Hi,

What would cause 1 wire alternator to fail fast? summit chrome 100 amp (maybe 65) checked ground, added heavy ground to - battery to be safe. read voltage at pos side of battery and at alternator itself (single heavy gauge from alt to + battery). reads ulta low voltage - like 1 when disconnected from batt. revved engine to well over 3000 rpm to ensure it sensed the engine running. sux, alt is near new, maybe 20 hours.

No issues with electrical system that I am aware, except battery(also new) is not charging.

any way I can read out the alternators? I know i can buy another, possibly get a return, but prefer to troubleshoot.

69 camaro, 454, normal pulley setup, no air con, no big elec drain equip.

thanks for any advice. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed, but i am determined/stubborn.

 

Sounds like the internal voltage reg is not working properly. A bad battery can cause the alternator to have an early life as well as the starter. I had the opposite problem with a one wire alt on my tractor. It was pumping out around 18 volts and frying the battery.

 

When you disconnect the alternator from the battery it loses the field current it needs to energize the field windings, and the alternator will have no output. Connect it back to the battery and check the current with a cheap clamp-on ammeter ($ 15)set around the battery cable & see how many amps are going or coming from the battery. If no current is going to the battery, the alternator is bad. If the current is high and the voltage is low, the alternator is good, and there is an electrical problem somewhere else.