Nismo280zEd Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 I bought a brand new bosch altenator last summer. I have halogen headlights, fog lights, and i run a 400watt amp to a 10" sub, along w/ a Cd player. about a week ago driving in rain... my red warning light came on in the volt meter gauge... then my radio kept cuting out turning off and on... my volts were droping to 12 and below running my wipers, headlights, foglights, and radio (didn't have my sub in at the time). according to my manual... this is because something happend to the voltage regulator in the altenator.. i'm guessing it shorted out w/ the rain or something. Anyway... the point is... has anyone ever taken apart the altenator to replace the brushes or anything? I have a 78 280z so the regulator is inside the altenator... or should i upgrade to the GM conversion thing? -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted July 26, 2003 Share Posted July 26, 2003 A good import autoparts store should have all of the parts you need, but I would seriously consider the GM upgrade. A powermaster 100 amp 1 wire alternator can be had for $100 from Summit or Scoggin Dickey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest greimann Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 I ran across some information about about one wire alternators that is very informative. Basically, one wire alts are not appropriate for cars that have a lot of accessories. Read the link below and browse around the other articles. Very important concepts to understand about the charging system. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/onewire-threewire.shtml Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pop N Wood Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 It could be the voltage regulator, or maybe you fried a couple of the rectifiers. If the thing overheated you might have shorted out some of the insulation in the wiring. Is the rotor grounded? I have watched a good mechanic rebuild an alternator at his workbench. GM sells rectifier kits, internal voltage regulators, even replacement bushings. But makes sure you use a good shop manual to check out all the other components so you don't waste money replacing a part, only to have it fry again because you didn't fix the real source of the problem. A good shop manual will usually have a step by step guide to cookbook all the tests I mentioned above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spotfitz Posted July 27, 2003 Share Posted July 27, 2003 Read the link below and browse around the other articles. Very important concepts to understand about the charging system. http://www.madelectrical.com/electricaltech/onewire-threewire.shtml Excellent find and good reading. A little late for me since I already installed a "one wire", but not to late to use some of the other offerings from that company in parallel with what I am doing with my electrical system as of late. I now plan to rework some of my charging system and distribution blocks to reflect some of the thinking in that article. Thanks for sharing your findings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted August 1, 2003 Author Share Posted August 1, 2003 so are you trying to say i should buy a new OEM three wire or buy a different 3 wire? -Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nismo280zEd Posted August 4, 2003 Author Share Posted August 4, 2003 Well i think there is a place here locally that rebuilds altenators.. hopefully they can replace the volt reg. in it. that will get me by till i figure out what to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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