Battery doesn't seem to be charging

[Scatterbrain]

I replaced my alternator with a new referb from O'reilly's.  I installed it and it doesn't appear to be charging my battery.  What is the output supposed to be when testing the alternator?  I'm only getting a reading of 9.5-10 volts at the big peg and nothing from the other 2 posts.  Battery itself reads 10.3 volts.  I know my voltmeter works cuz I when I test my Firebird's battery I get 12v (when car is off).

[MEK-Dangerfield]

You should be getting close to 14 Volts. Maybe the voltage regulator is faulty or not making a good ground contact to the body...Or they sold you a dead alternator.


  Mike

[Chryco Psycho]

if you are getting no voltage at the 2 small connectors that is your issue , you need a 12v feed in the blue wire & the green wire grounds through the regulator start tracing the blue wire back to find out why you do not have power

[Scatterbrain]

Wow, fast response. 

I've got no blue wire.  I've got (starting furthest from the battery) a big peg with black wire (thick), in the middle I've got a red wire and at the other side closer to the battery I've got a green wire.   The red and the green go into the voltage regulator.  Which one should have the 12v feed?  The one in the middle or the one further out? 



   

[Scatterbrain]

Ok, found a disconnected blue wire that appears to have once been connected to the red wire.  It may have become disconnected when I replaced the spark plug wires last week.  I reconnected them and am waiting for my charging pack to charge up so I can jump start.  I turned on the ignition and am now getting a 10.1v reading off the middle connection on the alternator (when the key is in the ignition).  That almost matches the reading I am getting off the battery.   Looks like way to many folks have been cutting and hacking my wiring harness.  Might be time for a new one, though I think its going to be a rough time replacing and tracing all the hacks even with the wiring diagram I have on my wall.

[Chryco Psycho]

the blue wire should feed the ballast resistor , the red wire into the volage reg & the red wire at the alt , without that connected nothing works
 it doesn`t matter which connector is on which connection on the alternator as far as the 2 smaller red & green wires are concerned but the red is 12v

[72 cuda]

10.3 at the battery ? doesn't it take 12 volt in to work properly.
please clarify?
mark

[Scatterbrain]

After about a week of running off just battery, the battery had drained down to 10.3v.  Everything is connected, battery got a charge at O'Reilly's and everything is working.  Getting almost 14V off the Alternator and the battery is reading almost 13V when the car is running.  Looks like everything is working again.  Thanks for the input.

[Chryco Psycho]