Red Alert's starting issue...

[meissen]

An Alternator is a Maintainer NOT a Charger.
If the battery voltage drops to 10 or 11 volts it will show power to the accessories but probably won't start the car. When the battery is boosted to start the vehicle the alternator will start sending current to the battery but will not supply enough to fully charge the battery (esp. an Optima). Plus add the fact that it won't be run long enough to charge it anyway.

Also on a side note the run of the mill home battery charger will not charge a battery that is below 10 volts. This is a safety feature so idiots don't try to charge 6 volt batteries on a 12 volt system. Our industrial chargers will charge 10 batteries at a time from any voltage. I even have a couple chargers that will do 24 batteries.

Now this confuses me because I've always understood an alternator is nothing more than a generator. Heck, on "The Colony" they're quite literally using an alternator out of a vehicle hooked up to a home built windmill to recharge car batteries...

Wikipedia (I know, I know, not the best source) likewise says alternators recharge batteries.

[meissen]

Im going to say its a ground problem. Check your main ground on the battery. Trace it to the block or frame (wherever you have it attached at). Remove, clean, and put back together. Than just start going through all the other grounds. When it wont start, does it by chance, have no interior lights or anything? Completely dead? Im going to say ground..........................yep, yep, yep...................................ground. Eric L

If it was a ground issue, would I get different voltage readings by using the frame as ground? I used the screw that goes through the power steering reservoir (grounded) and then measured the battery's voltage and I still got 12v.

[Darren]

If it was the alternator wouldnt your car die along long drives and cruises? Because the battery would be drained and if the alternator was not working then the car would die, even when driving. Unless the alternator is not performing the way it should? Like doing 1/2 of its job, but I am not even sure that is possible.

[meissen]

I would've thought so.. That's why this problem just doesn't seem to make sense.

Not to mention there was that one time a few weeks ago how I was in the shoutbox saying I probably couldn't go to Woodward because I hadn't charged my battery at all for the week. I get home and try the car after it had been sitting for a week and it fired right up. First time it's ever held a charge in I don't know how long.

[ThreeHonks]

I have a good alternator if you want to try that

[meissen]

I have the alternator out and am taking it to O'Reilly to see what they say. Keep your fingers crossed that the more indepth test will yield some results.

[mcssmostwanted]

i have my alternator if you want to use it as well

[s.reef]

Sounds like the alternator....my car had the exact same symptoms drove me crazy, thought it was the starter and battery...of course it was the alternator.

[meissen]

Well hell if I'm borrowing the battery I might as well try the alternator too, eh?

[1BADAIR]

the mounting surface on the alt needs to be paint free

[meissen]

Alternator tested good all three times .... I'm stumped

[ezcruisn71]

Did you ever check the charging voltage at the alternator with a DVOM?
I have all the electrical tools you need, but I live to far away. I have a DVOM, and Amp meter for the changing amperage and a carbon pile to load the battery to full field the alternator. Worked on a lot off Electrical problems back in my Dealership days. Would be glad to help ya but I live to far away.

[prorac1]

Im tellin ya, its a ground issue. Like larry said, your mounting tabs where they touch the bracket need to be paint free to get a good ground to the alternator. Everything else checks out, what other options are you left with. Ive delt with ground issues MANY times. They can take on all sorts of forms. I still think its a ground. Clean and check. You could even try ohming your ground cable. CHECK EVERYTHING. Eric L

[steddy]

Make sure that there are no breaks (or burns) in the wires from the battery. Also, I have to agree with Tom also. Last year, that purple and green third gen was stuck and had a red top in it. Wasn't a selling point to me. I've always liked Interstates, but I haven't had problems with them (some probably have, don't know). Also, is the alt powder coated? I'm not sure if that would be a good thing for it, seeing as how the body and fins, etc are made to dissipate it's heat and Wiki is wrong this time. An alternator will not charge the battery. It keeps the voltage togetheras the alt runs everything else, but it won't charge it. Best it'll do is a surface charge which is relatively useless, for the most part.

[BigJeffSS]

If you have a DVOM connect one lead to the battery ground and the other to the engine block you should read about a .5ohm anything much more then that is a sign you have a ground issues after that go to the case of the Alt. Also if your using a good DVOM you can check for parasitic draw with it or with an amp prop it shouldn't be more the 50ma after an hour.