Interesting alternator information/revelations
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- Location
- Sonoma, CA
- Vehicle(s)
- 83 CJ7 Renegade
258 w/Howell TBI
T5, D300, Stock 2.73 diffs.
1983 CJ7 -v-belt alternator issues.
I received this Jeep a handful of years ago with a bad alternator. Replaced it with whatever Napa Auto Parts said should be on the car. It was plug and play- that is, it fits the wiring in the car perfectly and I didn't look back. Until I realized that it doesn't charge at idle- and as I turn on lights and the HVAC fan the voltage drops. Mostly I've just dealt with it over the years because 1-it hasn't caused an issue and 2- it doesn't get driven every day.
So I dove into it today because I'm tired of thinking about it while driving.
The voltage drop with electrical load is because of the old and likely tired wiring and connections in the loom. With the RPM's up, the battery is getting 14.1V with everything on. At the dash it drops to about 13... To be addressed at a later date...
I received this Jeep a handful of years ago with a bad alternator. Replaced it with whatever Napa Auto Parts said should be on the car. It was plug and play- that is, it fits the wiring in the car perfectly and I didn't look back. Until I realized that it doesn't charge at idle- and as I turn on lights and the HVAC fan the voltage drops. Mostly I've just dealt with it over the years because 1-it hasn't caused an issue and 2- it doesn't get driven every day.
So I dove into it today because I'm tired of thinking about it while driving.
The voltage drop with electrical load is because of the old and likely tired wiring and connections in the loom. With the RPM's up, the battery is getting 14.1V with everything on. At the dash it drops to about 13... To be addressed at a later date...