92 Pontiac Sunbird Alternator not Charging
Asked by Sarah Oct 03, 2018 at 03:36 PM about the 1992 Pontiac Sunbird 4 Dr SE Sedan
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
92 Pontiac Sunbird, 2.0 engine 4 cylinder.
Old alternator was bad and battery was bad.
We replaced the battery (new) and we
replaced the alternator (new). The
alternator is still not charging the battery.
The 3 wires going into the regulator are all
hot, but no charge coming out. Help!!!
Trying to get it going for my dad.
3 Answers
Check the wiring between the battery and alternator. You should have the same voltage reading at the red (BAT) connector on the alternator as you do across the positive and negative terminals as the battery. (You'll need a meter to take voltage readings.) If the reading at the alternator is different, you have a voltage drop in the wiring.
Just to be clear on above post: you need a voltmeter. Set it to appropriate volt range, and place negative (black) probe on negative (black) terminal of battery. Then place positive (red) probe on positive battery terminal. Note the voltage reading (should be between 12 and 13 volts for a fully charged battery). Now leave negative probe on negative battery terminal. Move the positive probe to the BAT terminal on the alternator. Again take a voltage reading. It should be nearly identical to first one. If it's significantly less, then wiring is bad. Could be a frayed connection.
When we were testing the car earlier today it was reading 11.9 with the car off on all and 11.7 with it off. We had to charge the battery some, per instruction from the "experienced technicians" that was listed on the new alternator. When we checked it this time it was 12.6 on the battery and 12.5 on the alternator wire. There's power seeming to go into it, just no power coming out.
