Alternator Toast

Alternator Toast

Well as you guys all know I've been kicking my ass for the last 3 weeks working on this damn Turbo on my 2001 Toyota Corolla with nothing but problems. Finally got everything done and finished installing the 250lph Walbro fuel pump and everything was doing great and the car was running pretty good considering it was tuned super rich and we finally get ready to pull it out of the garage after I turn on the head lights and everything dies. The car won't start "Click, click click". We drop another battery in it and it starts up again but the alternator is only raising the voltage at the battery terminals by 0.01 of a volt. WTF! My alternator died. My turbo timer / volt meter is blinking at me telling me that the charging system is shot. OMG! Could have worse luck. So I guess I need to take off the alternator on monday and take it down to have it tested. ARG! Does anyone have any other ideas of what it might be? Who knows how long the charging system has been dead because I have a gel cell battery that will run the car for a few hours before it gets down to 10 volts and starts tripping.

I've got plenty of cell's I just need to hook up my OBD-II scan tool to check them out but I haven't really got to a point where I want to check them yet

I'll take the alternator down to the parts store tomorrow and get it tested. I kind of hope that is the problem because otherwise I'm stumped.

take the alternator to schucks to have it checked.

there's a chance that somewhere in the wiring you pulled a wire that's connected to the regulator, and the alternator isn't turning on.

Okay its confirmed, the alternator is smoked. The generator wire detached from the battery is reading 1 volt when the car is running. What the hell caused this to happen? Anyways the auto parts store wants $250 + core for a new alternator, OMG! I'm going to shoot my car. Anyone know where I can pick up an alternator cheaper then that?

$250 ???
I used to fuse bearings together every other month on my Grand Prix (Too high a load on the alternator due to my capacitorless sound system.) And for a 120amp alternator it only cost me...$140 + core.
Are you using a high amp brand new alternator, or just a stock size rebuilt?

Its just a stock alternator that came with the 2001 Toyota Corolla. Do you know of any place that would sell me a 120amp alternator for my car? I think the stock is 80amp and I too run audio and lots of power hogging goodies and think if I have to replace it I might as well get something better.

Well I just took the alternator out and when my wife gets home I'll take her truck down to the auto parts store to have the alternator tested. If it tests bad then I'll have to buy a new one but if it tests good then I've got something fudged up with the electrical system.

Is it possible that my car killed the alternator? I find it wired that it died shortly after installing the emanage? Are alternators sensitive?

Okay, I took the alternator down to be tested and it tests good. and I took my battery down and it tests better then good? WTF. For some reason on there test machine my alternator puts out 13.5v at idle but in my car it puts out less then 1v? Could someone please tell me what the 3 wires on the harness plug going into the alternator do? I'm thinking something in my cars wiring got screwed up and its telling my alternator not to charge for some stupid ass reason. I'm going insane here

at partsamerica.com (which is the online version of schucks) an Autolite with a lifetime warranty is $129 + $45 core

Sweet, so the red-yellow wire should be reading power when the car is running to tell the alternator to work right? I think that might be the problem.

to be 100% honest.... if it were me (because mechanical work is 10X easier than wiring work, though wiring work isn't too tough) I would pull the alternator and have it bench tested.... .that's the quickest/easiest way to tell... if it passes then start to look for wiring, if it fails, then it's obviously just an atlernator

The alternator already passed a bench test and so did the battery. the problem is that the alternator is not getting activated probably because something screwed up with that wire. I'm going to investigate tomorrow.

Wow, thanks for the info, come to think of it my guages aren't working right now The guage lights on are but not the guages themselves. I've got some wiring crap to track down

it coulda been a bad connection on the battery, mine did the same thing, would start up then i would turn on my headlights and the car would die