Alternator Woes

[charl]

hi all,

 

i have been building this car for a while now and ive finally gotten to a drivable point. but my bettery kept dying and the charge light wouldnt turn off. so upon investigation i found that my alternator isnt connected.

 

the problem is its not an original one and only seems to have place on the back for the positive wire to screw on and one other wire to plug in.

the standard ke20 wiring loom has a three wire plug as well as the positive wire and one other wire waiting to go into the alternator. ive been searching all morning to try and find what i need to do but i don't understand much of what ive read. so if anyone could please help me or point me in the right direction i would really appreciate it!

 

thanks

 

Charl

[ke30dude]

has the alternator you have got a little black box on the back of it? if so then it is an internally regulated one. I cannot remember how to hook this type up but from memory it was simple.

 

 

Alternatively you can buy a externally regulated one like this.

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi...E:B:DBS:AU:1123

[Medicine_Man]

The one you have sounds like an internally regulated alternator. What you need to do is find the charge light wire and connect it to where the other wire will plug in on the back of the alternator. Being Toyota I'm pretty sure it should be a yellow wire that goes to your external regulator...

[charl]

thanks for the info. it is an internally regulated one sorry i didnt mention that earlier! so just to make sure, there will only be two wires connected to the back of the alternator, the constant positive, (fat wire with ring connector), and the charge light wire, (possibly yellow) and that would mean i can remove the xternal regulator from the car as the rest of the wires only go to that?

 

i might be pushing my luck but... pics would be helpful!

[ke30dude]

Ok I just had a sneak and peek at my fathers torana with a internally regulated bosch alternator.

 

The small wire goes to the CHG light

 

The one that bolts on goes to the positive.

 

:(

[charl]

wicked!

 

thanks for the info ke30dude and medicine man. ill go and get this thing sorted right now!

 

cheers

 

:(

[Medicine_Man]

Pretty easy to do really, When you touch the charge light wire on frame the charge light should come on.. (Or on the D+ terminal when the motor is not running)..

[charl]

well i thought id fixed it but it seems i was wrong.

 

the battery is still losing charge even though i drive the car everyday. nearly didnt have enough juice to turn it over yesterday.

 

so i have a few questions:

 

can i connect a wire directly from the alternator positive to the battery positive to bypass the original loom wire?

 

and does the charge light wire have to be connected for the alternator to work?

 

any help will be appreciated

 

 

cheers

 

charl

[Medicine_Man]

well i thought id fixed it but it seems i was wrong.

 

the battery is still losing charge even though i drive the car everyday. nearly didnt have enough juice to turn it over yesterday.

 

so i have a few questions:

 

can i connect a wire directly from the alternator positive to the battery positive to bypass the original loom wire?

 

and does the charge light wire have to be connected for the alternator to work?

 

any help will be appreciated

 

 

cheers

 

charl

 

Could be a battery drain from some accessory, Can you turn your stereo or any other aftermarket electrical device on when you have the keys out of the ignition?

 

Yes you can connect a wire directly from the alternator positive to the battery positive (Just make sure its 6mm at minimum or better)..

 

Depends on the alternator, Got a picture so I know what it is? Most don't require it though....

[calaissix]

the charge light wire must be connected as this is the exciter wire to start the electromagnets in the alternator until it makes charge and the regulator takes over.check that it is charging between 12.8-13.8 volts with headlights and accessories turned on and reving at 2000 -3000 rpm, you can check what the drain on the battery is by turning everything off (engine an accessories interior light everything off) and put a fused amp meter between the battery negative at the earth connector after you have removed it from the battery,any power has to pass through the meter.it should not be any higher than a few milliamps(remember to start on the highest setting and work down).fully charge the battery fully and take it to an auto electrician to load test it must do it for free.hope this helps

[charl]

thanks very much for all the advice. hopefully ill get it all sorted this coming weekend

[Tally]

Hey charl, as I upgraded to a 4K motor in my KE25 I am in the same situation as you. My 4K alternator is different to the original 3K one.

 

Could anyone confirm if I could change back to the 3K alternator?

[Medicine_Man]

Of course, Physically mounts in the same spot, Why wouldn't it?

[Tally]

Yea man cheers. I’m not really engine literate. I’m still learning the ins and outs of the internal combustion engine lol.

[charl]

ok, now I'm really confused!

 

i tried the thing about connecting an earth to the connections for the alternator to see which one is the right wire to connect to the back of the alternator. of the four wires i have none make the charge light in the car go on.

 

so my question to you is this...

 

NOW WHAT?

 

i would really like to have this sorted before the 28th of this month because i want to go on the adelaide cruise that is on that night! I'm gonna go buy a new battery on sunday as well just to be sure but i need to get this wiring sorted out.

 

 

any help would be greatly appreciated

 

charl