Boog Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Hey everyone, My alternator died last week at a gas station, so I figured why not convert to a zx internally regulated one? I swapped it over, but I can't get it to charge yet. Here is my current point.BAT post is connected to stock battery cable. Ground is connected to the ground on the alternator. T plug is just plugged in. I did the wire bridging in this article http://www.atlanticz.ca/zclub/techtips/alternatorswap/ to cut out the external regulator, but my voltmeter in the dash still isnt working. Any ideas? Should I re-wire the T connector wires? I'm thinking its a problem with that... Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winstonusmc Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Make sure with a voltmeter that the correct voltages are present at the T connector. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Not enough detail to know what you really did. What year car? Why do you have the BAT post connected directly to the battery cable instead of to the thick white charge wire that feeds the fusible links (the original configuration)? Why do you think the problem is in the T plug? And do you know that the alternator you swapped in is a good one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boog Posted June 14, 2013 Author Share Posted June 14, 2013 Sorry for lack of detail, I'll see if I can address that.It's a 1976. I do not have the BAT post connected straight to the post, it is connected to the white and red(?) one that is original. I just hard wired the sense wire from the battery to the S terminal of the T plug, and that seems to have done something. I also messed around with the lamp wire, and that seems to be working. However, after charging up my battery enough to start it, the car ran for about 6 minutes and then slowly died away as the battery died. I thought that the alternator was not putting out charge, but I disconnected the original wire that goes to the BAT terminal, started that car (after charging again), and the alternator was putting out plenty of power to charge the battery. Do you guys think that the car died because the battery was just drained so far? Recap: T plug wires both work fine (sense and lamp), original BAT cables are in place and working, negative hookups are all fine. Also, the alternator is a brand new one made for a 82 zx by Quality Built. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 14, 2013 Share Posted June 14, 2013 Could be that you have a bad battery and that was the original problem. Not clear how you determined that the alternator was putting out "plenty of power" to charge the battery. Vague. Did you measure amperage? Voltage? I would have your battery checked. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boog Posted June 15, 2013 Author Share Posted June 15, 2013 Battery is 2-3 months old, the alternator was putting out 15 volts to my meter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boog Posted June 17, 2013 Author Share Posted June 17, 2013 Dang, went back and re-tested alternator output......Was only 12v, which I assume was only from the sense wire going in. Don't have an ammeter, so I can't test current, but I decided to just exchange the alternator.....I might have got some coolant inside it, would that fry anything? LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boog Posted June 22, 2013 Author Share Posted June 22, 2013 Ok, lots of testing updates. I got a NEW alternator, now on my third. Still no luck. The battery won't go above 12v, the alternator is not putting out a charge. I had the car running after charging the battery all night, and when it started to die because of lack of battery juice, i removed the negative battery cable. This caused the car to die immediately. The car should run off the alternator alone, but it died immediately. I checked the continuity on the alternator to battery wire, my sense wire is fine, my ground is fine. This leads me to believe there is a problem with the lamp wire. My gauges all work fine, the voltmeter reads fine in the dash. Another thing I remember reading about that I think is important is when I connect my negative terminal, I hear the click of a relay. Is that bad? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 22, 2013 Share Posted June 22, 2013 Measure voltage to the Lamp wire with the key on. No voltage, no windings current, no magnetism, no charging. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boog Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Hey guys, I just realized I never said what the problem was. The light bulb charge indicator thingy in the voltmeter was out, and strangely enough the lamp wire routes through that. So if the bulb is out, the alternator won't start. Figured if anyone was still curious, or even remembered this problem, I'd say what was wrong. Thanks for the help from anyone who did! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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