chip RS

hi peeps im back in here again lol

well like the title suggests i need some help with my alternator,

im sure its just died on me as the red battery light on the dashboard is lit, and the battery is just running flat after a while

first of all can someone confirm the wires are correct in my picture theres 2 joined big reds going to biggest terminal and a thinner blue wire going to the other terminal,

im hoping there should be no more wires coming from the alternator as i carnt see anything coming off the loom

chip

cossiejay

the wiring is right but looks tired

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

That is correct,yes, but that red wire looks in bad condition and worringly thin though, don't know on 3DR but I strongly suspect that should be one wire!

Check the power at the unit itself.

Martin

chip RS

cheers bud,, and i know the wires look terrible, im on the lookout for a heavy duty eyed crimp so i can cut that old one off,

so if its was back on the car how would i test it with my multimeter,,, earth with black prong and then red prong to the blue wire and take the reading

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

I assume you have removed the nut off the other wire? The first thing to do is to secure this!

No, the live is where the heavy gauge (in your case not so) wire connects, with the engine running check the power here.

You need to be very careful, you can see there is bare wire there, if that touches the body of the alternator you will have a fire, this needs rewiring!

Martin

chip RS

i did test the thicker red wires to ground with the car running and got a reading of 11 odd volts before i stripped it down, what does that blue wire do then bud

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

The blue wire is the ground for the warning light, when the ignition is swithed on a live feed is sent to that terminal that excites the 'field windings' so that charging can happen. You did make this a good connection before you tested, i.e. not leave it as per this picture?

It may be the 'regulator' which is faulty.

Martin

chip RS

hi bud i tested it while it was still all bolted up to the car, the picture was taken afterwards just to clarify the right number of wires and if they were in correct position, ive looked at the alternator on my escos and it has only 1 red and 1 blue going to it hense my confusion with it being a double red on the 3 door,,i think they are pretty much meant to be the same bar the pully wheel

ive actually got 2 alternators for the 3 door but my spare has the little box with the black wire coming out missing,,, it does however still have the regulator attached,if thats the big black round thing held on with a screw either side,,

im gonna go look at it now see if i can remove it lol,,cheers bud

martysmartie

iTrader: (1)

The 'black box with a wire' a supressor, the regulator is the oval shaped object.

No they are different, assuming you have a Cosworth Escort, these are 90A units, the same as a Saph, 3DR is 70A, the pulley is different due to the "serpentine belt" arrangement.

3DR must have had two wires (assuming thats OE), Saph and other setups I know have a heavy duty single cable!

Martin

chip RS

well i swapped the regulators and the car runs mint but now ive lost the temp gauge the fuel gauge revs and speedo,, fuck

so what have i killed this time

chip RS

well after all that the battery only fooking ran out again

i had a final push by pulling the original alternator back off, swapped back the regulator and this time put the supressor on the spare alternator and then fitted the spare alternator,

the car ran for over an hour and still does now,,so im confident the battery is charging again

ive took a pic of the blue wire untaped and it was even more shocking than the reds wires were
well out came some better brown wire and i soldered in a new piece and then re did the power cables too

but ive still got no fuel gauge temp gauge or rev counter

erm help anyone

D-Sport

Popped a fuse?

chip RS

hi bud thanks for your reply, i did have a breif look at the under bonnet fuses and all seemed ok, im going to remove each one and test properly tommorow,
all the warning lights and backlights on the clocks still work btw

chip