1981 corvette
Thread Starter
Cruising
Joined: Mar 2012
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: Pointblank Texas
1981 corvette
Ok, so this time I have a question concerning my 81 vette. I thought my alternator was not working but when I take off the neg. battery cable the car contines to run. Touching screwdriver to back of alternator indicates it is magnetized. Charge gage only stays in the middle and when I turn on the lights all gages go to the left. Any help would be wonderful.
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 9,192
Likes: 27
From: Boca Raton Florida
The alternator may be putting out enough current at idle to keep the engine running. You need a voltmeter to acuritely see whats going on. At idle with the lights and all that on you see the voltage drop to 12v or just below. Bump it up off idle and it should return up above 13v. The alternator may be ok, or you could have a bad diode in the regulator if it doesn't keep up with the load. You can pull the altrnator and have it checked at Autozone for free
