I need a new alternator. Reply #15 – May 13, 2013, 10:28:15 AM Wow! That's a lot of information! I was with Jimmi when he set the A/C. He was talking about barometric pressure and something about 220 on his gauge and instead of 2 1/4 lbs. he only put 2 lbs. Right now the temp. probe is in the radiator fins. I do know that my 27 year old A/C compressor is probably about to go. I took the car over to the place I bought my battery and the guy hook up the battery to his diagnostic equipment and it was reading at right around 11 volts with the car running and A/C on. Jimmi also told me he set the fan to run any time the A/C is on. Being this is Arizona and it's getting in the 90's, that means it will be running during the time I drive it and after I shut it of for a short time. Most of my driving is stop and go here in town. my next project after I install the alternator is to put in my new set of gauges so I know what's really going on under the hood. I hate not knowing! I have a cheap set in the car now, but they lie. When my A/C goes, I really don't want to put a generic stock unit in, I would like a nice system put in. I will check Vintage air and see what I can find. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #16 – May 13, 2013, 04:46:58 PM the stock compressors are fabulous in design with respect to all things mechanical and electrical... your choice though to go vintage air.I think i just figured out you platform is a TC, those came with 85A alternators if i recall correctly.. so excuse my previous math, you should be all set since ill bet your "newer" efan may actually be a little more efficient.,, cant speak to that totally.im skeptical about your statement that he set the efan up to run anytime the AC is on.just so you know, 11v is not charge11v is dischargeperhaps if there was an hvac wiring mod associated with the above statement and what the sentence you typed means "the efan runs all the time when AC is selected", you may have just found your problem. its really hard on a car to run city traffic when your rpm doesnt get high enough to offset the load.im hoping your not slightly over charged because with the ambient outside temperature, that drastically effects proper charge. The car new off the factory floor never took 2LBs of R12. With R134 if properly converted on your car, you should be approx 15% less than R12. 220 is a bit much,, thinking your boggin down the engine with a tight ass compressor clutch and thats something you can determine by just not running the ac and see if your battery voltage eventually climbs back up.If your existing platform is a TC, not sure an Efan is going to harm the existing alternator size especially since your oem fan was a dual fan.good luck,, think it through, you may have an electrical charging problem elsewhere, that or high reistance connection along the charging path.a little too much airconditioning charge could be tolerated but too much and the compressor can and might go slower than your belt , belt wears then you throw a belt. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #17 – May 13, 2013, 05:09:50 PM i may have misspoke on your platform,,, anyhoo,,did you ever get that battery relocated? and your fuse link quesitons or concerns resolved?something must've happened here recently cause last fall (ish) sometime you said the car didnt have electrical issues for the past 26 years. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #18 – May 13, 2013, 05:18:26 PM Wow, again lots of good info.. I think Jimmi said 220 was top and that he only put in 200. "im skeptical about your statement that he set the efan up to run anytime the AC is on". I'm pretty sure Jimmi said that the fan would run when the A/C was turned on and it would over ride the cut off switch."just so you know, 11v is not charge11v is discharge"That's exactly why I went and bought a 130 amp. alternator. It is installed all I'm waiting for is the battery to charge back up. The wires color scheme must be universal on alternators. I bought a new plug to go with my alternator and the wire colors matched up.Battery is still in the front. I never had electrical problems for the last 7-8 years that I have owned it. Oh, my car is not a Turbo Coupe, it is a 5.0 base Cougar. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #19 – May 13, 2013, 10:10:02 PM umm,, ok,well that makes no sense, he should not have had to modify anything on the electrical side so im going to wish you the best, i hope you have time later to fix what is not correctly fixed now... if i read you correctly.just giving you a news flash, you heard it here first,, LOL.atleast you got nice cool ac for the hot weather down there. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #20 – May 13, 2013, 11:21:05 PM Jcassity, This is what I know. The alternator was not charging the battery, but it was before we switch engine, computer ect.. When I took it to the place I bought the battery from they showed me that it was only at 11 volts and was discharging the battery when I drove it. I figured it was the efan because that was the only accessory added to the car and it was running when I stopped the car for a couple of minutes (again discharging the battery). If I understood you right, you said that the alternator should handle the efan and all my accessories just fine. By that time I had already bought the 3G alternator and I installed it and to be honest I glad I made the upgrade. I charged the battery to 12.0 volts, turned the key to accessories and the volts stayed about the same, then I started the car and from that point the battery started to discharge. So, the A/C is working fine, it's just my alternator is not charging the battery and Jimmi will be over to trouble shoot it tomorrow. Now that should make more sense. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #21 – May 14, 2013, 12:51:17 AM if your not running at 12.5+ volts, your discharging...get a $3 volt meter from harbor freight. it will go a long ways. mine charges at 14 at idle. if you pull your power cable off while the car is running, does it die? if so, your alt isn't working. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #24 – May 14, 2013, 09:52:46 AM Tom, Thanks for chiming in. Jimmi already warned me 2 or 3 times about this. So, I have not and will not do it. Just knowing it can kill the alternator and electrical is enough for me, not to mention an exploding battery. I was thinking that maybe a fuse blew on a cable to my battery, Jimmi had me check for voltage on the plug and I had the same voltage on the yellow wire and blk/orange wire (but then they are spliced together). The stator wire is connected to the alternator as instructed as well. Problem is I'm not getting any voltage from the gr/red wire. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #25 – May 14, 2013, 10:27:21 AM Tom, don't yell at us. There is a possibility, when you can disconnect the battery while the engine is running.1) He has Optima battery, which is hermetically closed gel cell battery. It is closed, it doesn't have vents, so any hydrogen can easily go out. And you can do it even with your standard battery, because it doesn't produce any hydrogen, when the volatage is lower, that aprox. 14,5V. He has 11V. That's totally safe value.2) As you mentioned in your last link, battery works as a load for charging system. You can turn on all the lamps and other stuff to load the charging system. Our 65A alts are so weak, that when the engine is in idle and you turn on the high beams, it doesn't charge the battery at all (it may even discharge it). In this case (under the load) you can momentarily disconnect the battery without any risks.In the case you want to do this test, disconnect only the negative terminal.The last thing I have to say is, that you should properly check your battery voltage prior this test. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #26 – May 14, 2013, 11:03:27 AM well, I hope noone ever has a bad/intermittent battery clamp or jump starts a car with a dead battery. cars must explode left and right every time these things happen.theoretically, a battery should only explode in a dangerous over voltage situation. this is what causes them to vent hydrogen. Quote Selected
I need a new alternator. Reply #27 – May 14, 2013, 11:13:52 AM I don't think I have a problem with my battery. I can charge it up to about 12 volts then the charge slows down and it take time from there on to increase the battery voltage, but that is charging it at 2 amps.. Like I said after reading the article from the "Corral" installing a 3G alternator was a good upgrade. I sure we will find the problem and resolve this issue. Thanks! Quote Selected
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