So... I think I fried my alternator by letting a neighbor jump his truck from my BRAT. Weird things happened after that, so we replaced the alternator... well Tim did, I was still sleeping... heck, he's an early riser.

 

Now it's 2 months later and my volt meter is sitting around ohhh, I'd say, maybe 11 or a bit lower. Well, just about a hair above the red line.

 

I don't have a manual for the car, and don't see a voltage regulator like I do on the '78, so is there one? Better yet, what could be causing this? It's my daily driver and the weather is nasty so I don't want be messing with it in this crap.

Im assuming this is an EA81 brat? It has an internal voltage regulator if its after 82. 82 and before were external regulators. If you think its your alt again i would check all the wiring to make sure its still good..as well as check the battery. If your battery is on the way out it could very well take the alternator with it.

Im assuming this is an EA81 brat? It has an internal voltage regulator if its after 82. 82 and before were external regulators. If you think its your alt again i would check all the wiring to make sure its still good..as well as check the battery. If your battery is on the way out it could very well take the alternator with it.

 

Yes, it's an '86, and EA81. Ok, it has an internal regulator. The battery is brand new, so I'll look for wiring issues. My gut told me to do that because the other parts are new. This "new" gen is... well, different. I have to get a manual. Well, you guys are better. Thanks!

First make sure that the alternator warning light in the dash turns on with the ignition switch turned to ON. This is important because the current through the lamp is used to excite the alternator field. This may be on a white/red wire to the alternator. Check the other wires on the alternator also using a voltmeter. They should be near the battery voltage. If those things are ok and the lead between the alternator output and the positive battery post is good then the alternator is at fault. Clean the battery posts also.

This is too simple, but check the alternator belt for proper tightness if you haven't done so already. Then get a good digital voltmeter and check the voltage at the battery while the car is running with the lights on. At idle, pretty close to 12 volts is normal; around 2000 rpm the voltage should rise to pretty close to 14 volts; increasing the rpm should not raise the voltage by much more. I don't ever trust the dash mounted voltmeter; especially on an older car.

Umm..this is just an idea of something to check also since it was the culprit of alot of my headache with the XT6..but dont know if it would apply to an EA81...but the connector ( the white one)...how do the connectors look? If they are looking bad or the connector is starting to deteriorate .I know it causes many mant many issues with the ER27s...Like I said ...its just an idea

I don't ever trust the dash mounted voltmeter; especially on an older car.

 

And for very good reason.

 

Everything tested out right on. Thanks everyone!!

Glad you got it fixed. Thanks for the update.