well it looks like it was not my alt that went bad, but my 3 month old battery. when i thought the alt went up i disonnected the wire for the dash light, which i thought was the exciter wire as well. it turns out that the wire is not needed for the alt to charge.

tonight i tried to charge the battery with a charger. after an hour at 6 amps the battery still had no charge, and the charger was hot to the touch. i mean showing below 0%.

when it started acting funny was after i slowed from 75 to 0 on an off ramp, i thought before it was just a chance or maybe the brake lights did it. i wonder if my wally world battery did not enjoy a 6500 mile ride in a 914

That sure is a nice install you did.


M

Get a known good battery that tests 12.5v at rest....hook it into the system and start it up....13.0v at idle.....2500 rpms, no more than 14.5.....

Sounds like you may have cooked it...my guess your alt is putting TOO much out....

I had a stuck regulator and cooked 3 batteries last year.

well at rest i only had 12.1 volts running i had 12.5 when i reved it, it went up to 12.6. that is what made me think the alt was dead, but after a time ont eh charger it did not take any charge

and i had to bump start it the last time, i tried jumping the starter out and only got little sparks, from either the battery being discharged or dead totally. also i dont have a voltage reg on the relay board. when the tow truck showed up he put a booster pack on it to try to start it and it only sparked real big when he hooked it up and still no start, i think the battery is shorted

and z i will be returning the battery in the next few days so i will have a good battery to test with.

also miles thanks

I don't have the regulator on the board either. I have a Bosch unit from a Volvo. The regulator is built in. Your Suby unit most likely has a built in reg too. Could be fried. In any event you'll know more after you get a fresh battery. Good luck.