altenator help plz

[sramoon]

Hello,
I am a fellow dsmer in need of some help...I recentley put a new engine in my 93gsx and got everything working fine except for the charging system..I tried jumpstarting my old dead battery and when i would take the jumper cables off it would kill the car...i know the the ecu shuts off when it is not getting enough power...i did not have this problem before the swap either...anyways so i put a fully charged battery out of another car in and it started and ran fine so i took it and had the alternator tested and it wasnt putting out enough power...so my question is that i was looking and coming off the plug that plugs into the alternator there is a wire with a end on it that looks like it snaps onto a sensor or connector or something and i can not find anywhere whre it would hook up...would you be able to look at your car and tell me?...the engine i got came out of a 92talontsi and it also has that same wire....and do you have any other suggestions why it would be doing this...also i thought maybe the alternator was bad and installed the one out of the talon and it does the same thing...any help would be greatly apreciated
Tyler

[nhockett]

Do you have a manual for this car? I remember being frustrated over this same issue but it ended up being the battery (Even after I had the alternator and battery tested- idiots at autozone or bad diagnostic equipment). Is the belt tight? I believe that plug you're talking about plugs onto the alternator. I also remember a small line going from the alternator to the power steering pump- don't know what it does though. I think the manual should shed some light on your problem.

[CODE4]

before doing any major replacements do this:
With engine running check voltage at the battery terminals. It should be in the neighborhood of 13.6-14.2. If is lower than that then the alternator is not outputing the proper voltage. Make sure the belt is properly tensioned and that all wiring is correct. I do not recall what my 99 RS has for connections but the majority of alternators have one 4 or 6 guage cable going to the positive terminal of the battery and a small harness with 1 to 3 wires, maybe more. The harness is mainly for ECU reference and voltmeter guage/dummy light.

Is there a sears suto near you? That is where I work and they can perform a die hard service (battery/alternator/starter) test for 9.99, but if you slip the tech a five or something when you first talk to him and ask for just the alternator test he probably will help you out =]

The test we run test the voltage as well as amp output when the machine puts the alternator under a load to see if it can handle it. Let me know if you have other questions.

[nhockett]

I had one more thought. On a different vehicle I had a battery and a starter go out at the same time. I replaced both parts seperately and couldn't make any sense.(when I had the alternator tested it registered ok but didn't have enough power to turn the engine). It could be a bad battery and an alternator that doesn't work properly.

[sramoon]

Thanx for the replies...I have a friend with a 92 eclipse nonturbo and i am going to see if he has that same plug...the power steering is the only place i see it could plug into...however the connector is to small to snap on...ill see if i could get up to sears and try and track down the problem...I appreciate your guys help
Tyler

[kjewer1]

Yes, that funny little plug is for the PS. Its part of the speed sensitive steering BS. Mine broke off and I never looked back.

Get the laternaotr tested or just get another one. The problem is, the rule of thumb for alternators is you will have to go through about 3-5 of them before you get one that lasts. They come with a warranty for a reason. They suck... Same goes for starters. But sometimes you get lucky. Have fun.