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Posted by D. Sherman on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 12:29:44 :
In Reply to: WONT CHARGE ?? posted by GENE on Monday, March 17, 2008 at 08:45:05 :
Method A (the shotgun method): replace everything that everybody tells you it "could be" until it works. By the time you're done, you'll have a new alternator, new regulator, new wiring, and a new battery.
Method B: Troubleshoot it. Learn enough about electricity to check the voltage at the alternator output and field terminals, and at the battery and know what they should be. If you suspect a bad connection in the wiring, check the voltage across each connection (i.e. wire to crimp terminal, crimp terminal to ground or post, etc) with the engine at high idle until you find a point where there's more than a few millivolts of drop, then fix that connection. By the time you're done, you will have replaced the one bad part or bad connection in the whole system. Oh, and if the alternator doesn't put out any juice even with full battery voltage on the field, and you know the connections are good, before you pay big bucks for a new alternator, check the brushes. I've yet to have an alternator fail for any reason other than worn out brushes, which are $5 max for a new pair.
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