ALTERNATOR TROUBLES...

[blair]

voltage when off = 12.8
when on DROPS to 12.3 (instead of gonig up to 14ish)

now my question:

is there anyway/s to pinpoint that its my alternator its-self
or the regulator or whatever??

[Todd]

i have no idea what they are called but you can buy things that are kind of like a voltage meter and u can connect one line to the battery and another to one of the fuses in ur fuse box and check to see if that is where its letting you down

i know this is a very vague description but the rac dude helped me out when the same happend to me and thats how he could tell.

if that fails and u can't be fucked figuring it out best bet is to take it to an auto electirician.
they should be able to tell you basicly straight away what the problem is.

hope this helps cheers.

[obey wan boenny]

does your "charge" light appear on your dash when you drive?

[slide86]

you need a multi meter.

you need to check the charge rate at the B+ post on the back of the alternator. this is the one that has the wire and the nut on it. if there is 14 v there then the alternator is charging.

but its common to have the reg shit itself. is yours internal or external? give the alternator a tap with a hammer, if this makes the charge come on then its the brushes in the alternator.....

these are just a few things to go try

[johl]

go to supercheap mate they'l test it for free and tell u if ur altinator is fkt

[Tyrie]

I had the same problem last week, was only putting out 11.7v at idle. The brass? put that the brushes rub on was rooted. I got a second hand alt from wreckers and bunged it in, 14.2v now

[blair]

cheers for the detail slide86.

and for the silly people
of course i have a multimeter.. how else would i get the readings i posted...

will investigate more tonight.
what alternators fit from wreckers??
(its a fwd bigport been made rwd I'm fairly sure)

[Tyrie]

The one I got was off an ae92. It fitted perfectly whereas the one I had before I had to cut up with a grinder to make it fit in the bracket. Does this help you? probably not lol

[anastasios]

y not just reco it its only like 140 bucks and u don't have to worry again

[blair]

baha.
65 from wreckers beats 140