Hey guys, my 383 is NOW running! I am having a small issue though, the altenator does not seem to be charging the battery. The gauges goes down slowly. It is a BRAND NEW 200amp Mr. Alternator, the 1 wire conenctor on the bottom is connected and the wire that goes form back of alt to the battery is connected also. There is juice on that back stud as per testing with a volt meter and the fact that my racetronix pump is pulling juice directly from that. Any ideas? I'm at a loss here... Connections on the battery are secure, no funny sounds from the alternator, and the battery is an optima red top which i never had issues with before and I know is good.

 

Did you put all the support brackets back on?
I've seen the one that goes down to the exhaust manifold cause charging issues when missing.

How fast does the charge drop?
And is it just when you drive or does it do it if you let it sit and idle?
And check the ground stud/junction on the fender too, make sure it isn't loose.

 

I dont have the brackets, the alt is jus ton the accesory bracket and plenty of ppl are running it that way, dont think that is the issue. The studs on the fender are tight, what else can it be?

 

Try running a cable from the ground junction on the fender, where the battery neg cable goes, over to the back of the long alternator bolt that's closest by. Make it 24" or so. I never had charging problems, but the voltage always seemed a little low until I did this just the other day, and it made a huge difference. BTW, due to headers, I do not have the rear alternator bracket that goes to the exhaust flange - wonder if that DID make the difference - that's interesting James..

 

How will running a ground wire from the ground post on the fender to the rear alternator post do anything? There is juice coming out of that post running my fuel pump, that works. Please explain, any other ideas?

 

I smell a trip to island drags soon

 

Thought you said your battery was the problem???

Maybe you're fuel pump is grounded to the alternator better than your battery is. Your fuel pump will also run on less voltage than 12.6V too, but your battery won't charge on less than that. Not saying that is your problem, but bad grounds can cause all kinds of wierd problems. You could test it with a jumper cable and see if the voltage on the battery goes up. Take your voltmeter and check a couple different places - see where the drops are and fix the connections. If nothing works, you might try your old alternator. You didn't state what any of your voltages were - that would be a big help.

 

does the voltage go up is you raise the rpm?

 

No, voltage just drops slowly, when raising rpms and everything.

 

Just drag it out.. I'll fix it..

I agree, sounds like a ground somewhere.

 

Well long behold, it was the dam alternator....i put the stocker back on and it charged the battery to 14ish on the gauge. Works awesome, I drove it home today....Now i have an issue with it dieing when i come to a stop when driving...i'm thinking air leak somewhere possible. Ill make a new thread about it, it is F'in LOUD, i mite have to put an exhaust on it and ditch the SLP Loudmouth, haha....

 

Like the other guys said, it sounds like a grounding issue. The bracket on the back of the alternator probably does provide some grounding. A braid from the alternator housing to the chassis, or block should help. If you have a poor ground, you may still measure a voltage. However, there won't be much current flow which results in poor charging of the battery.

 

could of been the connector in the back of the alternator not in all the way. i did an lt1 swap into a jeep and it wouldnt charge till i hooked that up

 

Yea it wasn't the connector, i tried to plug and unplug it several times, no go...