Electrical Troubles

[DJ J-Roc]

I have a a 91 Z28, 305tpi, and previously owned an 89 IROC as well. Both cars gave me the same problem for some reason. The IROC was not so bad with it as my 91.

Have any of you ever had a problem with not holding a good charge and killing alternators? I swear it seems like I go through alternators like underwear. I'll put a new one on, and after a while it just goes to the crapper. ie. Had to buy a new one on the way home from Florida. Got stuck in S.C. Anyway, that was about three years ago. In 2000 I leased a Jeep Grand so I put my Camaro away for a while. I kept up on regular maintnence though, and started it once a week or so. I turned my lease in so now its back to my Camaro. I've had no problems over the last 3 months, but all of a sudden yesterday I noticed my volt guage was way down. The car was running off the battery only. The battery I bought just over a year ago from Sears.....Delco Gold or something like that. Even when I use my power windows, rear defrost, or wipers, I can see the guage go down a little. On the average stays just under the 13volt mark on the guage, maybe 10 or 11.

So my main question: I rarely drove it for three years, put a new battery in, with the fairly new alt, and it took a dump. Has anybody ever had this happen? What are possible fixes/causes?

[ridge_runner]

ha nope i cant say that i have, but i would go and buy yourself a good battery, maybe an optima red top, and a high voltage alt and see how it does

[91Z28350]

yeah before u go buyin stuff just go to a parts store like kragen or something and they will test ur charging system for free...yeah and i use to work at sears auto center so theres a 3yr warranty on those batterys diehard gold u probably mean, they do free check of ur charging system too if they have an auto center.Just make sure u really have a Diehard battery if not theyll charge u like 15 bucks to do it

[DaMoNe6969]

Do you have any pwr accesories installed?? stereo? alarm? anything like that? What brand of alternator are you buying and from where? Cheap alternators, or "reman" alternators usually last about a year if your lucky..
The stock gauges arent very accurate and as long as your inbetween 11 and 14 ide say your fine.. and with these cars it isnt out of the ordinary at all to see the battery gauge go down a bit with the defrost or windows etc... Also check the condition of the alt. wiring and the belt..

hope that helps

[DJ J-Roc]

Well, I took the battery back to Sears and they gave me a brand new. The alternator I bought from NAPA in S.C. on the way home from Fla. Took that back to a NAPA here in MI and they said it was cooked. I do have a Kicker stereo system in there with two amps, but I never had that problem except in the camaros I've owned. I was just thinking though, I had a 96 Ranger after my IROC but I put an Optima battery in it.

I do want a high output alt though. All the ones I found ar like $200 though. That sucks. Do any of you know where they might be cheaper? I don't want to buy another stock 100amp and have it die in another year. I'm thinking 140amp or I even seen a 200amp. Hopefully that will take care of it. Thanks for the feedback though. Greatly appreciated.

[DJ J-Roc]

Oh yeah...how do I a pic of my car in my posts?

[ponchonutty]

Well, I happen to know a lot about Fbodys AND stereos. It sounds to me that you are frying your voltage regulators from them constantly having to charge and shut off in the beat of your music. I would look seriously into adding a capacitor set equal to the power you have or just do not turn it up very much.

[89IROC&RS]

could be a worn out positive battery cable. or some other wiring problem. hard to diagnose this problem over the internet, but id say thats your problem. just a guess, but baised off some experience. id have the whole charging system tested however at a reputable shop. preferably the dealership.