ok I was driving the Nova yesterday and I noticed the battery started getting weaker and weaker. I haven't messed with anyhting? Except I did relocate the alternator to a low mount. But I left everything plugged in. ??? Any help?

make sure none of the wires wiggled loose... check the firewall junction plug to make sure it's tight also. that firewall plug might be deteriorated by time if it's original so if/when ya check it for being tight... be carefull not to break it ;)

everyhting is tight and hooked up, tje first thing I checked. Thank you Johnny!

was the battery disconnected... could there be a bad connection there ???

if connections all are ok then i'd say to get alt/battery tested.

ya didn't short anything out did ya ??? if so ya need ta find the burn/damage that interrupted the alt's charging.

I didn't see any sparks. Does that mean I need to take those parts off of the car. I heard that they test differently on the car than they do off?

does it still run ??? ya don't want ta get stuck somewhere with a dead battery...

on the car, off the car... the test(s) will show ;)

ya it runs I drove it home luckily not uch is running off the battery:) but the ignition:D lol

well don't get stranded, check it out and get it fixed ;)

if ya break down call me, i'll take a plane, grab a tow truck and haul ya home :eek:


be Good !!! ;)

ok. I will remember that thanks Johnny. Hey! would changing the rotation of the alternator have anything todo with it like it being up side down?

would grinding on the casing mess anything up? I had to do some of that to get it to fit

no, it's still rotating the same direction the engine's rotating ;)

would grinding on the casing mess anything up? I had to do some of that to get it to fit



OH NO !!!! Now ya did it !!! :eek:


no, not an issue unless case is cracked/broken, riding/hitting on block/frame etc... post some pics if ya can tomorrow and let's see the set up ;)

ok will do

Slap a volt meter on the out put (big red wire to ground). If self regulated it should read 15 or more volts. An amp meter is more accurate but outside of an auto parts store, few have one rated to handle the 100+ amp capacity of the alternator. If you do not have a meter, removing it and taking it to an auto store for checking may be your only option. They will not approve of grinding on the case so if you have to buy one and you grind it, it is yours when it dies (voids their replacement policy).

When you clock the alternator you can only turn them about 180° either way because there are wires attaching the inner windings to the case. If you get carried away twisting it around or forget which direction you last turned it you can pull the field wires off the case.

Big Dave

ok heres the pics of my set up. http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h10/mcarmaniac/DSC01636.jpg
http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h10/mcarmaniac/DSC01645.jpg and their is a pic of my plug. I would like to get a hi-amp low mount alternator if possible. I bought one from a member on another site and it came with this bracket. but the alternator fits it just has the wrong hook ups. http://i60.photobucket.com/albums/h10/mcarmaniac/DSC01652.jpg what shood I do??

That looks real easy to pop the alt. off and run it down to your local auto parts store for testing.

ya it's not to bad. I think I might also bring the BATTERY DOWN THEIR TO IT LOOKS A LITTLE SMALL. i WAS JUST WONDERING IF ANYONE had a low mount alternator lying around their shop that they would be willing to trade for. (the one I bought)

I think I may have figured it out the alternator on the nova now is a externaly regulated one and the one I bought is a one wire internally regulated alternator. Should I try and convert the nova to one wire or stay with what I have??

ta be honest, their's nothing wrong with the externally regulated style... by going internal you're just moving the regulator from the core support to inside the alternator. unless having the regulator on the support bugs ya... i'd leave it there.

my wagon is external, the sedan will be internal for a cleaner, more custom, look... that's the only reason for the internal/external on my car(s)

You will need a late model watertight plug and then wire in the two wires (White and Blue) to the new plug.

Off the top of my head I can not remember which is the exciter and which energizes the field winding, but they are marked as B and F on the alternator (I have no idea what the other two plugs do, but you will not need them). B is the battery lead, or positive wire from the ignition switch, and the F is the field wire that lets the alternator know the battery's condition. The big red one in all cases is the charging circuit that runs directly to the positive terminal of the battery.

You have a new (three letter) alternator that replaced the older versions of the self regulating one wire alternators (only one wire is needed to have he alternator charge the battery, but you need a wire to break the circuit when the key is off or else it would drain the battery through the field windings over night, and the big red wire has been the same all the way back to the days of a generator). This new style of alternator is more compact than the earlier generations and much more powerful; able to output 120 Amps just off idle in many cases.

Big Dave

I found out the problem went to take the alternator off and found out the wire under the cap had broken off:clonk:

AH-HA !!!

so playin' like yer a Sherlock paid off huh !!??? ;) (ya solved the mystery)


Glad ta hear ya fixed it !!! ;)

Ya me too:D Thanks Johnny! Guess I should of checked all the wireing:D:D