alternator.. what am i doing?!..

[oredith]

ok.. i've just spent 6 hours learning a hard lesson. probably a much needed one.. but didn't like having to learn it right NOW..

as some of you might have read earlier (or maybe just you, dave and rich) i've been having battery problem.. so i cleaned out the VR.. cleaned the wiring a bit.. and started to take off my alternator because i wasn't getting any charge at the battery posts.. well.. battery's off.. went to Kregan, tested the part, gave me 15 volts.. but the "stator relay" light was off.. i didn't know what it was.. but the guy there said it might be the problem.. so i drove around town to another store to pick up a new one.. same reading..

1. my alternator is good (at least that's what all the clues point to)
2. i'm having an electrical problem "somewhere" that's not allowing the alternator to charge the battery
3. i'm almost completely covered in grime after being under the car since 8:30 (it's now 4:00) frustrated at the sheetmetal, at the alan bolt on the alternator, at the valve covers (first time i'm doing the valve adjustments myself), by the way.. there must be a more detailed description on how to pry those off.. and which direction.. one of mine is stuck on the top now because that was the only way i can pry it.. and now i don't know how i'm EVER going to get that cover off.. and i haven't even gotten to the adjustment part..

so here's my questions:

1. where do i start to check for my electrical problem, granted that my alternator is indeed still good.
2. is there a way to check the voltage regulator?..
3. why is everything so hard to get to?..
4. why are the people at Kregan so inept? (the woman broke the new alternator by forcing the connector in when she was testing it, luckly i was able to test it first, connecting it through the car's origional wires, by the way, i was getting 15 volts through those wires.. so i think the "big red wire" that goes to the starter, and the bunch that goes to the circuit board are O.K.
5. and finally, how long does it take for tetnis (sp?) to set in?.. i've got more cuts and scratches than i can count, all over my body now..

sorry about the length.. i guess this is my way of venting..

Jeff

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

I'm really knackered from a weekend down at Laguna Seca. (Photographing, not driving--car is still dead, waaaah!) Anyway, I'll try to take your questions in order below.

1-What do you check next? I don't know.
2-Checking the voltage regulator? Jim T. has suggestions in his article. He talks about doing tests on a running car. Things like shorting the alternator DF wire to ground and reading the voltage at the battery, and shorting it to ground and reading the voltage at the battery. Re-read the article and do a bit of thinking, and you should be able to figure out how that can apply to you.
3-4-5 I assume are rhetorical questions.

As for the bail on the valve cover, as you may have figured out it goes DOWN. Or, anymore, I usually use a screwdriver and/or L-shaped piece of metal to pry the rear end of the bail off of the head. It usually falls onto the ground after I do that. When I reinstall it, I put it on hanging downward and slide it back up by hand and with a hammer or screwdriver (or both). Note that the bail can go on either way, but SHOULD only go on one way. Check yours for the proper orientation.

Good luck. It's like this at first, but it does eventually get faster and easier. By the 3rd or 4th time you have to pull your alternator, you'll either be ready to shoot yourself or you'll be able to do it in about an hour and a half. (Don't ask me how I know...)

--DD

[oredith]

thanks for all your help dave..
just an update..

1. i've finished my first valve adjustment, that kinda made up for the day i've spent. The satisfaction is very much welcomed (sheer force prevailed again!)

2. can you describe the path of travel for the charge from the alternator to the battery?.. what do the wires that go to the circuit board do?.. what does the red wire going to the starter do?.. if i can get a grasp of the route, maybe i can backtrack from the alternator with a voltmeter. My volt reading from the post does not fluctuate at all between idle and full throttle (back when the alternator was still in)

3. does that little resistor on the connector end of the alternator have anything to do with it?.. it was one part i had to pull off the old one and put on the new one (didn't know a way to test that one either). I was told by people at kregan that it's not an important part, but i'm not sure if i trust them.

4. after 2 showers and extensive scrubbing, i'm not a grease monkey anymore.. until tomorrow when i get my alternator back and have to put it back in..

thanks,

Jeff

[oredith]

one important thing i just realized (after reading the trouble shooting article CAREFULLY, no one to blame but myself), i think the alternator might have been overcharging my battery because the middle battery(i've gone through 2 now) had battery acid leaking out the side after two days of use. It could have been physical defect.. but i don't think that's likely.

the part that puzzles me though, if the alternator WAS overcharging the battery, wouldn't i get a readout reflecting that when i took the reading at the post?

Jeff

[Dave at Pelican Parts]

The charging path goes from the alternator, through the thick red wire to the starter. That wire is hooked to the same terminal on the starter as the THICK black (or possibly red) wire that goes to the battery + terminal. Since they are on the same terminal, and there is no resistor or other component between them, this is equivalent to a single long wire from the alternator to the battery.

The three wires from the alternator to the relay board have to do with the voltage regulator, and are not part of the charging path.

If I've ever seen a resistor on the connector of the three-wire set from the alternator to the relay board, I sure forgot it quickly! I can't think of why one would be there, but then again I'm not an EE or anything. I suggest asking Jim T., who is much more clued-in about where electrons go and why than I am.

--DD