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Alternator FAQ

S

stocksvtcontour

CEG'er
Joined
Nov 15, 2005
Messages
166
Location
warren mi
So your battery light is on, well read this:

First thing you do is test your battery.

This is how
Start by charging the battery well. Then test the battery and alternator.

Battery test first : Engine off, headlights on for one minute. Voltage across battery terminals should be 12 to 12.5.
If it is lower then your battery might be bad.

Next, test the alternator:

Alternator test: Engine running, about 2000 rpm voltage across battery terminals should be 14 to 14.5.

If you do not have that voltage first make sure that you have good connections at your battery post and possibly even your alternator. They should be free of corrosion and rust.

If you retest and your voltage is still low you should next test your mega fuse which is behind your distributor(coil pack) connected to the wiring.

mega fuse looks like
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/s...=6months&Main=1273442&Search=true#Post1273499

location of mega fuse
http://www.contour.org/ubbthreads/s...ld=1year&Main=1095791&Search=true#Post1098148

Now if that turns out bad that might be your problem.
you should be able to buy one at any auto parts store,

Next always remember that you have to check the fuse for your fog light and instrument panel because they run on the same circuit

If all that fails, then it might be time for a new alternator. There is a wiring fix from goldentour, but I really don't like it. It seems like it just tricks the voltage regulator. Opinions are like (........) everyone has one.

Here is a link to rays how to alternator change:

If anyone has anything to add be my guest
thanks tony and ray
 
Last edited by a moderator:
This should be stickied somewhere for all those people who have alternator issues to refer to before asking questions. BTW Good write-up.
 
That's good, and all, but it is already linked in the M&M how-to thread.


:D
 
stocksvtcontour said:
.... always remember that you have to check the fuse for your fog light and instrument panel because they run on the same circuit
...
Click to expand...
Just wanted to add that it should be Fuse 5 for the older models. The newer models have Fuse 3 for the Fog lamp fuse but apparently, the circuit does not run through the fuse for the newer models. What year is considered newer, is hard to say.
 
Ray,

Any reason that your how to doesn't suggest removing the Y pipe and main cat? It made it sooo much easier for me! Only an extra 8 bolts or something. Then I had all the room in the world to get it out.

Anyways, your how to was very good Ray. Thanks.




Jeff
 
Reebs said:
Ray,

Any reason that your how to doesn't suggest removing the Y pipe and main cat? It made it sooo much easier for me! Only an extra 8 bolts or something. .....
Click to expand...
I can (and so can a few others) answer that. The "rusted" bolts and studs don't wanna come out. :laugh: .

Yes, some CEGers have posted that they remove the Y-pipe but their Y pipe and bolts were in "shiny" condition.:drool:
 
Tony2005 said:
I can (and so can a few others) answer that. The "rusted" bolts and studs don't wanna come out. :laugh: .

Yes, some CEGers have posted that they remove the Y-pipe but their Y pipe and bolts were in "shiny" condition.:drool:
Click to expand...


I figured the reason might have been because of that. I just loaded it up with pb blaster, and I had to use a little propane blow torch to heat it up on 1 that was really stuck. But that extra 15 minutes I spent was well worth it in my opinion !!! :)
 
Because once you've done it around 5 times and you become a pro like myself, you can have that bad boy out quicker then it would take to drop the ypipe and cat :)
 
I am new to this Forum and to the whole Contour thing. I purchased a 95 LX v6/auto. I want to say thank you for putting this thread together. My alt. light was on so I followed this thread and found out it that the Mega Fuse had crumbled to pieces. I replaced that and the car is charging like new. If it wasn't for this thread I would have never even known there was a fuse there and would have spent the $100 for the Alt. Again thank you and I hope I can add to this Forum as I get to know my Tour.:cool:

Big G ;)
 
How come you dont like it? its basically a shortcut for the voltage sensor. instead of reading at the distribution box, you can read it right at the source.

when i had this issue, i dont remember seeing the alt light, i just had the bad dimming.

i hope that makes sense i havent been on here in a while.
 
One suggestion, I had a problem with the battery light coming on intermittently, it would only come on after about 3500rpm. My problem ended up being a short in the windings causing the Voltage regulator to fry out, the problem with the windings didn't show up at first until the short burnt out the regulator, so after 3500rpm the voltage would go from 14.5 or so up to 17/18 volts. not good for the car.
 
A Big THANK YOU for that detailed How To by Ray on changing the alternator on the V6...mine froze up solid and would not even let the engine turn over to start..I researched alternator here and found my way to the How To...this is invaluable...and I would have never been able to do the job as cleanly or efficiently as I did without that info...yes it is a nightmare to do..no doubt...but it can be done..I opted for the Autozone Gold Lifetime Warranty alternator as it is all new...cost a bundle but after removing it there was no way I was putting on an el cheapo unit. I had a 3/8 thumb drive rachet which greatly helped getting the bolts snugged down before using a full drive to tighten them...if you don't have one then get one..their cheap and it does speed up the bolt R&R a lot...other thing I noticed is that there seems to be floating bushings in the cradle...when I went to install the alternator only the upper ear would go in...I had to push back on the bottom bushing to get the bottom ear to slide in.
 
I'm glad you got it repaired. I'm also glad the How-To helped.

I'm even MORE glad to see that you say the words "searched", "found" and "used" when I look up and see ONE POST TO YOUR NAME!..

very nice. This is how it should be done! Job well done on all aspects. Enjoy your nicely running car!
 
mabey a dumb question but here goes...why doesn't anyone ever mention the oldest trick in the book??? start engine and then remove neg batt cable...if alternator is good it should continue to run off the alternator...if the engine dies the alt is bad...does this not work on newer cars with eec or something? i've used this trick a million times on older cars, it works great....heck i drove my 86 town car(obd I) for like 30 - 45mins with no batt at all in it...ran great:shrug:
 
because it is:

dangerous to the car (can absolutely FRY your ECM, etc..)
DEADLY to you (Do you have any clue how many volts and amps are being produced from a running alternator? CERTAIN death is likely to be followed if you happen to complete the circuit.

Its an "old trick" by anyone who isn't a professional or knew any better..
 
Ray said:
because it is:

dangerous to the car (can absolutely FRY your ECM, etc..)
DEADLY to you (Do you have any clue how many volts and amps are being produced from a running alternator? CERTAIN death is likely to be followed if you happen to complete the circuit.

Its an "old trick" by anyone who isn't a professional or knew any better..
Click to expand...

yes, technically i would agree with you...however, i have seen and done this tons of times and i have never seen it cause any probs...not say'n you are wrong...just in my experience have never seen it...also odd thing that i really have never understood..i have seen people do really stupid stuff with the electronic componets on vehicles and much to my surprise i have never once seen any one get shocked...except of course the distributor/coil, which makes sence cuz it is AC. i'm not sure i understand how it could damage the eec tho, with unless the VR ain't working..in which case it would damage it regardless:shrug: but i'll be the first to addmit that i don't know everything and i defently hav'nt seen everthing so i ain't gonna argue bout it, just wondering...and sharing my experience.
 
i have to agree with ray,but it is the amps you have to worry about. i have seen it fry ecm's and voltage regs. (personaly happend to me) and i have a odd ques is there a diffrence between the alt in a a/c car and a w/o a/c car. reason i ask is that i recently took my a/c off and bought the belt for non a/c and now my batt light comes on after 6500rpms. really confused
 
Came across this thread while searching and thought I'd add a little trick I just picked up.

My battery light never came on until it was too late. I noticed that as my battery discharged, the gauges would begin to fail, one by one. The first to go was the temp gauge. You can use the temperature gauge as a makeshift voltage meter. As the battery dies the needle begins to read colder and colder. I found that when the needle touched the far left of normal, then I was in trouble. By the time it had spent more than a minute in the solid white on the left, I was pretty well done for. At that point, your tach will either drop to zero and stay there, or start bouncing back and forth from zero to whatever the RPM happens to be. When it stays on zero, you've just got minutes left.

So long story short, temp gauge = makeshift voltage meter.
 
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