The Camaro Club (UK)

Had quite a heart racey morning today. Dropped off a friend at the airport in the 3rd gen and the the battery was at about 9 volts the whole way. On the way back, about half way, it dropped to a touch over 8. When i came off the motorway on the regular roads, the car was losing power when accelerating, stuttering when trying to speed up. Just about made it home. It's on the trickle charger now, so looking for some help as to what it could be... battery? alternator? something else?

The battery does seem like it's been there for a few years, it always seems to be a bit low but then charges while driving on the motorway. From my understanding, the car runs on the alternator and the battery is really only there for starting? So i would have thought that while driving, the car should have stayed ok at ~13v? It was down to about 8 or so when driving. That's why i'm a bit confused. It did struggle to start when getting back to the car at the airport, then when i put fuel in, it barely started at the petrol station. Any thoughts, help & advice very welcome!

Cheers,

Ray

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I would check out the alternator first, seems like you ran home on the battery only.
Your HEI needs 12 volts, that´s why the stuttering started.

Read this guy, he can´t be beaten for electrical tech.
http://www.madelectrical.com/electrical ... orks.shtml

As this has coincided with the recent temperature drop I'm gonna guess its the battery, however put your voltage meter on the battery terminals and gently rev the engine, you should see it rise to about 14v when you rev it if your alternator's ok

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1997 30th Anniversary SS SLP
1993 GMC Typhoon

Crap battery if it´s affected that badly by temperature drops.

Thanks for the quick replies I'm fearing it's the alternator... it's been on charge for about 6 or 7 hours, i took off the charger, the volts on the dash read about 9 or 10 volts. I started the car, started just fine, but the volts dropped straight away to a touch over 8v and didn't move up, even when revving. This makes me think the alternator is not doing it's thing, as it should be showing 13-14 volts with the engine running? I think the battery is on it's way out too, but i would guess that the bigger issue is the alternator then?

I'll do the voltage test in a few minutes with a hand held tester and see what happens when i rev it.

What could i start looking at / testing / replacing , would it be a belt or clutch issue? perhaps a faulty sensor, voltage regulator? perhaps the alternator is burned out? Just trying to work out what i can do to fix it... it kind of needs to be asap too, because i still have to be a tour guide for another week

Think i will get a new battery tomorrow as it's definitely got a few years on it.

Thanks!

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Ok, did the volt test and when revving, the volts stayed at 12v and did not go up. Seems the alternator controller or clutch or something is gone. There's an alternator place around the corner, so will pop down tomorrow and see what they can do for a replacement / rebuild...

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Good grief......how jammy can you get ?

I took one of mine to an electrical man here in town, just to be checked out nothing more.

He told me it had to go into Barcelona where a company he knew had better equipment.

It came back in a box in pieces......

I got a new one from Summit, quicker....easier.....cheaper.

They are real ripoff merchants here.

If your battery stays charged off the car you know it´s the alternator.

Want a do it yourself alternator......free ?

Definately alternator.

Mine ran the same when it packed up on my IROC, tpi system and ecu need full power.
I also remember the relatively new battery needing replacing because of it too

Check out Old Car World as I got mine there..

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“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.”

Cheers guys, thanks for all the advice!

Sounds like you've had a fun time with your locals Malc! If i had time i would have ordered from somewhere like Summit as looking through their online catalog, they have a lot of options, just needed it back on the road as it's the daily.

The only place i could find that had it in stock was John Woolfe racing aka partsorama. The other places needed to order it in as it's a year specific model I went up to Bedford in the Clio and man is there is a difference in power going back to a 1.2 litre lol. The alternator was a rebuilt one, £155 so a bit on the pricier end. This guy: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alternator-86 ... 19e1677bdb

The guy at John Woolfe Racing was really helpful, made sure everything checked out ok and matched the alternator i brought up, even helped me put the stuff in the car... went for a replacement battery too, so it was an expensive trip. Not sure how old the battery is, but i'm sure it's got a few years on it.

While the alternator was out, gave a bit of clean up around the engine bay while access was easy. Ran out of day light so gonna install it this morning. Will leave the old battery in for now just to see the difference rather than introducing 2 variables at the same time. Will top up the old battery with the wall charger before starting the car. The new battery is currently on charge.

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Glad you're sorted and on your way.

I still have my original alternator but I now use this.....

Powermaster Street Alternators 47802 Internal Regulator, 140 Amp
http://www.summitracing.com/int/parts/p ... /overview/