alternator to cause overheating?

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Jun 9, 2013 | 01:30 PM

octaneforce

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alternator to cause overheating?

my 89 randomly starts to get a little hot. 235-240 degrees. when this happens, it also appears that i lose voltage (11.5-12.0v), my rpms drop, and my power steering doesnt work as well. is my alternator on its way out and causing more stress to be put on the motor? if i turn the a/c on, all of these problems get even worse. voltage gets close to 11 volts. maybe the low voltage isnt allowing the fan to spin fast enough? the alternator is easy enough to replace to just get it over with.

Jun 9, 2013 | 01:49 PM

cv67

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From: altered state

St. Jude Donor '05

Thats pretty warm for an L98

Pull your radiator out and from the rear blast the fins with a high pressure water hose over and over til you can hold it up over your head and see well. Straighten any dinged fins, fill bleed the air etc.
You can have the fans come on earlier too that always helps.

rest may be just fine. Was piloting an LT1 car for awhile that would do the same thing when it got real warm. Nothing wrong with anything just too damn hot.

Jun 9, 2013 | 04:23 PM

Tom400CFI

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From: Park City Utah

Quote:

Originally Posted by octaneforce

my 89 randomly starts to get a little hot. 235-240 degrees. when this happens, it also appears that i lose voltage (11.5-12.0v), my rpms drop, and my power steering doesnt work as well.

The problem is not caused by the alternator. The alternator and power steering are victims of another problem....MY guess is that when it gets hot, your leaking coolant somewhere, where it is getting on the serpentine drive belt, causing it to slip. There goes your charging and your power steering, and of course, adding the load of A/C would worsen the condition.

Follow cuisinartvette's advice (check/clean front of radiator off) and also inspect for signs of leaking coolant around the water pump, hoses, and belt area.

Jun 9, 2013 | 04:44 PM

SunCr

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From: San Diego, Ca

Voltage/Amps drop as the alternator heats up and mfg's specs are rarely real world (which is why you often get great #'s off the car when you have one checked at a Discounter). You do need to get your temps down though. It wasn't designed to heat up with the coolant fan cranking so something is amiss - crappy air flow; leaking head gasket, etc or maybe just a bum gage. Try scanning it to confirm the temp. Note: GM admitted long ago that expecting more than battery at idle was a no go, but you don't want it to drop so low that the fan slows down as things will definitely heat up. That's easier to manage by not running more than one fan on those early C4's with the Aux Fan or B4P option. The 25 amp idle amp output of the C130 Alternator can't keep up so an extended idlel often results in overheating for those years, particularly if it's really loaded (electrically): a/c on, blower on max, lights, radio, 20 plus year old wiring with high resistance, etc.

Jun 9, 2013 | 05:57 PM

octaneforce

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holy crap. i took the rad out and there was an unbelievable amount of trash trapped between the rad and condenser coil. i cleaned it all out, removed the rad and hosed the ***** out of it, flushed the system, re assembled and it does not seem to be overheating anymore. both main fan and axillary fan operate. i still would like to install a colder stat and have the fan turn on sooner. is this as simple as a relay?

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Jun 9, 2013 | 08:00 PM

tahoemedic

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Joined: Mar 2012

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From: South Lake Tahoe CA

That's a ton of crap trapped in there! I usually check around my radiator everytime I change the oil to make sure there isn't any garbage building up. Sometimes even more frequent if I have been on a long drive with the car.

Jun 9, 2013 | 08:09 PM

Kmcoldcars

Melting Slicks

Joined: Jan 2009

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From: Puyallup Washington

The only thing I would do now is clean the radiator well and maybe get a new serpentine belt and see how things go.

Jun 9, 2013 | 08:44 PM

MotorCity_87_C4

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Joined: Aug 2007

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From: Livonia Michigan

I think I see my Walmart receipt for my old toaster in that pile of trash.

I had a lot or hair in my radiator fins along with the usual leaves. Suspose the PO run over a few animals.