Well as many of you probably know, I've been having an ongoing battle with my voltage. When I stop at a light.....it goes down...and when I accelerate it goes up to normal.

So yesterday my friend and I were driving to play hockey and I notice that my voltage is just chillin at about 11. It's not moving, even if I accelarate. So I'm thinking, no big deal!!! Then the b*tch starts decreasing. So by the time we got there....My voltage was almost in the red zone and for some reason my AirBag light was on. Just as I was pulling into the parking lot, my car stalled. I could not get it started on it's own so I had a buddy come jump me.....The voltage would stay at around 11 and as soon as he took the cables off it decreased and stalled. So a buddy came, we took off the alternator, and drove to autozone. They tested it and said it was 100% fine.

We put it back in and started looking for wiring issues......and after sooo much frustration, we realized that the gray wire connecting to the back of the alternator (with a nut) was disconnected on the other end. Now I originally had the other end of that wire grounded on a bolt designed for it near my headlights. On that same bolt, my + battery was grounded as well. I guess it's stock?

So my friends dad suggests that we connect the other end of it to the actual + battery post. So I did it and my car started. It's now back to the way it was (low volts at idle, and going to normal after accelerating).

My question is...Could this gray wire be too small of a gauge? It seems to be about 11 or 12 gauge. Also, if connecting it to the battery post is a bad idea? I'm thinking of I get a bigger size it might help my volts. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!!!!! Thanks!

 

You had it grounded and then you hooked it to the positive side of the battery???

Martin

 

Well originally it was on a bolt along with the + Battery cable ground. Now it's just directly on the + Battery post. Sorry if it was unclear.

 

+ ground??? Are we working on a Model A or a Camaro????????????????

Martin

 

woah dude.....chill the f*ck out

im 17 and im not too experienced so work with me

off the red positive battery cable...there's a smaller wire going to a bolt that is bolted onto the frame. that's what i'm talking about

 

Well then unhook that wire from the frame and I think it will cure your problem. The positive side of the battery should not be grounded. The negative side should be grounded. The positive cable should just hook to the solenoid, thats it! I can't imagine your battery would even work anymore if you grounded the positive post???

Martin