Goatboy Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Today while driving in really hard rain, I mean standing water on the freeway, my volt gauge dropped to like 9 volts. In addition the tach was really jumpy. Seemed to still run fine though. Drove to a couple of different places with several miles in between with no change in condition, then parked it for awhile and when I came out it was dead. Nothin. Any Ideas? I have a high powered stereo system hooked up. Two amplifiers that pull a lot of power from the car. Do you think this might have fried the altenator and or Voltage regulator? Is the Voltage Regulator internal or external to the Altenator on this model? I see both parts listed on website auto parts stores. 85 GL Wagon with a 1.8 carb motor. Thank You in advance. --GoatBoy-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 GB last question first - the VR (Voltage Regulator) is inside of the alternator. Any EA81 from 83 up through 91 EA82's will fit and work fine (if a boneyard or fishing trip in the bay of E is in your future). In light of the power load you impose on the alt. You might also investigate the uprade to a XT6 alt or the GM alt conversion talked about in a recent thread. That is IF the alt is toast. You say Drove to a couple of different places with several miles in between with no change in condition, then parked it for awhile and when I came out it was dead. This is evidence that a short to ground has occured and is draining the battery OR driving with no charging killed the battery. The water may or may not have caused the problem, first check the fusible link closest to the strut tower, it's connections do like to get knackered. (Remember the only way to test a FL is with a continutiy meter) This Fusible Link feeds the alt. output to the car and the battery. Therefore if it is not "making the trip" your system will act as you describe. I would charge the battery and test for a short to ground that could be draining the charge. Do this by connecting a low wattage 12 volt lamp in series with the positive battery cable. If it lights or glows with the key off you have a problem. When you find the ground fault the lamp will go out. Then check to see if the alternator is the problem. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
northguy Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 In addition, check the tensionof the fan belt that drives the alternator. Getting it wet may have caused it to slip, making it not charge. Dry it and put a bit of belt dressing on it if it's taught enough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted December 14, 2003 Author Share Posted December 14, 2003 But would any of that have cause d the low voltage reading on the gauge? What about the jumpy tach? I've never seen a tach jump a twitch like that one was. --GoatBoy-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edrach Posted December 14, 2003 Share Posted December 14, 2003 Jumpy tach is generally due to wobble in the distributer shaft; unfortunately nothing to do with the alternator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 The twitchy tach only started with the the low voltage reading. Other than that it has been rock steady. --GoatBoy-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goatboy Posted December 15, 2003 Author Share Posted December 15, 2003 Replaced the altenator with a Remanufactured unit from Baxters. Jumped it and it was just fine. Jumpy tach no longer. Voltage reading is between 12 and 13 volts steady. Well until I have the heater fan, headlights, wipers and tunes cranked at idle, then it reads about 11 volts. THe biggest draw seems to be when I turn on the heater fan. That seems to account for about a volt all by itself. Anyway, shes back on the road for now. Thanks to all who chimed in on this one. Laterz --GoatBoy-- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueTrain Posted December 15, 2003 Share Posted December 15, 2003 good to hear she's up and runnin... wow.. 292,000 miles...good to see... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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