1 wire alternator not charging
06-30-2011, 09:21 PM
#1
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Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: California
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1 wire alternator not charging
I had a summit alternator http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-810304/ 1 wire for maybe a little over a year and noticed that from time to time I would get belt squeak. So I noticed that the pulley that was on the alternator was really deep and that was causing the squeaking. So i decided to swap the pulley for a stock one while doing so I didn't disconnect the battery for some reason. when i loosened the bracket it swung down hit the block and fried the wire smoke everywhere to say the least. had it hooked up through the stock harness with just the power wire.
hooked the alternator back up without the harness just a 10 ga power. Alternator wouldn't charge. autozone pepboys around me didn't know how to test it so I figured it was bad. Ordered a new one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFF-7068/All/ same thing even hooked it straight to the battery with the 10 ga still no charge. drove it around no charge even at high rpm.
what am I missing?
hooked the alternator back up without the harness just a 10 ga power. Alternator wouldn't charge. autozone pepboys around me didn't know how to test it so I figured it was bad. Ordered a new one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/TFF-7068/All/ same thing even hooked it straight to the battery with the 10 ga still no charge. drove it around no charge even at high rpm.
what am I missing?
07-01-2011, 06:46 AM
#2
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Georgia
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Kind of curious where this goes.... I have a brand new battery with a one wire alternator. I can go drive around town for a while, stop for gas, try and restart, and it sounds very weak, having a hard time to start. I've always wondered if my one wire set up is not recharging my battery as it should too.
07-01-2011, 07:28 AM
#3
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Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: state of confusion
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How do you know it's not charging?
Did you have the battery tested?
I'm not particularly an electrical guy, but it doesn't sound reasonable that the alternator would have gone bad when all you did was short the battery to ground with the engine not running (I hope
). You've already determined that the harness isn't the problem and swapped alternators, which should only leave the battery itself.
Norm
Did you have the battery tested?
I'm not particularly an electrical guy, but it doesn't sound reasonable that the alternator would have gone bad when all you did was short the battery to ground with the engine not running (I hope
). You've already determined that the harness isn't the problem and swapped alternators, which should only leave the battery itself.Norm
Last edited by Norm Peterson; 07-01-2011 at 07:32 AM.
07-01-2011, 09:20 AM
#4
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Location: AR
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The replacement wire (the ends) MAY be the issue, and also, most one wire alternators provide a place to wire a DIRECT ground. A poor ground to your alternator would be problematic.
If you have a volt gauge, temporary or permanent, and the alternator will charge your battery between 13.5 and say 14.5 volts or so your alternator is ok. A weak battery and/or bad wiring can affect this performance though, so a low voltage condition is not necessarily a result of a bad alternator, but it is a good indication of what is going on with the charging system.
If you have a volt gauge, temporary or permanent, and the alternator will charge your battery between 13.5 and say 14.5 volts or so your alternator is ok. A weak battery and/or bad wiring can affect this performance though, so a low voltage condition is not necessarily a result of a bad alternator, but it is a good indication of what is going on with the charging system.
Last edited by JMD; 07-01-2011 at 09:24 AM.
07-01-2011, 12:24 PM
#5
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Join Date: Oct 2006
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I have a aftermarket voltage gauge hooked up so I can see that I'm at 12 volts while driving, while on the other alternator before the wire got shorted would be at 14 volts running and after a steady 12. I'm assuming it's got to be the alternator or the wiring because everything was fine before I burnt up the wires. I'm guessing it has to be the grounding.
I can't be sure but I seem to remember something with the first alternator not charging with a single wire so I hooked it up to the single wire in the factory harness and it would charge. the factory harness would be grounded to the block but wouldn't be hooked up. So it has me thinking that it didn't make any difference. Might try a factory harness to see if my memory is correct or not.
I've also seen alot of 1 wire alternators with this setup http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techar.../photo_04.html with the plug that is blocked off on both of mine plugged into and wires attaching to the one stud. don't know if this is part of the issue
I can't be sure but I seem to remember something with the first alternator not charging with a single wire so I hooked it up to the single wire in the factory harness and it would charge. the factory harness would be grounded to the block but wouldn't be hooked up. So it has me thinking that it didn't make any difference. Might try a factory harness to see if my memory is correct or not.
I've also seen alot of 1 wire alternators with this setup http://www.mustangmonthly.com/techar.../photo_04.html with the plug that is blocked off on both of mine plugged into and wires attaching to the one stud. don't know if this is part of the issue
07-01-2011, 07:05 PM
#8
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A one wire alternator should work with one wire simply connected between the stud on the alternator and the battery, nothing else (besides a ground path from the alternator to the battery) is required, nada...
It should charge at this point.
(A maxi fuse, fusible link, or a big circuit breaker is a good idea too, I always use one of these)
It should charge at this point.
(A maxi fuse, fusible link, or a big circuit breaker is a good idea too, I always use one of these)
07-05-2011, 05:13 PM
#10
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just wanted to update the thread with the solution. The problem was the 1 power wire connectors. I changed them out and it charging right at 14. weird because I could see the wires crimped on the connectors but it still didn't have a good connection. Thanks for help fellas!