North American Turbocoupe Organization



Another Charging Issue - what am I missing?
John B Offline
Senior Member
#1
Seems like once a year, I have some sort of charging issue. Last week, I noticed that the battery voltage was a little low (compared to previous drives) with the car running. This past weekend, I lost all charging. This is an 88TC with a 3G PA Performance alt. Here's what I have checked thus far:
- Battery is good. 1 year old, 12+ volts at terminals when car isn't running
- I have voltage at output post on alternator 
- Regulator plug checked out: yellow wire has constant voltage, green/red wire has voltage with key on, and white/stator wire has continuity from both plug ends
- Belt is tight

I installed a brand new, spare 3G alternator and this also did not charge. I spoke to PA Performance and they mentioned two possible culprits:
- Regulator plug is not making good contact with the regulator on the alternator (I have a replacement plug on the way)
- Grounding issue

In regards to the grounding issue, I believe this could be an issue as I'm using powder coated brackets from Big R Motorsports and I don't have a ground cable off the back of the alternator. The alternator was charging before so I'm not sure if the ground wire is the full issue here. I will see if this and or the regulator plug fix the issue. 

In the meantime, is there anything else that anyone can think of that could cause this issue? A blown fuse link somewhere? Anything? Been chasing this for a few days now so any help is appreciated.
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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John B Offline
Senior Member
#2
Wanted to post an update here as I found the issue. With the new alternator brackets being powder coated, the alternator was not grounded. I removed some of the powder coating to allow the brackets to be grounded and that did the trick. There is a bolt hole on the back of the 3G's that is also meant for a ground wire. I will be adding one for good measure. For anyone else who uses brackets like this or decides to powder coat their own brackets, keep this in mind for the alternator.
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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BigJake Offline
Member
#3
Good find on something you wouldn't think twice about. Reminds me when someone had a wiring issue's and found the insulation on the wires were not stripped off before crimping the terminals on.
1987 Thunderbird Turbo Coupe 5 speed Boosting 25 PSI with Boport/Stinger parts !
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John B Offline
Senior Member
#4
(09-15-2022, 09:16 PM)BigJake Wrote: Good find on something you wouldn't think twice about. Reminds me when someone had a wiring issue's and found the insulation on the wires were not stripped off before crimping the terminals on.

Yes, didn't even think twice about it. PA Performance Tech Support was a huge help here.
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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vegas_ss Offline
Senior Member
#5
May want to keep an eye on the alternator output. My PA performance 3g started not producing consistent voltage, would drop down a little as rpm's increased. Called PA tech support, they had me send it in and repaired it for free and covered shipping both ways. Problem was with the stator and wear on the wire harness.
1987 TC, 5sp, Boport Stage 3 Head/2.1 Cam
1996 Impala SS, DCM, Borla Cat Back, too much other stuff!!! (SOLD)
2009 Pontiac G8 GXP 6M, 6.2l LS3, Kooks Long Tube, Hi Flo Cats, Mild Cam
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John B Offline
Senior Member
#6
(09-19-2022, 06:26 PM)vegas_ss Wrote: May want to keep an eye on the alternator output.  My PA performance 3g started not producing consistent voltage, would drop down a little as rpm's increased.  Called PA tech support, they had me send it in and repaired it for free and covered shipping both ways.  Problem was with the stator and wear on the wire harness.

I will keep it in mind. Luckily the alternator on the car now is brand new and the previous alternator was rebuilt in 2021 by PA
88 Turbo Coupe: Front mount intercooler, MGW short throw shifter, full coilover conversion, tubular control arms front and rear, svo front brakes, vacuum assist brake swap, manual steering swap, GT35R turbo with external gate, pimpx ecu, 60lb injectors, 3 core aluminum radiator, Boport 1.5 cam, gutted upper, corbeau fixed back seats, and the list goes on.
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