alternators

[scout man]

My alternator died on my scout last night. My DD f150 was already out with a dead battery, so I bought one for that and it might be an alternator issue too (hopefully not). I need to replace the scout one for sure, and I want to get something really powerful so I have all the power I need for winches and compressors and lights and whatnot down the road. I havnt looked at it at all yet or donw any research since I have been plowing for 27 hours in the last 2 days, but I was wondering if anyone had insight as to what vehicles in the junkyard my have really powerfull alternators, or if I need to buy one new what to get and where to go. I havnt had time to even look at it yet, so I dont know the details are on the scout alternator to match it correctly, but I will post that when I get a chance. Any thoughts?

Now I am off to bed!

[transplant87]

i have found that all cars and trucks come with 70 to 90 amp alternators but if ur willing to spend some $ u can get a 150 amp for like $150 and it will have all the power u need. im running 150 amps and a sound system and my lights never dim and i can turn every thing else in the truck on and still have enought power to run more light or whatever else u need to run

[Brody]

Big engine American luxury liners like the Lincoln and Caddy and also any of the big 3/4 and heavier PUs. Do a little research on line and I think that you can do a big amp Chevy alternator onto your rig with very little effort. These are cheap big amp alternators new and even cheaper in a yard.

Should be able to google 'chevy alternator into scout' or something along tose line and get a mess of hits.

[WINKY]

dodge diesels with 24v cummins run 136A alts stock!

[greenramp]

The british were not good at alternators either. I upgraded to a VW Jetta in my rover. I like the 120 amps

[Funrover]

Big engine American luxury liners like the Lincoln and Caddy and also any of the big 3/4 and heavier PUs. Do a little research on line and I think that you can do a big amp Chevy alternator onto your rig with very little effort. These are cheap big amp alternators new and even cheaper in a yard.

Should be able to google 'chevy alternator into scout' or something along tose line and get a mess of hits.

X2, I have upgraded my Rover to the GM style. They really put out the power and are a common connector/ style etc.

[scout man]

thanks for the info. I went out there today and the scout fired right up. :confused:. Its been doing this lately, when I parked it there was no battery, and the battery tested dead at advanced, and now today it was fine. I am still guessing it is the alternator though and will use this as a good excuse to upgrade as soon as I get a few checks in the mail. I havnt looked at all, but it is possible that my belt has just stretched to the point that it isnt always engaging the alternator pully? not sure. But I am confused because both of my vehicles have suddenly been doing the exact same thing, and only when its cold.

[transplant87]

there doing that cause the cold drains the battery. and u might want to look at getting a higher cca on ur battery

[scout man]

So I am headed to the Junkyard tomorrow to try to find a Delco 17SI. Best I can tell they were used on 86-90 Chevy, GM, P series van 6.2L. Seeing as these look very very similar to just about every other alternator, wish me luck. Will have to see if I can find one or not. If not, I may just have to buy one for $150.
97 - 120 amps , supposedly direct bolt in. :rolleyes:

[transplant87]

they should just bolt in where ur old 1 was. all they do is gut the inside and beef it up

[scout man]

pulled the new alternator back out today and took it to get tested... it passed. It must be somewhere in the wiring. :bang:

[Clyde]

Gotta love IH wiring harnesses. Ive pretty much wired around everything on mine and it works pretty well at this point. 1 wire alt should be a no brainer, just need a heavy guage hot wire from the main post on the alt, to the batt. I dont recall if I wired a field wire on mine, or if it is just straight to the + post..If mine wasnt all tarped up, I would go out and have a look for ya.

[scout man]

well it was running fine stock when I got it, and when this problem developed I thought it was the alternator so I took the chance to upgrade to a way more powerful one. I wired it in just like the original, plus added an 8 gauge overload wire straight from the bat terminal to the battery. So there is at least 8 gauge worth of copper going straight to the battery and still no good. Maybe I just need to run something heavier and see what happens. I fear though that there is something else going on.

[Fordguy77]

i know this might sound dumb or maybe you have already checked, but i was getting a similar problem when my ground from the battery to the block vibrated loose. i chased it all around and it turned out to just be that ground.

[scout man]

i have thought about that. It might be my next step. I dont think it is loose, but it does have a TON of grease around it, so I need to degrease it and see what happens.

[Fordguy77]

The grease might be affecting it to, because i had to clean that whole area up when mine had came loose, and it was just plastered in grease, but after the cleaning and making sure i had a good connection the problem seemed to go away.

[transplant87]

i have thought about that. It might be my next step. I dont think it is loose, but it does have a TON of grease around it, so I need to degrease it and see what happens.
ford boy is right the grees will suck ur volts out ur battery

[scout man]

hmmm, i bet you are right. I originally overlooked that because there is another wire that grounds the battery to the body (originaly body grounding no longer exsists), but now that I think more about it, it makes sense that it would need a clean ground to the block also. I will have to degrease and tighten that tomorrow. Thanks for the input!

[transplant87]

hmmm, i bet you are right. I originally overlooked that because there is another wire that grounds the battery to the body (originaly body grounding no longer exsists), but now that I think more about it, it makes sense that it would need a clean ground to the block also. I will have to degrease and tighten that tomorrow. Thanks for the input!
a good way to keep ur battery clean is a can of coke, it eats the corotion

[scout man]

the battery is brand new and not corroded at all. The only thing that is dirt is where the ground cable attaches to the block. And that isnt corrosion, but all grease.

[Clyde]

another thing you may want to do, ir run a ground from the alt, to the block, yes, even tho its bolted to the block, the extra ground may help it. I had to do that with the bus alt that I put on my scout. Are you still running thru the stock dash amp gauge?? That has always been a weak link in scout harnesses.

[Fordguy77]

hmmm, i bet you are right. I originally overlooked that because there is another wire that grounds the battery to the body (originaly body grounding no longer exsists), but now that I think more about it, it makes sense that it would need a clean ground to the block also. I will have to degrease and tighten that tomorrow. Thanks for the input!

Hey man not a problem, i just hope it helps out, i hate electrical problems and totally understand how much of a Pain they can be, and extremely frustrating.

[scout man]

it wasnt the ground wire. And my battery actually reads higher when the vehicle is turned off, then when you start it. However, the alternator tested out ok. I bypassed the stock amp guage today (non functional anyways) but that didnt seem to change anything. I am guessing it is something to do with the two wires that feed info back to the internal regulator. I am stumped and dont really know where else to go other than new wiring harness. At this point my current harness is barely functional. Everything is so spliced together and bypassed by previous owners that I cant even trace things very much at all. There is not so much as a harness as there is just wires running everywhere. I dont want to tackle the job, but it seems like it might be my only option at this point. :erm:. right now I have no dash lights, occasional turn signals, no tail lights, alternator not charging battery, no amp meter, no backup lights, etc etc etc.

[Fordguy77]

sorry to hear that. wiring sucks! thats the problem i am chasing on both my Bronco II's. I am where your at with the one, no dash lights no rear running lights no dome lights no electric 4x4 just no power!! and it sucks cause i can't find anything. I wish the best of luck to you and your adventure with electricity hopefully goes smoother than mine

[78bronco]

The british were not good at alternators either. I upgraded to a VW Jetta in my rover. I like the 120 amps
My input on all this would be to just rewire the thing. I still have some lights but it looks like a rats nest behind my dash. Plus miles of wire that goes nowhere. Mostly cut off by previous owners

[Clyde]

it wasnt the ground wire. And my battery actually reads higher when the vehicle is turned off, then when you start it. However, the alternator tested out ok. I bypassed the stock amp guage today (non functional anyways) but that didnt seem to change anything. I am guessing it is something to do with the two wires that feed info back to the internal regulator. I am stumped and dont really know where else to go other than new wiring harness. At this point my current harness is barely functional. Everything is so spliced together and bypassed by previous owners that I cant even trace things very much at all. There is not so much as a harness as there is just wires running everywhere. I dont want to tackle the job, but it seems like it might be my only option at this point. :erm:. right now I have no dash lights, occasional turn signals, no tail lights, alternator not charging battery, no amp meter, no backup lights, etc etc etc.
If you can make it up to Northglenn with it, I can try and help ya sort it out, also have extra alts laying around that we can try if needed. I have a little bit of experience dealing with scout wiring lol.

[scout man]

If you can make it up to Northglenn with it, I can try and help ya sort it out, also have extra alts laying around that we can try if needed. I have a little bit of experience dealing with scout wiring lol.

I can make it anywhere as long as I dont let it die on the way! I may have to take you up on that. I would like to at least get it functional to tide over till I have enough money for a complete new harness. I know a little about automotive wiring, but i do feel a bit over my head on this one. Are you available during the week or do you work a normal job like some of these lucky people?

[Brody]

Good luck with the wiring, Steve. Vehicle wiring makes me cringe and the older the rig, the more people who have played with the wiring. I just talked to someone the other day dealing with the same stuff. He said that just about everything had been rewired with either the copper/silver or black/white speaker wires on his rig and he was chasing shorts down with no idea what wire went where.

I have done this and it really sucks...

[Clyde]

I can make it anywhere as long as I dont let it die on the way! I may have to take you up on that. I would like to at least get it functional to tide over till I have enough money for a complete new harness. I know a little about automotive wiring, but i do feel a bit over my head on this one. Are you available during the week or do you work a normal job like some of these lucky people?
Im just starting a new job, but not sure what my hours are going to be yet, should be free tomorrow tho. Have to go in for a class today, and hopefully will get my schedule. I will let ya know this evening.

[scout man]

sounds good, I am free tomorrow afternoon.

[Clyde]

yep, I am off tomorrow. Earlier the better, as I dont have a garage, and would hate running out of daylight. Let me know what time your free, and I will shoot you my addy, and #s.

[Dan]

thanks for the info. I went out there today and the scout fired right up. :confused:. Its been doing this lately, when I parked it there was no battery, and the battery tested dead at advanced, and now today it was fine. I am still guessing it is the alternator though and will use this as a good excuse to upgrade as soon as I get a few checks in the mail. I havnt looked at all, but it is possible that my belt has just stretched to the point that it isnt always engaging the alternator pully? not sure. But I am confused because both of my vehicles have suddenly been doing the exact same thing, and only when its cold.

I don't mean to be insulting, but have you checked the battery teminals? I mean pull both of them off and clean them? If the battery tested dead and the next day is fine...You either had a bad tester or a bad connection. Make sure the connection is good first. Visually, it may look fine, but inside is where it counts and you can only check that by pulling them off and then you might as well clean them up...

[Clyde]

Its most likely the bulkhead connection, they are a very common problem on scouts, and that would explain it being intermittent.

[scout man]

I don't mean to be insulting, but have you checked the battery teminals? I mean pull both of them off and clean them? If the battery tested dead and the next day is fine...You either had a bad tester or a bad connection. Make sure the connection is good first. Visually, it may look fine, but inside is where it counts and you can only check that by pulling them off and then you might as well clean them up...

dont worry, i dont get too easily insulted, especially when I am stumped. The battery is brand new (only really used once, about 3 weeks old at this point) and the cables ends are new also. That was my first attempt at a fix because my DD had the same problem at the same time, and that was the solution.

Clyde - I am free tomorrow after about 11:00. I am coming from aurora at 11. Hopefully that will give us the time we need.

[Clyde]

dont worry, i dont get too easily insulted, especially when I am stumped. The battery is brand new (only really used once, about 3 weeks old at this point) and the cables ends are new also. That was my first attempt at a fix because my DD had the same problem at the same time, and that was the solution.

Clyde - I am free tomorrow after about 11:00. I am coming from aurora at 11. Hopefully that will give us the time we need.
that will work.

[Clyde]

Any updates?? is it still charging?

[scout man]

I havnt driven it since I drove home from your place, but the battery was still good when I got home, and I just hit the starter button now and it sounded strong. I think the issue was that amp meter that I removed before coming to see you. In the mean time I am carrying a spare battery in my scout just in case. Have not needed it yet though. I went to install that headlight switch the other day and the one you gave me wasnt the right one. Trying to track down a good one now. Unfortunately when removing my stock one I broke it even more, due to my own stupidity, so now I have no headlights. Should just need a new switch though. Thanks for the tips and it was good meeting you. Hope to see you around.

[Fordguy77]

Gald to hear you and clyde got everything up and running again

[scout man]

alright, so it died on me the other day, but after about 4 hours if pulling out my hair today I think I have it figured out. I ended up jumping the terminal 2 wire straight to the battery output on the alternator. I also figured out that I need to hit about 2,500 RPM in order for the alternator to initially turn on, then it will run till the engine is shut off. I actually think that foolishly this was most of my issue, since I actually never hit that high of RPMs during normal operations, and especially not on a trail. It may sound low, but I redline at 4,000, and even when I rev my engine I rarely get my rpms that high, as it just sounds really high from inside. I bought a voltage meter to install tomorrow so that I have a visual confirmation that I have engaged that alternator from now on. I will probably also run a fault light so that if the alternator fails it with, in theory, light up and warn me.

So from start to finish, my original issue (I think) was my amp meter in the dash. this meter went out and the alternator charge was not reaching the battery. Before figuring this out I also took the time to upgrade alternators. Well, I fixed the original issue by bypassing the meter, but had created another issue by changing alternators. It took forever to track down but for now I am considering it fixed. Only other thing I can think that would eliminate me having to rev my engine at startup would be I could possibly put a smaller pully on the alternator and that could help reduce the rpm necessary to initiate the alternator. But I might have trouble finding a dual V-belt pully smaller that what I have, so for now it is good.

[1freaky1]

Vehicle wiring makes me cringe and the older the rig, the more people who have played with the wiring. I just talked to someone the other day dealing with the same stuff. He said that just about everything had been rewired with either the copper/silver or black/white speaker wires on his rig and he was chasing shorts down with no idea what wire went where.

I have done this and it really sucks...
So Pete I will be calling on you when I install my Brand new wiring kit in the '57 this summer,