Voltage/Alternator Help! asap!

[stockSHO233]

Hey guys,
I just got a 200 amp alternator recently (5 months ago), to support my stereo system. Everything has been working great, until recently.

What first happened was, my lights were constantly dimming and undimming, and the alternator sounding like it was working, then taking a break, then working, then break. My mechanic said it was something about cycles. I am not sure what he meant though.

I took it home and did the big 3, and checked all the connections. I ran 0 gauge from the alt directly to the battery. The lights kept dimming and all that, but I just put off fixing it. This was for 5 days. 2 days ago, I was driving it and the ECU wouldn't turn on. I immediately pulled over and measured the voltage at the battery, 17 volts!! I turned around and drove half a mile home and didn't drive it anymore. It has been doing that ever since.

What do you guys think it is? Does my SHO have an external voltage regulator, or is it part of the alternator?

I have already talked to the builder of my alt, and he said he would pay shipping one way and fix it free, but it would still be at least a week due to shipping.

Thanks for help guys. I'm at a loss.
Josh

 

[hawkeye18]

it has an internal regulator, which evidently is toast.

a 130amp alternator rewound to 200 amps will actually put out less amperage at idle than the stock alt.

Why do you not have a capacitor in the system? And if you do, it's not big enough.

If you have a soldering gun, you can replace the IVR yourself. It's not what I would call "hard".

 

[shoshirtsandhat]

Priority mail it back to him in a USPS flat rate box for 10.00 , I bought my alt @ Advance ..lifetime warranty, replaced for free the other day

 

[Bizzy]

Sounds like you toasted the alternator voltage regulators as mentioned. If you overwork it that's what happens. I would either replace the regulators inside as mentioned or replace the whole alternator. If you choose the latter of the two, I would replace it with one that was meant for the SHO rather than a higher amp one. To me, that's just asking for trouble.

Just as an FYI, it's normal for the climate control to go haywire when there is an under or over charging situation.

 

[itwonder]

Pure speculation but it's possible that in rewinding the alternator for 200 amps they have bumped the field current up to where the voltage regulator is overstressed. It is atypical these days for a VR to fail. I would return it and get my money back. Then as previously sugggested install the 130 amp alternator and a good capacitor bank. Hope the overvoltage condition didn't fry your ECU or anything else.

 

[hawkeye18]

I had an IVR fail on me. Turned out it was the brushes, though... yeah, after 110,000 miles, the brushes finally wore down!

They need to figure out how to make BLDC alternators...

 

[the4biddendonut]

I've found that rewound high amp alternators never last as long as standard ones. Ohio Generators makes high amp alternators that are bullet proof though. All the high end competitive car audio vehicles have Ohio Generators.

You should look into getting a batcap. You wire it the same way as a capacitor, but it works much much better than a cap.

 

[stockSHO233]

it has an internal regulator, which evidently is toast.

a 130amp alternator rewound to 200 amps will actually put out less amperage at idle than the stock alt.

Why do you not have a capacitor in the system? And if you do, it's not big enough.

If you have a soldering gun, you can replace the IVR yourself. It's not what I would call "hard".

I realize that a rewound alt. puts out less at idle. My alt is not a rewound SHO alt. though. It was custom made and will put out much more at idle than any stock sho alt.

Capacitors are useless, that is why I do not have one in my system. They cover up electrical problems, they do not solve them.

And if I was to try and fix my alt, I would probably mess it up more. I'll send it back and get a new one.

 

[stockSHO233]

Priority mail it back to him in a USPS flat rate box for 10.00 , I bought my alt @ Advance ..lifetime warranty, replaced for free the other day

That is exactly what I will do, thanks man.

Sounds like you toasted the alternator voltage regulators as mentioned. If you overwork it that's what happens. I would either replace the regulators inside as mentioned or replace the whole alternator. If you choose the latter of the two, I would replace it with one that was meant for the SHO rather than a higher amp one. To me, that's just asking for trouble.

Just as an FYI, it's normal for the climate control to go haywire when there is an under or over charging situation.

Yeah, I didn't really overwork the alt. I think it was just a crappy one. I learned the hard way unfortunately. I'll be getting another one from him for 10 dollars (shipping), but who knows how long it will last. Supposedly he was a reputable alt maker, but I think otherwise.

And if anyone is wondering, the reason I don't just get a stock alt, or a rewound alt, is because I am running over 2000 watts. And my sub amp alone pulls over 150 amps. It is much easier to have a ** alt, than multiple batteries in the back to compensate.

I've found that rewound high amp alternators never last as long as standard ones. Ohio Generators makes high amp alternators that are bullet proof though. All the high end competitive car audio vehicles have Ohio Generators.

You should look into getting a batcap. You wire it the same way as a capacitor, but it works much much better than a cap.

Ohio Gen. builds very solid alternators. I looked into just about every ** alt out there before I bought mine. Unfortunately Ohio Gen. is very high priced and was way out of my range.

And I am not sure what a batcap is, but again, capacitors are pointless. Only second or third batteries are what helps.

Thanks to everyone that helped. And if anyone wants to hear a loud SHO in michigan, that's me.

 

[Bizzy]

Regardless of what route you choose to go, good luck in getting the problem solved. It's good that you're getting a replacement, the fact that they are honoring the warranty speaks volumes to me.

I have long since passed the days where a loud system was wanted, but out of curiosity, what did you use to solve the trunk rattle? That was the most annoying thing when I had a system in my first SHO.

 

[stockSHO233]

Regardless of what route you choose to go, good luck in getting the problem solved. It's good that you're getting a replacement, the fact that they are honoring the warranty speaks volumes to me.

I have long since passed the days where a loud system was wanted, but out of curiosity, what did you use to solve the trunk rattle? That was the most annoying thing when I had a system in my first SHO.

Yeah, they are honoring the warranty, but I still have to take my alt out and send it to them. And not have a car for two weeks. So, still kind of sucks.

Ha, and I know what you mean about loud system. I can already see those days coming, as I have a very very loud system and it is getting old.

As for the trunk rattling, RAAMmatt is what I used. I would have used more, but I am getting rid of this SHO probably in two months. So investing more money into sound deadening it is throwing it away.

 

[hawkeye18]

I have long since passed the days where a loud system was wanted, but out of curiosity, what did you use to solve the trunk rattle? That was the most annoying thing when I had a system in my first SHO.

Tightening all the screws and bolts went a long way towards fixing it, but not as much as a new trunk gasket did. Also, adjusting those rubber bump stoppers up so that they shmush (yes it's a word) into the trunk lid when it's closed dampens the vibrations a lot. Dynomat fixes the last 10%. I don't have any, but I have to turn the bass up to the point where it's making my ears bleed before I can hear the trunk rattling.

p.s. get a license plate cover and some rubber o-rings for the license plate screws; that will keep the license plate from rattling!

 

[Bizzy]

Yeah, tightening the bolts did some good back in my loud system days too, but that didn't do anything for the cables for the latch that are up under the trunk lid supports. I had considered using the foam insullation stuff (Great Stuff) to fill those in but opted for yanking the system instead because I really didn't feel like dinking with it anymore. For the license plate I used some stick on foam pads underneath the plate to keep it from rattling. It worked really well but once on, it was on.