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Posted by: weird_looking_cactus Mar 17 2004, 12:14 PM

Well my battery is not charging up when the car is started so Im thinking my alternator is bad. I want to take it out so I can go have it tested. I have looked at the articals at pelicans but Im still lost on were the alternator is located some pictures would be great.

Posted by: type47 Mar 17 2004, 12:23 PM

(assuming you have a 914).... the alternator is at the front left of the engine (as if you were looking from the rear to the front of the car) sorta directly behind the drivers butt. remove little plastic covers over the slits in the tin to access the alt tension bolt. loosen bolt. remove engine sheet metal, front left part to access alt. remove wiring to alt. unbolt alt. remove cooling duct to fan housing. ... um.... remove alt. install is reverse.

better to follow the tech article.

Posted by: 3d914 Mar 17 2004, 12:26 PM

Cactus,

If you open your engine lid form the drivers side and look forward at the sheet metal surrounding the engine, you should see a black plastic elongated cap (about an inch wide & 2 inches long). It has small tabs on it so that you can pull it off. (lower-left of pic)



There is a second cap located around to the front of the sheet metal. These are the access slots for the Alternator mounting bracket/bolts.

Yuo can see alt pully sticking out at lower-left of pic.


Hope this helps.

Posted by: tat2dphreak Mar 17 2004, 12:27 PM

you'll have to pull the engine... at LEAST part way... I am pretty sure of that...

it's located next to the impeller fan, held by 2 bolts... have you picked up a haynes manual? I advise it, it will really help you out when pulling it...

there is a way to test your alt. without pulling it though... using a multimeter... someone else here I'm sure has the specifics... where to hook up, what the readings should be...


or you can pull the altenator and take it to an autozone... they can test it there...

the BUS altenator may be a direct swap(cheaper, easier to find)

Posted by: 3d914 Mar 17 2004, 12:32 PM

tat,

No need to pull the engine or lower it at all. Its completely accessible from underneath and above.

You will have to remove the two section of tin above & in front of the alt though.

Posted by: tat2dphreak Mar 17 2004, 12:36 PM

Posted by: davep Mar 17 2004, 12:49 PM

Before you start yanking the alternator, there are a few things to check first.
Is the alternator belt tight or even present.
Is the voltage regulator, screwed to the side of the relay board functional.
The 3 prong connector that plugs into the relay board will plug directly into the regulator.
That can eliminate a bad relay board. Try a known good regulator.
There is a lot of information in other threads (do a search on alternator) on electrical tests.
If the alternator has not been out in years, you may have a lot of problems getting at it. The screws for the sheet metal can be a real pain. Carefully note all the parts as you take them out to know how they have to go back in.

DaveP

Posted by: Dave_Darling Mar 17 2004, 04:00 PM

I know you said you looked at the articles on the Bird site, but look through them again. I thought I described the process of removing and replacing pretty decently... And Jim Thorusen wrote up a lengthy article about troubleshooting the charging system--R&R of the alternator is enough of a pain that you really don't wanna do it if you don't have to. So make sure that the alt is actually your problem first.

--DD

Posted by: jmc3352 Mar 17 2004, 07:24 PM

Posted by: anthony Apr 3 2004, 07:54 PM

I have some alternator questions. When I test the voltage on the battery when the car is running I get:

idle: 12v
>2000rpms: 12.5v

Shouldn't it be at more like 13.5v?

So it looks like I'm getting low output. Besides grounds, what do I check. Is it probably the voltage regulator? Are there brushes in the alternator that ever need to be changed?

I think this is related to my recent Optima woes. I don't think the battery is ever fully getting charged because of this.

Posted by: lapuwali Apr 3 2004, 09:39 PM

It should be 13-14v even at idle. Check your alternator belt and make sure it's not slipping (they don't always make noise), and check the battery to body and gearbox to body grounds.

When brushes start to fail (they've gotten worn too short), you'll usually see intermittent charging voltage, not just low. The G light on the dash will come on, although it may blink. When the regulator fails, you almost always get voltage that's too high.

Posted by: Bleyseng Apr 3 2004, 10:02 PM

Ah, its the red light. Green light is oil

you can remove the alt from underneath pretty easy

Posted by: lapuwali Apr 3 2004, 10:19 PM

Posted by: Bleyseng Apr 3 2004, 10:47 PM

ok, youre right, too much tonight

Posted by: Racer Chris Apr 3 2004, 11:12 PM

Posted by: rhodyguy Apr 3 2004, 11:18 PM

wait for gint to get there.

kevin

Posted by: McMark Apr 4 2004, 09:10 AM

You can pull the alternator without removing any tin. I did it once and then did it again when I realized I'd forgotten something. I'm pretty sure Brad did it a couple weeks ago as well without removing any tin. It's definitely easier if the tin is off, but removing tin is pretty painstaking by itself. You could probably make it easier just by removing the cheese head screws that hold the tin in place so you have some wiggle-room.

Posted by: weird_looking_cactus Apr 4 2004, 11:57 AM

HAHA. Ya I found my altnerator was good a long time ago its just I never had my car running long enought to charge I was always just cranking the engine. But thanks for the help.