangerj]

Miltown,

If you drove the car without the alternator plugged in you ran off of the battery. Get the battery recharged.

If you let the alternator recharge the battery it will shorten the life of the alt. If you have a battery charger throw a trickle charge on the battery overnight.

That may solve your batt light problem. rangerj

 

[MilTownSHO]

rangerj:
Miltown,

If you drove the car without the alternator plugged in you ran off of the battery. Get the battery recharged.

I can't believe it was running off the battery alone as I had to jump the car to get it to start.

What exactly does that plug do besides the battery light?

 

[Bizzy]

MilTownSHO:
What exactly does that plug do besides the battery light?

It powers the car along and keeps the battery charged. wink The battery light is just an indicator that the battery isn't getting charged properly by the alternator and is running low on juice.

 

[autobahnsho]

rangerj:
Miltown,

If you let the alternator recharge the battery it will shorten the life of the alt. rangerj

Why is this, exactly?

(I'm into the geeky tech stuff... )

 

[rangerj]

Autobahnsho,

GEEKY TECH STUFF??? GEEKY,-----tech stuff???

HUH, Bizzy, should I be offended here?

Every alternator, new or rebuilt, I have ever installed came with instructions that said the battery should be checked for a full charge.

The instructions stated further that using the alternator to charge a battery with a low charge would be detrimental to the life of the alternator.

As to WHY this is so, I do not know, but if the manufacturers and the rebuilders all say so, I'll take their word for it. Maybe one of the forum members with indepth ELECTRICAL DEVICE knowledge will explain it to us. SHOZ123 you out there?

Autobahn, you should have gotten PM yesterday, or the day before. Did you? rangerj

 

[autobahnsho]

rangerj:
Autobahnsho,

GEEKY TECH STUFF??? GEEKY,-----tech stuff???

HUH, Bizzy, should I be offended here?
Autobahn, you should have gotten PM yesterday, or the day before. Did you? rangerj

I just meant that not EVERYONE wants to know why, how, and where every thing works. I was considered a geek in high school (the jury is out now on my current status ) and like the technical stuff....

Yes, thanks for the PM. I'm still impatiently waiting for the bearings to get here. I've noticed a vibration as I drive now.... eek!

 

[MilTownSHO]

Battery light now only seems to come on at idle. The idle will jump up and down between 800-1000 corresponding with the battery light.

I tested it at work with the machine and the battery and alternator came out fine. I'm guessing that it's just the connection that I had to repair myself due to it breaking... shrug

 

[Bizzy]

MilTownSHO:
Battery light now only seems to come on at idle. The idle will jump up and down between 800-1000 corresponding with the battery light.

I tested it at work with the machine and the battery and alternator came out fine. I'm guessing that it's just the connection that I had to repair myself due to it breaking... shrug

Jason, you may want to reset the idle. I'm assuming that when the idle goes down closer to 800 you get the battery light? Give that a whirl and see if it helps. But do check your connections again as well.

ranjerj, don't be offended. "Geeky stuff" is cool! I'd actually would like to see a write up on how it works myself. wink *hint hint*