I really haven't ignored your advice '69, bet you were typing your message as I was submitting my piggy back message about the multimeter. Forgive the ignorance but I'm assuming it's the DC setting and I'll give it a try. I really hope you're right more than anything, however, even with the bad luck I've had trying to get this fixed, if this alternator is bad, it'll be the 3rd one that's been bad in a row...

 

Yeah, we overlapped thoughts...almost. I'd be surprised too if the alternator was bad, but might as well rule it out for peace of mind. And yes, you're checking DC Volts.

 

I tried the multimeter on the alternator and it showed 12.6 with the car running and no accessories on. As soon as I turned the headlights and blower on I watched it drop to 9 within about 60 seconds. The battery is obviously not being charged. I let the car run for over 20 minutes with nothing on and it would not restart.

 

Alternator should be putting out at least 14 volts, no matter what the draw is.
Needless to say, alternator output should not be dropping like that.
3rd one? Where have you been getting these from?

 

This'll be a fun call back to Summit (where I got these from last November) to explain this and try to get another one. I just can't believe the alternator is "bad" again. This is where I wish I knew more about this stuff. I can hear the regulator kick in when the car starts. Any ideas why this could/would be happening the same way each and every alternator that I've installed?

 

Only thing I can think of is if you have/had something in your main electrical system causing a short, resulting in cooking the alternator. Everything inside the car is fused, so if any of those components has a short, their fuse will blow. Has anybody added anything electrical to the car, that hasn't been fused? The one thing you now have different is the separate wire from the alternator to battery you added. If there was something wrong with the original hot lead wire, that's been bypassed. Maybe that'll be your salvation with the next alternator, but it's already too late for this one.

 

The alternator will drop voltage when any load is switched on, but it should regain quickly. Your's starting at 12.6 is already too low. Mine all run around 13.8-14.2 volts static with no load, and don't drop more than a few tenths with load added.
I just can't help but wonder if there's a high resistance short somewhere in the system.

 

I wonder if Summit will let me get alternators in bulk??? If you guys remember, last summer I was going through this same thing trying to isolate a short with no luck. I've had every fuse out of the panel at least 6 times and couldn't find anything. I followed the main power lead from the starter to the panel and didn't find anything there. Not sure where else to look? I haven't added anything to the car yet and there's nothing in the car (aftermarket) from the PO. We were thinking a short last summer but I couldn't find anything. I'm sending the alternator back today and should have a new one sometime next week. I'm drained too...

 

Sooner or later, Summit is gonna tell you to take a flying leap. Maybe by the 6th alternator. lol

 

My favorite part about sending these alternatos back is looking at the big "TESTED" sticker on the back of it that says "It worked when it left here."

When you say short in the main system resulting in cooking the alternator I'm confused. With the one wire going from the alternator to the starter and subsequently being changed to the battery, what could cause the alternator to go bad? I wasn't using the originial wiring from the 3 wire alternator to go to the starter so that should've been bypassed last summer when I changed the alternator the first time? Grasping at straws here I guess. Just knowing that I've already replaced everything that I thought could've been causing the problem and still being where I was at the beginning is frustrating to say the least.