WOSP 180 amp alternator not generating
 

A couple days ago, the battery seemed a little low for starting the car. When driving it I noticed the voltage is not coming up to 14. It's just reading the battery voltage. Alternator is about 4 years old and 10,000 miles on it.

I haven't had a chance to pull the fan and housing yet to see if one of the connections came loose, but since it has an internal regulator, I'm thinking that is the problem.

Quick forum search does not show this problem for the WOSP alternator being discussed. Yet. I guess I'm the first.

Has anyone else seen this problem? Becuase the WOSP is based on a Denso alternator, I would think that the internal VR is commonly available. Does anyone know where to get one?

I'm not an alternator master, but usually when the v reg goes bad it overcharges the battery as it can no longer regulate. Could still be the alternator, but maybe something else. How old is the battery? Maybe a dead cell? What is it charging it to? Pretty sure when my WSOP is running with the car on and nothing else but the radio I'm around 13.7 with a fresh battery.

Does the alternator light come on with key on & engine not yet running?

I had a bad regulator on a WOSP alternator. The alternator would not "turn on" due to something bad with the internal circuit to the lamp. The dash light would not come on with ignition ON and engine not running. I tried several generic Denso replacement VRs that looked the same, but none would work. Apparently WOSP does some internal modification to the VR for our application. Classic Retrofit and Jonny H were very helpful and got me a replacement VR.

I have the alternator from Classic Retro (it is WOSP 175 amp), when I put in a new wiring harness, I did not get the wires to the alternator tight. Imagine my language when I put it all together with new wire harness and no charge. It was loose connections on the alternator that caused the issue. Went from 11.5 volts ruining to 13.8-14+ as it did with the old harness.

Thans, guys. I'll pull and check stuff tonight.

rdimarco: Thanks for the reminder. The generator light was working, and now it's not. I'll have to trace the path to be sure something didn't come loose or maybe old bulb just burned out. Shet happens.

Definitely check the incandescent bulb is still good.
Wagner alternator has WOSP stuff, they may be able to help if it is the regulator.

Dennis, thanks for the info.

I checked the generator again (after I mowed my lawn and other chores).

First I turned on the key to see if the Gen light came on, and it did. I was hoping it did not come on, which would indicate it was burned out, and would be a quick and easy fix. Scratch that hypothesis...

I pulled out the instrument anyway and removed the light holder (recall that the Gen light has two wires to it, red/black, and blue). While it was in my hand it flickered a couple times. Hmmm.

I put it back in and then started the car. The voltage went up to 14, and the light went out, so the alternator was working again.

Damn, I hate electrical intermittents. I'll just keep an eye on it for now. If it fails and stays failed, then I will be able to troubleshoot it.

You may want to check the bulb again, as it may be loose or even worse, the filament may be broken at one end and still be in contact with its wire when car is stopped, but is shaking and loosing contact because of vibrations when car is moving. This would explain the flickering and the no-charge.

Gilles, yes, that's a possibility. My quick check for that is whether the light comes on when I first turn on the key. If it doesn't, then I know the bulb is dead.

I might just replace it anyway. That damn thing is probably as old as the car.