3 replies to this topic

[wil0]

does the third small wire on the alternator connection control the power regulator on the alternator?
my alternator isnt charging my battery, and its only a few months old. its outputting three volts, would this happen if there was a loose connection to the smaller third wire on the alternator? if it controls the voltage regulator this would happen?
or could it be that the voltage regulator is broken in the alternator?

Before i replaced my alternator i had problems with the alternator not charging my battery properly, replacing it fixed this. What would cause the power regulator to fail again?

[Dan]

The small terminal is the control terminal. It must receive 12v from the battery, through the no-charge warning lamp in order to switch the alternator on. It doesn't control the output of the regulator itself as the alternator is self regulating but it does switch the thing on and off. If the no-charge lamp has failed the alternator won't start so check that first.

[wil0]

Thanks very much!
So if there was a lose connection on the control wire, that kept turning it on and off loads, it could blow it up? That could expain why my lights would kind of flicker, and going over bumps would stop it, or make it flicker...
if i cant locate the connection problem, i could just run it to a live feed from the ignition?
Is the battery warning light fused somewhere?

Cheers for your help!

[Dan]

The sense terminal must be fed through the warning lamp, you can't just take any ignition feed. Well you can but then you won't have a warning! If the alternator is not charging above 3v and the lamp on the dash is not lighting up it must be blown. There is no fuse in the sense circuit.