electrical questions
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,092
Likes: 5
From: Fayetteville Arkansas
electrical questions
I had to jump my 72 coupe last night to get it started. Got it up and running and noticed that the ammeter was not at it's usual spot which is a bit on the positive side of the zero. It was almost to the hash mark between zero and 40. What is up with that? I went ahead and checked the battery and it showed 13.5 with the car running and then the alt showed it was putting out 14.3. Shouldn't those be closer to the same? ANyhow... i turned on the lights and it made no difference on the ammeter.... so my question is what is wrong if anything?
1972 SBC coupe, 4spd, mostly all stock original except alt upgraded to cs144 and dewitts rad with 1 electric fan.
thanks,
Sully
1972 SBC coupe, 4spd, mostly all stock original except alt upgraded to cs144 and dewitts rad with 1 electric fan.
thanks,
Sully
Drifting
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 1,562
Likes: 2
From: Spring Texas
Doing diagnostics over the internet is difficult without knowing more, so I have a few questions.
1. New CS144 or Junk Yard Dawg?
2. What is the theoretical output of the CS144? Is it 105 amp or higher?
3. Did you upgrade the wiring to handle the additional output from the CS144 over the standard 72 alternator?
4. Is your electric fan using a switched source and a relay to drive it?
1. New CS144 or Junk Yard Dawg?
2. What is the theoretical output of the CS144? Is it 105 amp or higher?
3. Did you upgrade the wiring to handle the additional output from the CS144 over the standard 72 alternator?
4. Is your electric fan using a switched source and a relay to drive it?
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,092
Likes: 5
From: Fayetteville Arkansas
new cs 144 alt, bought new at autozone, supposed to be for a 93-96 impala SS. I think the output is 100-110 amp. Not for sure. I want to say it is 105 amp. Duralast Gold. No I did not make any changes to the wiring other than new lectric limited front wiring harness and engine harness. Do I need to make any wiring changes? It has not had a problem before. Yes, I ran the electric fan through a relay kit from summit.
thanks for any help!
Sully
thanks for any help!
Sully
Team Owner
Joined: Jul 1999
Posts: 65,492
Likes: 230
From: Orange Park Florida
new cs 144 alt, bought new at autozone, supposed to be for a 93-96 impala SS. I think the output is 100-110 amp. Not for sure. I want to say it is 105 amp. Duralast Gold. No I did not make any changes to the wiring other than new lectric limited front wiring harness and engine harness. Do I need to make any wiring changes? It has not had a problem before. Yes, I ran the electric fan through a relay kit from summit.
thanks for any help!
Sully
thanks for any help!
Sully
take the engine fan main power off the alt stud directly as I did and ground the fan to the frame direct, NOT the rad support...
I bet your gauge says the alt is damn near the bat on the voltmeter then...given a hour to recover the bat.....
Advanced
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 64
Likes: 0
From: Knoxville Iowa
Batteries do quit just because they're old. When I bought my '75,I just eyeballed the battery and wiggled the connections to make sure they were tight. After setting inthe garage all winter, I had to jumpstart it twice in a row to get it to turn over so I pulled out the battery and checked the manufacture date. Dec. 2000 put in a new battery, no more problems.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,092
Likes: 5
From: Fayetteville Arkansas
Thanks for the ideas everyone... the battery is new, maybe 1 year old. I am going to go through the frame grounds again and make sure everything is getting good contact. The electric fan gets it's power through the alt directly and has it's switched 12 v power through the wiper motor. It has worked very well so far. The ground is on the rad support and I will change that this weekend and put it directly to the frame.
Thomas
Thomas
What is the main power source for running the electric cooling fan??? it should be right off the alt as GM ran the a/c blower fan....NOT off the battery stud on the alt OR the battery direct....
take the engine fan main power off the alt stud directly as I did and ground the fan to the frame direct, NOT the rad support...
I bet your gauge says the alt is damn near the bat on the voltmeter then...given a hour to recover the bat.....
take the engine fan main power off the alt stud directly as I did and ground the fan to the frame direct, NOT the rad support...
I bet your gauge says the alt is damn near the bat on the voltmeter then...given a hour to recover the bat.....
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Race Director
Joined: Sep 2001
Posts: 10,560
Likes: 439
From: Wellington, FL
St. Jude Donor '11 thru '25
[QUOTE=Sully1882;1566215738]Thanks for the ideas everyone... the battery is new, maybe 1 year old. I am going to go through the frame grounds again and make sure everything is getting good contact. The electric fan gets it's power through the alt directly and has it's switched 12 v power through the wiper motor. It has worked very well so far. The ground is on the rad support and I will change that this weekend and put it directly to the frame.
Thomas[/QUOTE
Have the battery checked under load. Advance, AutoZone, etc., will do it for free. I've seen batteries come off the shelf that were bad.
Thomas[/QUOTE
Have the battery checked under load. Advance, AutoZone, etc., will do it for free. I've seen batteries come off the shelf that were bad.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 7,708
Likes: 266
From: indy indiana
12 volt batteries have 6 compartments in them,2 volts each.In each compartment, lead "grid sheets" are filled with lead oxcide paste(now hardend).The more grids,the higher amps for starting.These grid s are seperated by a thin sheet of paper. As we drive, shocks,bumps,vibration all trqansmitto that battery case,with a little bit of the leadoxide paste falling out each time.Time passes,not enough oxide remains in the grids to retain ample storeded charge. Time itself shouldnt make an differance.I have een brand new batteries explode when put on the charger the first time,and yes, a new battery can fail shortly after being installed. One cell goes bad..your down to 10 volts,ect.
Race Director
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 16,528
Likes: 53
From: Dayton, Ohio
I have not read every post but have you checked for a drain on the battery when the car is shut off and sitting.Maybe all your hardware is ok and you have a battery drain.Also the amp meter in your car is just an indication of what your charging system is doing-charging or discharging-it is not very accurate.
Thread Starter
Melting Slicks
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 2,092
Likes: 5
From: Fayetteville Arkansas
Messed with the car for a bit last night.... fired it up without having to jump it. Ran good and strong. I let it run for about an hour and everything seemed nice and perfect... i must've left something on or the door wasn't shut all the way and drained the battery. The amp guage did return to normal once the battery was charged up. Thanks for all the pointers and info! Now back to the paint prep work... it's getting closer!
Sully
Sully