Alternator Wiring? Cavalier... Or any Car???

[jksandwell]

I have recently purchased a battery isolator and an optima red top as a bonus to my system. One problem, I want to upgrade the "magical 3" also but I can't find where the alternator wire goes? I know it has to connect to the battery in some manner but the only two wires that go to the battery are a wire from the starting solenoid, and from the fuse box. I opened the fuse box and saw that the alternator wire does not go through it or, it rather did not appear to. It looked as if everything was receiving power from the battery. And the solenoid didn't have any other power wires going to it that I could see. I'm speechless How can I upgrade the magical 3 if I can't find where the hell they go? Cavalier 2002 is my car. And this pretty much sucks to start on this car and run into this bump. AM I just stupid or am I overlooking something. Can I just run a wire from the alternator to the Isolator, and from the Isolator to each battery?. Or would that be making a "short circuit" in the system and not offer power to some form of peripheral?

[bduff509]

I'm not familiar with newer alternators but on the older ones the 10ga. wire off the back of the alt. goes to +12 v off the batt. Not always directly to it but not switched or interrupted by anything. Of the 2 wires on the side, the red one goes to the "Run" pos. on the Start sw. & the brown goes to the volt meter. I believe with an isolator, the 10ga. wire will go to the com. term. on the iso. & the other two terms. to the + term. of each batt. The alternator can then charge both batts. but you only drain them through their respective loads. Forgive my ignorance but what is an optima red top & the magical 3 ?

[tomschou]

im new here i need help with my 96 pick up
wont start????

[bduff509]

You need air, fuel & spark. The easiest thing to check is the fuel if you have TBI. Have someone crank it while you look at the injectors. If they're spraying with no throttle you've got fuel. You should be able to hear the fuel pump running for a few seconds after you turn the key to "on". If you don't, be suspicious. I've got a '94 Safari w/ 258k mi. on it & I've been through 4 pumps already. You can get a cheap volt/ ohmmeter at Radio Shack. Check your coil. Don't look for spark by pulling a plug wire. You can blow you coil. They don't like firing into an open circuit any more than they do a short circuit. If you don't already have one, get a Haines or Chilton book for your vehicle. I've got one for everything I've bought in the last 25 yrs. They're much more explicit than they used to be. As for the air, unless a squirrel took up residence somewhere in your intake, you're probably o.k. but it never hurts to check. You should try posting your own thread with that question. Try to be as explicit as you can i.e. what engine TBI, Multi-port... There's an amazing amout of knowlege on this site. Good luck. Get the book & a meter. They are invaluable.