Alternator?

Hello everyone
My corsica just wont start, I try to turn it over but wont.. very little power.
I just replaced the battery and bus circuits.. so it has to be the alternator right? How would I remove the alternator, it looks connected to everything, do I have to take it to a shop to get replaced. Pls help, thanks

Some things we would need to know. Year of car, size motor in it. Was the battery new, and if so was it charged first?? They have to be fully charged first or you risk ruining the starter and or the battery. If it is, and it won't turn over well i would think you have a wore out starter, or possibly bad cables. The starters get difficult to turn when bearings wear out in them. First thing though and verify this battery. Get if charged either by whoever sold it to you or buy or borrow a charger and charge it for 3-4 hours, being sure to set it on 12 volt. You can replace whatever is bad yourself, as long as you have proper tools and have worked on cars before. Might invest in a Haynes manual on this sort of stuff too, available at most parts store...

I have a '88 Chevy Corsica. :banghead: Well I bought the battery brand new from Wal-Mart, does it still need to be charged? I really dont want to buy a auto book, but if I got to then... thanks for the reply

I would for sure. I know regular parts stores such as Advance charges theirs but unsure about Walmarts and such. Charge it or take it to a local Advance and have them check it for charge if you don't have a charger. Gotta be sure of this before you do anything.

Thanks, i'll check it out. Did I mention that it was running for 1 day with the new battery then it wont turn over and start. WTF!! Im going crazy

no, but that makes sense. If the alternator is bad, replacing the battery would give it enough power to run a while until it dies. My suggestion would be to charge the battery, re install it and go straight to an Advance Auto parts store, or any other in your area that offers free battery / alternator checking. They can tell you in 5 minutes if it is bad, which is most likley. Corsicas are ROUGH on alternators. You are lucky to get 2 years out of one. The only problem taking them out is the belt, as you might need to borrow a tool to do this with (Advance will do this) and being sure to un hook both battery cables as you have one wire that runs directly to the battery. On my car (91) you remove the battery wires, unplug one set of wires, take offone small nut that holds the hot wire I mentioned, then remove two bolts, AFTER taking off the belt. On some you will need to remove the overflow bottle to have better access to the belt.

If the car still didn't start with the new battery in it, then the alternator has nothing to do with it. I would say it's a bad starter. If it started right after putting the new battery in, but wouldn't after driving a day or two, then the alternator is not charging and the new battery is discharging. Take a volt meter, with the car running, it should be reading 13.8-15.2 volts. With the car off, it should be 12.6-13.2 volts.

Yes, you are quite right. He does say however that the car was running for a day or so with the new battery, but now it does not start. My thought is be sure the battery is charged first, get it running and get it checked for voltage and amperage at a local parts store, or, yes he could check it with a voltmeter. However that won't test the amperage capability. With the cars in my family so far I have had at least one of each fail this past year, so could be any of the three for sure. I am just concerned that if he trys to start this car on a low battery he will ruin the starter, if it is not already bad....

Hello All,

This is an alternator related question.

My electrical schematic shows two ground wires coming from the alternator. One goes to the fuse block and the other goes to the "charge indicator" light.

I need to replace the plug that plugs into the alternator.

Here's my question. Does it matter which groud wire goes to which ground terminal? If you need a copy of the schematic, I can send you a copy of it via email.

Thanks for the help,

ibgater