wierd alternator problem

[Brett]

Well put the alternator back in ran fine for a bit and then started running off the battery again, guy at advance said it prolly has to be replaced soon as theres some play in the bearing, but it still worked fine on on their alt tester. I really can't figure this out... Anyways, heres the pics requested for the black wire. Oh yea, sorry for the picture size, dont know how to edit the title to keep the 56ks' away. Thought it'd be better if they were bigger, easier to see.

last post:

Well, i almost bought a rebuilt alternator, but didnt in time as i didnt put money in my bank account in time. Pulled it last night, brought it in and it tested fine. But when its in the car, it runs off the battery. Theres a black wire coming off the alternator thats not on my mtx (from what i can see from uptop). I can't figure out where it goes. The clip it self that sits ontop of the alternator with two wires coming out was a bit loose so i pushed it back and im assuming even that could be the problem? Reguardless, i really gotta figure out where the black wire goes coming off the ATX alternator. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

P.S. Is there anything else that could make the car run off battery (beside the alternator)

 

[RacingNotPacing]

The only problem i had with mine was when the connector at the top was just a little bit loose, It kept running down the bat. so you might be just fine now, well except the extra wire, for that i have no idea, sorry.

 

[Brett]

no idea as to where the black wire goes? think it might be a ground, thats an UNeducated guess.

 

[Endri_SHO]

get a picture of what you excatly talking about, so we can see and tell you what to do ,,..

 

[Brett]

Also, ive been wondering what the **** these are for quite some time, and since i was taking pictures, i figured what the ****...

 

[Brett]

59 views and no one has any idea?

 

[Paul]

They look like aftermarket accessory grounds.

 

[SHOZ123]

The black wire coming out of the alternator plug is not used. Wire nut it or crimp a butt connector on it.

The wires under the dash in the photo are obviously ground wires. I would say someone added them as one is yellow.

 

[hawkeye18]

I second Paul. The black wire is terminated in the harness normally according to my '95 EVTM. The green/red wire goes to the instrument cluster to light the "battery" light should voltage be low. The other one goes through a fusible link or three and is what supplies reference power to the regulator. If this wire is broken somewhere (that electrical tape looks suspect, I'd check the wire inside of it), you will still run off battery because the regulator won't be activated. So... check continuity to wherever the **** that wire goes, I can't tell from the EVTM. Good luck...

 

[Revere sho]

how can you tell when the car is running off of the battery?

 

[SHOZ123]

The voltage will be less than 12V.

 

[Brett]

What he said... Is there anyway an alternator could read good on a tester and not be working? i dont know how they test them at the store, if the voltage regulator was bad would it still test ok?

So he checked the wires, the reason the yellow one was taped is because theres a pinhole in it, from somebody testing the alternator prior to me having it. he cleaned up all the wires, the alternator to starter wire was loose and nasty, so he cleaned it and reconnected it and viola, it was running off the alternator, he took it down the road, punched it, same thing but different symptoms, instead of the the cluster all droppign to 0 and the climate control reading 999 it just all went super dim, running off the battery again... wtf! he talked to some guy whos friend has the same gen ATX as him, same problem, put in an alternator, and it fixed nothing... Really running out of answers here.

 

[SHO'Leary]

ya guys this is my car now and it is getting stupid, if anyone can give some info that would more than great...... thanx the rest of you for your input....BEN....

 

[SHOZ123]

Have you eliminated the fuse links on the alternator output wire as a problem?

 

[SHO'Leary]

where would they be located at? because no i havn't.

 

[SHOZ123]

Some where on the alternator output wire before the fuse box or starter. Where ever the othe cable end is.

 

[SHO'Leary]

thanx i'll give it a shot, and by the way i dont think it was running off the alt when i took it for a spin i think it was just still the batt not sure though....

 

[dcadogan]

You may want to us an ammeter to test the amperage output from the alt with a load on the system. You could be getting a good voltage reading if the regulator is working but the alternator may not be putting out any amperage.

 

[SHO'Leary]

Overall imagine that it was the damn alternator, i hate stupid parts store people who think they're mechanics........

 

[SonicRiot]

I was just going to ask if you had the alternator bench tested or tried full fielding it, but it seems you've found the issue. Cool.