So i have a 95 lt1 in my 59 impala. I have burned up 2 alternator so far.

1) Do I need a 470 ohm resistor in series with the L line on the alternator plug?
2) When you crank the starter is the alternator L line supposed to be open, meaning the alternator is off when starter is engaged?

 

The 470 ohm resistance you are referring to is used for the gage monitor. It will not make any difference if it's there or not. But you could try it none the less.

According to the camaro wiring, the L terminal is hot in all positions except off of course.

Is it possible you are trying to pull more current than the alternator can provide?

What is actually occurring to the alternators?

 

If you don't use a 470 ohm resistor on the circuit to the L terminal, the alternator will never turn "on". Are you monitoring voltage? What are you seeing?

 

well the last 2 had a bad regulators the very last one drained my battery when i connected the positive battery terminal to it (the regulator was always on drawing 300 mA's)


heres what happens currently . When the car is running i have 14.5 volts on my VOM and my autometer gauge it never fluctuates.

What i have done was i wired up a NC relay to the L terminal so that when i crank the starter the alternator is off (did not have this with the other alternators that went bad just the current one)

now i have also installed the 470 ohm resistor also with this current alternator.

It charges fine but i do notice that after a couple of minutes the alternator gets real hot(other ones did also). I dont think im drawing too much current because i would have blown a fuse by now, all circuits are fused. On the first alternator that went bad I did remove the positive from the terninal and the car ran fine and the voltage did not drop.

Im scared to just to run it this way because advance autoparts might not give me another alternator since this is now my 4th.

 

L being switched off when the car is off and the large output post tied to the battery. That is all you have to work with. Except for a mechanical fo pau there is nothing else you can do.

You may ask the auto parts store if they test one on the test bench for a few minutes if it gets hot.

 

Don't remove any cables while the engine is running. You don't want to do this on modern cars with electronic voltage regulators. If you can use a VOM that can prove it is charging, you don't need to do this, anyway. Also make sure you have good grounds from the engine to the chassis. A stock f-body has one from the negative battery cable and another (a braided ground strap) from a coil stud.

 

Tell us what accessories you have that could be drawing current. Radio, Amp, Lights, Air compressor. A 59 Belair makes me think Slammed and running a compressor and probably a big Amp. Tell me I'm wrong.

 

well there is absolutely not other accessories on the car. There is no radio, or anything, only thing i have hooked up is 3 autometer gauges and a tach plus the fuel injection and fan.

I Have an independent ground running from one of the bolts on the alternator to the battery and a positive from the alternator to the battery, plus the stud braided is hooked up to the GND on the alternator

 

Couldn't be more wrong the car is stock and will remain that way

 

so today is put an clamp on ammeter on the positive cable..
engine running it draws 10 amps,
fan on it draws 29.

lights and brakes one it draws another 10.

 

open the door, turn the radio on and turn the rear defroster if you have one on and the AC on while you have all those on.