I have installed an alternator. There are several red wires that screw onto the alternator, and one wire with a plug that plugs into the engine.

On the first go I forgot to plug this last wire. The alternator cluster lamp was not turning on with the ignition switch ON, and I read (in the repair manual) that it's essential this bulb be working. Then I remember that last wire I forgot to plug in.

NOTE: Both my Alternator and Oil idiot lights were not turning on with the ignition ON. I checked all the bulbs.

When I plugged the plug wire into the engine the 'Oil' idiot light started working.

So... is that my 'alternator' light, actually?

 

What year and model? Usually the alternator light is the battery symbol light.

 

Red wire to alternator
Black wire to oil pressure sender


Dan

 

Red. There are three red wires on the alternator. One is clearly power, but I have two smaller ones. One is bolted down with about an 8mm bolt, and the other is a clip.

Any hints where this red cable tends to have problems? If i have one of these screwdrivers with the light, will it light up if I use it on these small diameter cables?

[ I have a loose yellow wire under the dashboard (alternator red (?) wire goes to ignition which is why i was looking under the dashboard), but have no idea what the yellow wire clips to. ]


--sandra

 

see attached ...

 

Thanks Bubba!

Note: I don't have my repair manual with me, but my buddy, who has it, told me that the diagram we had been looking at was the wrong diagram; and the image you attached of circuitry is the driagram we were looking at. I'll have to look for myself when I get near the book.

Now, does R, 60 mean RED WIRE?
R, 075 mean RED Wire ??
What does the 60 and 075 mean?

The wire going out of fuse 12 to ignition. BL-Y.
Does it mean a Blue AND yellow wire; or a Blue OR YELLOW wire?

'cause i have a yellow wire loose under the dashboard. It is coming from the left (ie fuse panel) though i haven't looked at it closely, and it was wrapped around the air vent (guessing heater) reaching to the right (ie ignition area).

Electricity is not my forte.

 

"R, 60" means a thick red wire. "R, 075" means a skinny red wire. The 60 and 075 is one measure of wire gauge, or thickness. There are different systems of specifying wire gauge. The American system is 12 gauge, 18 gauge, etc. The Swedish system is different.

BL-Y means a blue insulation with a yellow stripe.

The only yellow wire on the fuse panel diagram is to-from fuse 2, the horn and windshield washer. But that doesn't mean a whole lot. Unless you're the original owner who knows what modifications have been made.

 

Where should i start testing for electricity to the bulb? The alternator small red wire? Should i test that there is power to the alternator, first, and then the small red wire, and then... ??

Or should I start inside the car with the wire (R-SB, Red w/ Black stripe) coming off the ignition?

Should I hand it over to a mechanic? It's 7 degrees F out there.

Bubba - the diagram above is, indeed, for years before 1989.

 

Answer this question and I'll help you.

Does your oil pressure switch have a BLACK WIRE plugged in to it?(it's located between the oil filter and alternator, screwed into the block)see pic

The alternator only has three wires attached to it.Big red wire coming from starter,small red wire from charge indicator(idiot light),big blue or black(could be any color if someone has changed it) from the alternator case to the block.


Dan

 

Where does the small red wire come from? The end at the alternator is not lighting up the test lamp.

TURBO 245 - Yes. It's plugged in and it directly affects the oil lamp on the cluster (see posts at beginning of thread). I began to use a test lamp. and it lit at the thick red cable coming from the battery, but i got nothing at the little red wire (which you identified above as the alternator lamp on the cluster).

[The cluster at the dashboard has two blanks (no bulbs in these two spots). I have two wires behind the dashboard that are not plugged into anything. One, behind the cluster lamps at dashboard, is red w/ white stripe and is in the group of cables plugging to the speedometer. I also have a long, yellow wire coming from the left sidewall underneath the dashboard - i have no idea where it goes. The horn works and windshield washer (re: Blue Goose's identification of yellow wire).

I have wires in the engine compartment, near the oil dip stick, that also go nowhere]

If you have other suggestions, I'm happy to follow them.

 

The small red wire should be coming from the charge indicator light.

The small red wire cant be checked with a test light,it only has 2-3 volts on it,you have to check it with multimeter.

Have someone turn on the ignition,ground the small red wire,does the charge indicator light come on?


Dan

 

The small red wire comes from the 'BATT' light in the instrument cluster, out the back of the cluster on pin 11 of the round full-moon connector, then to the gray connector on the firewall under the hood behind the intake manifold, then to the alt.

 

Dan, aka Turbo 245, I tested ground and got nothing. I was working alone, so I didn't get to jiggle stuff, just hook things up and see if I got a light on the dashboard, but nothing.

There is no way to tell whether I'm doing things correctly or not.

Out of curiosity, I clipped the ground test light to the bolt on the alternator where this red wire goes. I presume that is a ground. I put the tip of the test light onto the battery positive. Nothing. I tried the bolt and the part the red wire slips into, no light.

I believe there is also a ground wire underneath a clip that holds the thick red wire down with a clamp. The wire sits underneath the clamp. I did not test that ground.

Is there a better way to test ground that from the alternator screw tip to the battery positive?

 

I missed your post last night.

The bolt where the red wire goes will not produce a ground for your test light.It has very low resistance,just enough to turn on the dash light,when the engine starts the resistance is removed and the light turns off.
You need to make sure that the alternator is grounded,if it's not grounded it will not charge.
Are you sure you had a good ground on the little red wire when you checked it?
Did the batt light work before you changed the alternator?


Dan

 

Hmm. I replaced the voltage regulator; not the alternator. I will replace the alternator with a used one that works. When I first saw/met the car, it had a dead battery. A new battery was installed a month ago. The battery has a since lost its juice and been recharged.

 

It's fixed. The small red wire was not carrying electricity to the alternator at the clip. I ended up replacing the alternator anyway because I had had trouble with ground on the alternator, but (of course) that cluster lamp was still not lighting with the new alternator. the crux of the problem may have simply been the wire. now, i will never know.

Tomorrow I will post pictures of the current rig I have done to get the lamp working, and also to point out where the wire exits the firewall.

Thank you all for helping, and no more problems with my car, please!

--sandra

 

Here are the pics folks.

As you can see, all the action is near the oil dip stick. Here's the gray (grey) box. The gray box has a metal clip that clips onto a lip on the firewall that runs the width of the engine compartment.

There were three or four wires going into the gray box, the red one being one of them. The red wire was the same size (width) as the one at the alternator, and this is what prompted me to test it. The red wire comes in from the right, and also a matching red wire exits on the left of the gray box, going underneath the intake, underneath the belts, and swinging towards the alternator. It's wrapped in black tape along with a bunch of other wires.


The nice thing about that gray box is that you can open it from the back. Look closely at the wires coming in from the right, you will see two little clips you can undo on the back (center); the clips pry open, one for each column, and you can pull the wire right out (without having to open the box using the clips on the sides).

Here is the red wire in my fingers. I had pulled it out of the grey box without breaking the rounded tip off, and rigged another red wire to it, (the long, straight, red wire you see above it) and ran that new red wire to the alternator. I did not jump it. I simply ran a new wire. This way I'm taking the alternator cluster lamp where it should go, to the alternator, and I can still get the necessary feedback if the alternator were to malfunction.


To summarize: I had no alternator idiot light with ignition at ON position. The red wire failed to light my test light when I took ground to it at its terminal end (at the alternator). So, I tested the integrity of the wire by testing the wire here, near the gray box. This wire here is coming from the cluster lamp. When I took ground to this wire, my alternator idiot light turned on! Why does it matter, it's just an idiot light. Your alternator depends on this light. If the light doesn't work, your alternator doesn't work.

Good luck to you.

 

Where did you get the new alt? Bosch reman or what? How many amps? I'm thinking of upgrading my alt because it's 55-amp original and it will be due soon. Besides I want more amps for headlights.

 

I wish your picture was still up.
I'm going to get some wire to do the same thing and pics are always helpful...

I just did this to mine I ran a new wire from red wire with the round bullet connector end on the right side to the alternator., by passing the left female wire completely. That's what It sounded like he described to do....
But I'm not so sure it worked...
Now should the bullet ended wire that goes into the right side of the gray box supposed to go back into the gray box but with the new wire attached to it in place of the old wire ? so that the red wire on the left side continues to the lamp?

When he said he didn't 'jump it' is the only clue that I have that I might have done it wrong, and of course there is not picture like there is supposed to be.

 

I'm not sure what side of the grey connector goes to the alternator. Do you have a test light or a volt meter?

Does the battery light come on in key position two? With the key on measure to see if you have voltage on your newly added wire. If not measure the other side of the connector.

If you have neither a test light or meter, you can make one by attaching/holding wires to a stop light bulb.