Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Charging Problem

That almost sounds like the alternator has a bad diode in it. If you can remove it without too much trouble, take it off the car and take it back to Autozone and have them test it in the store on their alternator testing machine.

ok i took my alternator to az n it works but my batt light is not coming on before i crank. what would be the problem to cause that?

both of those fuses are good and the alternator put out a little over 14 volts on the bench. i have 13 volts at the alternator so the voltage is going that way but i put an aligator clip on the batt wire at the alternator and im not getting any output.

Disconnect the alternator wires to your battery and check the output from the alternator at idle speed. I have a feeling that the regulator on the alternator you have is not outputting at idle and only when idle is increased. Your alternator should be putting out 14.5 volts at idle. And you should get the same reading at the battery. So keep it that simple...disconnect it completely and check its output at idle...it should be 14.5 at idle...if its not...speed up your engine a bit to see if it increases. If you find it does increase as you speed the engine, then return it, as it is defective regulator. If it shows that its output is 14.5 volts, then 14.5 is also what you should have at the battery.If you don't get 14.5 at the battery, but you get it at the alternator, then you have a wiring issue between the alternator and the battery. BTW, Clean all your connections, both at the battery and the alternator, and the starter.

If the light isn't coming on before cranking, I can think of several possibilities:

1)The light is burned out.

2)The 3-prong plug isn't connected to the alternator.

3)There is something disconnected between the light and the 3-prong plug.

4)There is something wrong with the light.

Check between the "I" terminal on the regulator (hopefully it's marked) and ground for 12V when the key is in the ON/RUN position.

The light is connected between 12V and the I terminal.

If there is no 12V at the I terminal, that's probably why your alternator isn't charging.

is the I terminal the single greay wire? of not what color is it? THanks

I = GN/BLK
A = Red
B/S = Grey

Hope that helps you...You should get yourself a haynes book at Canadian Tire.

That I wire has to have 12 volts. So if there is no 12volts at the I wire with ignition on, then your alternator won't output.