[FlyinGN]

I rebuilt my alt last year and installed Mikes 200a upgrade. about 120 miles later now the volts light flickers when started. The scanmaster reads 11 then 13 v up and down in conjunction with the volts light. Also the interior light flickers with it too. I pulled the alt and had an alternator shop look at it and they could find nothing. Said the positive stud was a lil loose.. I put it back on and its still same. Does anything think the new regulator inside could have gone bad??? Can I replace the one in Mikes kit with my old one from my old working alt that I pulled parts from to build the 200a one?? What else can it be?? any ideas?

 

[Steve Wood]

did it go up and down on the test rig? If not, why is it going up and down on your car? Should you be looking for an external problem?

 

[Orlando_87GN]

Could you try a new bulb in the dash or check the connection?
What size alernator pulley are you using? Are you using an underdrive pulley on the crank? Maybe the alternator is spinning too slow?

 

[Jmccustoms]

check your ground wires, i had a similar problem and it was the main ground from the battery was loose but looked tight. tightened it up and went back to normal ......... just a thought

 

[FlyinGN]

ok thanks guys.. I hand checked th enegative side of the battery but it seems tight.. And Im not having a start up problem like a loose negative would be like.

I don't know for SURE if they put it on a test rig or not. Said they did but ya know how some shops are..

Mike- bad dash bulb would not light at all... thus no charge at all. im getting a up and down charge.. Stock pulley on crank, undersized pulley on the alt so its spining faster..

any other ideas??

 

[Steve Wood]

I think Mike was referring to an intermittent connection in the dash light circuit. I have seen two cars that would cut on and off from that kind of problem.

 

[PhillyTurboSix]

the surge shows up on the ScanMaster so it can't be a bulb issue on the dash. :dunno:

 

[Steve Wood]

the surge shows up on the ScanMaster so it can't be a bulb issue on the dash. :dunno:

and why not?

 

[Doc1of7]

Might try one of Casper's alt wiring fix kits. There are just so many connections between the dash, and alt, that problems can arise. Also, the alt feed wire can fail internally....

 

[FlyinGN]

thanks guys..

 

[FlyinGN]

okay I get what your saying Steve. but IF the connection was intermittant bad for the bulb would it light?? intermittantly like it does? Seems to me that the alt needs the bulb to charge.. If I was getting a intermittant bad connection th ealt would be doing an intermittaqnt charge/ no charge condition but why would the bulb be flickering?? Almost like the old days when the alt was turning too slow due to a too low idle. BUT my bulb flickering does not go off with rpm change..

I think Mike was referring to an intermittent connection in the dash light circuit. I have seen two cars that would cut on and off from that kind of problem.

 

[Doc1of7]

okay I get what your saying Steve. but IF the connection was intermittant bad for the bulb would it light?? intermittantly like it does? Seems to me that the alt needs the bulb to charge.. If I was getting a intermittant bad connection th ealt would be doing an intermittaqnt charge/ no charge condition but why would the bulb be flickering?? Almost like the old days when the alt was turning too slow due to a too low idle. BUT my bulb flickering does not go off with rpm change..

Your's is still charging, ie you said it's putting out 11-13v, that's not low enough to light the bulb. A 12v bulb needs the better part of 12 to work, running a volt or two thur it isn't going to be enough to light it. Not to mention that a dash bulb is rather slow to light up, so it just might miss a *flicker* all together.

 

[FlyinGN]

sooo what are you saying??

 

[Orlando_87GN]

I was saying since the alternator relies on the bulb to charge, why not change it and clean the connection while you are at it. Just seemed easier than taking the alternator off the car again.

 

[FlyinGN]

yea I hear ya. I was gonna get Caspers field fix harness (and I still might) but I think your right about trying the bulb connection first before pulling off the alt.. Thanks

BTW does anyone know what bulb is in there. is it a 168??

I was saying since the alternator relies on the bulb to charge, why not change it and clean the connection while you are at it. Just seemed easier than taking the alternator off the car again.

 

[Steve Wood]

I have a 168 in mine.

The flickering is the fly in the ointment, so to speak. That part makes me wonder if it is the bulb circuit, or not.

As you don't know if the alternator truly performed correctly on the test, or not...

This is what I would do to determine if the volt light circuit is causing the problem or not. Take one of those small bulb and socket set ups that you can buy at the parts store. Run a wire from one side to the hot side of the wastegate solenoid connector. Run a wire from the other side of the socket to the brown wire at the alternator. In effect, you just made a new volt lite circuit. The wastegate solenoid is hot when the key is on so it will function correctly. If the alternator then charges correctly, you will know the problem is in the volt lite circuit coming thru the dash.

If the voltage keeps going up and down, you know you have eliminated that side of the problem and you are back to the alternator, imo.

That is a cheap test. The bulb is necessary to drop the voltage a little so the regulator will not be harmed.

 

[FlyinGN]

thanks Steve....

 

[Steve Wood]

I just reread the original post...it is the interior lite that is flickering..not the volt lite as I read it.

That makes it sound like the volt light circuit to me again.

The cars I had with the problem would charge/not charge. With the hood open, you could hear the alternator kick in and out.

There is one other possibility that I doubt applies in your case. If the ignition switch contacts are a bit dirty, or loose, the scanmaster voltage will go up and down, but, if you measure at the alternator, it will be constant. One of my cars has always had a problem reading lower at the scanmaster than I measured at the alternator. I dropped the column recently and when I put my hand on the ignition switch connector, the voltage jumped one volt. Took me about three years to look at the diagram and realize that everything was fed thru the ignition switch and it could be the culprit. I am a bit slow, tho'.

 

[FlyinGN]

my mistake steve. I meant to say that the interior light AND the VOLTS lights were BOTH flickering. Telling me that th ealt indeed was charging and not charging..

I just reread the original post...it is the interior lite that is flickering..not the volt lite as I read it.

That makes it sound like the volt light circuit to me again.

The cars I had with the problem would charge/not charge. With the hood open, you could hear the alternator kick in and out.

There is one other possibility that I doubt applies in your case. If the ignition switch contacts are a bit dirty, or loose, the scanmaster voltage will go up and down, but, if you measure at the alternator, it will be constant. One of my cars has always had a problem reading lower at the scanmaster than I measured at the alternator. I dropped the column recently and when I put my hand on the ignition switch connector, the voltage jumped one volt. Took me about three years to look at the diagram and realize that everything was fed thru the ignition switch and it could be the culprit. I am a bit slow, tho'.

 

[David65]

I was going to suggest about the same thing Steve said, run another bulb from the lamp (L) terminal on the regulator plug to the B+ stud on the alternator. The bulb should light until the unit starts rotating. Could even use a 500 or 1000 ohm resistor and watch the batt volts. Just don't put +12V directly to the L terminal.

David