Well, you're getting there! Replace that cable, it is BAD. If that's your ground cable, you aren't getting full ground. If that's your positive cable, it's not carrying full voltage. Which cable is it? That green powder is the cable corroding, building up resistance, and it's only going to get worse. You can't clean it to fix it, the corrosion is embedded between the strands. Fingers crossed that might do the trick.

 

The cable is going to be replaced. Just gotta get to town. It's the negative cable. I had bought a new positive cable yesterday (4 gauge) but I haven't replaced that one yet. The only negative (black) cables they had at this particular store were 1 gauge and didn't want to get different sizes. I had decided to buy some better terminal connectors and thought I might as well replace the cables also as I simply didn't like the positive cable to the battery being black. If the negative cable has all this corrosion inside it, I bet the positive one does too. I'll get 'em swapped out soon and hopefully be on top of the world when I advise.

 

Negative cable replaced, positive cable mustv'e been the one that was new as it doesn't have any of the corrosion inside it but I changed it out anyway. Car still starts (from earlier when it was charging good) but is putting out 13.1 volts. Pretty confident that if I decided to take a night drive I wouldn't be able to see coming home. I started the car after changing out the cables and let it run for maybe 2 minutes. The alt. pulley and the blades (not the body)were so HOT when I shut it off that I've now got blisters on 2 fingers from touching the front of it when checking the belt tightness. The only time I can get this thing charging is when I jump start it while it's cold.

I've clearly made progress, but there's still something else to figure out.

 

I was right... Had to use "the force" to see coming home from my drive last night. The car started fine yesterday morning and I drove it for about 10 miles. I stopped at a store for a couple minutes and left the car running. I noticed when I got back out to the car the gauge was almost to 14 volts. As soon as I put it in gear the gauge went back down to 13? Like I mentioned before, it will not charge properly unless I jump start it and let it run for a few. As soon as it warms up and I go to drive it is when it stops charging properly. Seems to hold enough charge to drive fine without the headlights on. I can use the parking lights and/or blower fine without it draining the charge in the battery. I've felt every wire I can get my hands on and none are any warmer than the others. The battery cables and alt. power wire are not hot but the alt. is just way too hot! Still wondering if there isn't something going on inside this alternator. It'll make noise sometimes but not all the time, I know it's not the belt.

 

13 volts on your gauge is about right, as long as it doesn't dip below 12 with all the accessories on. Just letting you know that you shouldn't be expecting to see 14 volts at the gauge, if that's what the alternator is putting out. Parasitic loss through the wiring is normal, and you do get some voltage drop once it makes it to the battery. I was wondering if maybe your bad cables may have caused a strain on the alternator to have damaged it. However, it checked out "ok" when you took it in? Still, voltage output dropping way low at the alternator, shouldn't be happening, whatever the demand is.

 

The only time I ever see 14+ volts at the alternator is right after I jump start the car. Wasn't sure if that was simply because it's trying to charge the battery back up to normal. Otherwise, it never gets above 13.1 volts with a meter on it. Just cannot figure out what would make the alternator get so hot after a couple of minutes. I think I'm going to capitalize on the offer from Summit for another new alternator and send this one back. Between the noise it sometimes makes, the heat it's producing and the output/lack of I'm wondering if there's something damaged internally as well. I think it would check out ok if I took it back in again, just like when I jumpstart the car it seems to work beautiful for a few minutes. I don't know but I wonder if they could put a load on it for a few minutes and see what it does then?

 

If Summit is cool with that again, give it a shot. New alternator, and all new wires/cables, it would be a good test.
You haven't tried hittin' the alternator with a hammer yet? That "fixes" a lot of stuff!

 

Don't think they make a hammer big enough for the one I'd like to use on it! Before I send this alternator back (I'm thinking tomorrow) I have 2 questions:

1. Should the alternator be showing the same volts as the battery when the car is off? I was getting 12.3 at both the battery and alt. with the multimeter today. The battery is low from last night's drive and I haven't jumped it yet today. Just curious.

2. I noticed the wire going into the BATT+ terminal on the distributor is not in that good of shape. Looks like it was broken or cut short at one point and the PO must've added a small piece to it with a cheapo connector to make it reach the distibutor. I'm going to fix that. Isn't that terminal part of the ignition and could that poor connector job have anything to do with the issue at large?

 

1. Close to the same as they are connected as one.
2. That terminal is how the distributor gets power. I don't see that wire causing a problem unless it's shorting/grounding out. Might as well make it pretty though.

 

Thanks for answering those questions. The car is digressing. When I jumped it today the alternator never got past 12 something. I drove a couple miles and the gauge was all over the place. It got down to almost 9 and I looked again and it was back toward 13. It started dropping a lot even when I hit the brakes! Never turned the lights on and it wouldn't charge enough to restart....again. My blood might even be hotter than the alternator! This really sucks.