alternator is not charging battery enough...loss of hp? low idle? i give up

[HybridOne]

So now the alternator is not charging the battery enough. If i rev the car up to about 2k i get around 13volts. At idle, i get 12 or less with no lights on and no fans running. The idle is at like 400 rpms.

i'm gonna replace the alternator and see what happens. I have almost given up on this motor. i might just get another long block and try it out.

I have about 75lbs of compression across the board. most likely from a low battery and non charging alternator. i don't get hard enough compression strokes.

I have good oil pressure, but my vacum is low...around 10 or 12. I have checked everywhere for vacum leaks and have sealed everything.

I really think it has to do with the way the motor was assembled. A friend of mine put it together and everthing that is happenning with it makes me think it;s timing...which i have adjusted numerous times. At least 3 times i have removed a cam gear and re adjusted the chain to make sure everything was lined up exactly.

This is totally out of hand. If the new alternator doesn't fix the problem i'm giving his motor back to him and ordering a short block.

my last thoughts are that since i do not have good charge, i am not getting good spark, and the fuel pump may not be running to it's full potential. The car builds boost and drives...it just stalls and then will not restart unless a deisel truck us jumping it off. Also, it feels like i have about 100 hp.

sooooooooo, we will see. if anyone has any sugestions, please let e know.

[nismo696969]

check the batery bulb on the gauge cluster thats what happened to me.It has to complete the circuit to charge the system

[HybridOne]

thats what happenned to you? the car had no power and stalled because of he alternator? I'm just trying to see if anyone else on earth has had this problem.

[WONit]

i havent had this problem with my sr,but yes the alternator would cause that to happen!! is your battery light staying on?

[HybridOne]

yea the light flickers...

[WONit]

well heres a way to test and see if the alternator is bad........while the car is running take the positive cable off the battery, and if it cuts off the alt. is no good.i can guarentee that! make sure all power stuff is turned off.radio,lights,heat,ect................ lemme know how it goes!

[sileightysomeday]

i have the same problem, my battery light is dim but stays on... also, a friend suggested that it was the alternator tension bolt... what could it be? i just replaced the battery, should i replace the alternator as well?

[ETTInnov04]

My car did this one time when my battery went bad. They just get to a point sometimes where they cant hold a charge anymore. Are you sure your battery is good? I know it sounds stupid but I would hate to see you go through all of this to find out it was something stupid and inexpensive.*Also I notice that my car turns about 12.Xvolts(per turbo timer). Your altenator could be providing the right voltage but the battery may not be strong enough to hang on to the charge.

[HybridOne]

i replaced the alternator and my voltage is a little higher...13.8 volts at idle. so thats good. now my engine is flooding iteslf. weird stuff. also my tps voltage is too low. like 0.14 volts at closed and 3.4 at WOT. so now i hve to adjust that and see whats up.