Battery alternator problems

R

Richard

Member
Good day to all scouters!!

I have a 1977 SSII with 345, 2bbl, 727 tf, posi front and rear. Headers and pertronix conversion from a Holley gold box. My truck has 352,000 on it, burns a little oil, but I love it and have had years of fun with it. Question is:

is it possible for the battery to discharge through the alternator? I mean, is it possible for an alternator to be faulty just sitting? I have gone through my entire wiring looking for a short, bad wire, bad fuse, bad connection, but have found none. I read somewhere on this site that someone else had a similar problem and that possibly it could be a bad alternator. When running, the alternator charges great (about 13.5)

another question: after sitting overnight, when I start my Scout, my mechanical gauge shows no charging for about 30 seconds, then jumps to charging and run fine all day. Is it possible, for this alternator to be bad?

Would appreciate some advice, thanks.
 
You bet!! The diodes that are in the alternator to change the ac that the windings of the alternator generate to the dc that your rig run on can short down. This allows the battery to discharge through the stator windings on f your alternator.

Test. Scout cold, fully charge your battery with the alternator charge out wire (usually a 1/4 inch stud on the back of the alternator) disconnected. Then touch it to the terminal from which you removed it. You will/May see a spark as it touches.

Connect the same wire and leave it for about 1 hour. The alternator will get warm if it is the cause.
 
Another common failure mode of a delcotron 10si, and can go un-noticed for a long time if the rig is dd, but let it sit...and here we go!
 
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