87 camaro battery wont charge

[josh87camaro]

87 camaro wont charge the battery replaced wires alt good and the battery is good any ideals

[G.A.S.]

give some hints as to what is doing or not doing.
what is happening? Guage reading wrong? lights dim?
you know what I mean. what happened when it started acting up ect.

[josh87camaro]

starts when jumped but when i take jumper cables of the battery dies and so does the car

[G.A.S.]

I would start with a battery load test, this would be the first step in the process of elimination.
The connections at the battery terminals should be clean and tight, wires to terminal and terminal to battery.
There is an issue with the battery or connections if jumpers are needed to keep this running.
Even if you got a new batt. the chance of it being bad are 50/50 right off the shelf.
Even without jumpers the car should stay running if the battery is fully charged.
You can figure this just because it runs with jumpers.
Even if the alternator was not charging, a fully charged batt. will keep it running for a while.
I think you will find this is your issue.
to test your batt. Take it to a place for testing. this requires a 24 hour charge and then a load test.
but at home, charge it on a charger overnight and then try and start it.
iF the batt. holds a charge it should stay running. a load test is still in need.
Just by you stating the car runs with jumpers and stalles right away tells me there is a batt. issue.

[josh87camaro]

i guess i should have said this first but i have already had it charged and tested and it ran for awhile so i took the alt to be tested and they said it was good so i replaced all the wires but i didnt have the battery recharged could that be the problem or should the alt charge it thanks i appreciate your help

[G.A.S.]

it is the (running for a while) that tells you that there is a battery issue.
even though your altermator tests out good and should keep the car runninng, A bad battery can use up that juice in a dischargeing state and cause the car to stall when jumpers are removed.
I would have the battery re-tested.
You stated you changed wires, what wires?
one more thing you can do at home is, put the charger on over night, in the morning remove the charger and test the voltage at the battery.
write down that reading. Now turn on the headlights and leave them on for 2 minutes. At the 2 minute point take a reading and write it down. turn off the lights. Now wait for 5 minutes and take a reading. Your voltage at the battery should be no lower than 10.5 volts. 10volts might be exceptable on an older battery but still good enough to start a car.
one more thing. when your car is running and you shut it off and try and restart it what does it do? clicking noise like a typewriter? or what.
I want to make sure there is not a starter issue or even a combination of issues.
when the car is running remove the negitive batt. cable and see if it stays running as well.
I'll watch for your reply

[josh87camaro]

i replaced all fusable links, positive and negative battery cables, and i just had the battery tested and charged at autozone (again)
it runs good until battery goes dead again then when you go to start it, it cranks over until it dies out. it does not make the clicking sound like when the started is bad, and i have had the starter tested and it was good, will go go start and remove negative cable now and get back to you thanks

[josh87camaro]

ok when i remove the negative cable the car dies

[G.A.S.]

that is an alternator issue. first check and clean the wire connections on the alternator. and here is something you can try.
start the car, take a long skinnie screwdriver and toutch it to the center of the back of the alternator. where the casing covers the armature shaft and bearing coming out the back, looks like a little knob.
the screwdriver should stick to it. it is magnatized by polarity.
If it sticks the alt is working, if not , it is not charging.
In a chargeing state, the alternators armature is like a magnet.
there may also be an in-line fuse in the wire coming off the BAT. terminal an the back of the alt. check that with an ohm meter. you should have infinity. No reading indicates an open circuit so that fuse would be blown.

[josh87camaro]

it didnt feel like the screwdriver was trying to stick to it
would you happen to know where the 2 wires coming from the alternator plug go to? one is red and brown those are the only 2 that i havent completely replaced

[G.A.S.]

not without a bible (schematic) .
I hate to say it but mabey the alt has an issue and by taking it off and bumping it arround it is not working again.
When I was a kid, i would take a hammer and give soft taps on solid spots of the alt. with the engine running and sometimes it would kick in and charge.
I am not by any means telling you to go take a hammer to your alt.
what is the sitting voltage at the bat. wire on the back of the alt?
And, if you disconnect this wire and start the car is there voltage at the terminal bat. on the alternator. in other words, does the volt meter read voltage coming out of the alt with the engine running and the wire disconnected ?
if it does, there is a break in the wire coming from the alt. to the bat.
this wire might lead down to the starter and needs to be hooked to the main positive cable where it attatches to the starter. this also has an in line fuse.

[wrightz28]

When was the alternator 'tested'?

If you installed the new battery and it was undercharged, the battery could have very well taosted the alternator, always make sure the battery is full when replacing.

Also, any battery under 12.2V is not going to perform starting duties very well if at all.