**NEW ALTERNATOR PUTTING OUT 12v...WTF?**

[temsinc]

Need y'alls help again. Just replaced alternator on my 70 Barracuda, 318. I had to rob one of the spade connectors off the old one and add it to the new alt  , not sure y the new one only came with the one spade connector? With that said, installed the new alt, the battery is fully charged and tests good. I cleaned my voltage regulator plug due to corrosion (it's 3yrs old). Fired up the car and according to my tester it's only putting out 12V. My old alternator was doing the same before taking it in to Part Source and it failed on their test machine.

I connected directly to the alt and same thing...12V. What am I missing? Darcy's getting upset  ...ur help is appreciated.

The 1st photo shows the top spade connector that came with Alt, the bottom is the one I robbed from my old alt. 2nd photo is my tester.

UPDATE: as the car was running, I removed the positive terminal from the battery and the car stalled. Is it possible to get a new alt kaput out of the box? BTW, it's a 50 amp alt. Thoughts?
Regards,

Darcy 

[JS29]

Darcy got a defective alternator, YES you can get defective parts new and rebuilt. I have gotten wrong parts in the correct box's  I have gotten damaged body panel's in perfect box's.     

[70 Challenger Lover]

I know it's not quite the answer to your question but I thought I'd offer it anyway. In my corvette and also in my buddies GTO, we put in Powermaster alternators and they are awesome! So awesome that I plan to do this upgrade on my Mopars. They are internally regulated and only require a connection to the solenoid using a thicker 10 ga. Wire. They put out 100-150 amps depending on which one you choose and best of all, they produce 100% of the amperage even at idle. No dimming headlights at the stoplights. They are only a tiny bit more money than an OEM type unit and they look identical to OEM. They supply a very consistent 14 volts to the battery at all times. The one in my Vette is several years old. Before it seemed like I had a battery failure every year or two. Since this upgrade, my battery has been in perfect health for three years now and showing no signs of failing.

[Rich G.]

Did the original alt. have one field terminal and you're putting on an alt. with 2 field terminals? If so I believe one of them has to be grounded. Ck first I thought I ran into that problem before.

[Brads70]

Is this at idle? I ask as Mopar alternators don't seem to work at idle Try rev it up and testing it again?

[temsinc]

The old alt had 2 field terminals...the new one had only a single field terminal, I had to take one off the old and add to the new. Now, where would one ground the terminal? Not sure I understand.

[Chryco Psycho]

the alt needs 2 terminals + the main output wire bolted on . the one terminal is the blue 12v feed wire , the second wire usually green runs back to the voltage regulator

[Rich G.]

I was thinking your working on a 70 with the round back alt. Got me confused now. Your factory harness has 2 field wires ? I wonder if you have the wrong alt if it only had 1 terminal. You do have 12v to the alt? I have a little tester that plugs into the regulator that puts the alt at full output which basically test the alternator so if it's putting out about 16v the alternator is good and the regulator is bad.

[ratroaster]

You have to add an isolated terminal and brush to convert a single field to a dual field. They are about 6 bucks from your auto parts store. Good info here......http://www.mopar1.us/charge.html

[temsinc]

UPDATE: I converted the single terminal to a dual (ground). Alt putting out 14.2-18.5v at high rpm  . Tried testing the voltage regulator to no avail, ohms 20K. So I purchased a new volt regulator, returned the single terminal  alt for the proper dual terminal which will be in Monday. Anything I'm missing?

[70 Challenger Lover]

Only that the original system sucks and was marginal even when working correctly.

[7212Mopar]

I am running a dual fields alternator from Tuff Stuff. They also make internally regulated version. Looks very much the same as stock but put out 130 amps.

[70 Challenger Lover]

I think the aftermarket internally regulated units are the way to go. Brand new everything not rebuilt. Looks original and close to the rebuilt prices. You can leave you the only external regulator and wiring in place so no one knows you upgraded. Beats the hell out of chasing these gremlins and hoping nothing fails down the road.

[temsinc]

UPDATE: just installed new alt and voltage regulator...now it's overcharging 16.9V at idle  . Darcy's upset  . Where do I go next? Your help is appreciated.

Darcy

P.s. I take it I shouldn't drive her if she's overcharging correct?

[JS29]

Darcy should check the ground on the voltage regulator. confirm it is grounded.