Electrical charging issues

1974 CHEVROLET EL CAMINO
5,347 MILES • 5.7L • V8 • 2WD • AUTOMATIC
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JIMBO81
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I have been having an issue with the charging system in my vehicle. I purchased this vehicle from a lady online super cheap as it was not running and sat for three years. It was her husband's! He had turned this into a drag car so everything was gutted it was all motor no accessories. I went through and cleaned out the tank,fuel lines,new plugs,wires,dizzy,coil,cap,etc.etc. i hand turned the engine to get it pre lubed it fired right up no hesitation! I then noticed voltage dropping every time I rev it or put a load on it. Cool! I bought new battery and alternator. Fired it up and took it out. Noticed drop in voltage again. At idle there is no drop only under a load! Now mind you, car was gutted, wires mickey moused and engine is from another unknown vehicle! I bet you are saying "go ask the previous owner idiot!" Lol I totally would if he was alive! He died with all the secrets to this build he had going. Anyways. I have the car idling poorly. voltage is at 12.6v now I'm going to perform the test of alt. Or battery so I disconnected - terminal on batt and woke up a beast. I have high idle volts are at 15.2 and climbing so I shut it off and here I am. I don't know jack about electrical. somebody please help!
Dec 22, 2019 at 5:26 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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Good morning,

Do you mean you disconnected the battery while the engine was running? Really?

That is not a test of anything. You never do that as you can damage the alternator.

Please explain what you did to test the alternator?

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 5:34 AM
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JIMBO81
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What I did was I started the vehicle and I removed the negative side of the battery to see if the vehicle would shut off. if the alternator was bad it would shut off correct?
Dec 22, 2019 at 7:57 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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No, again that is not a test and can damage the alternator. Never ever do that.

Chances are the alternator is bad at this point. I would return the alternator and get a replacement and then retest.

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 8:11 AM
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JIMBO81
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I have the new one installed now!
Dec 22, 2019 at 9:10 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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Okay, what is the charge rate at idle?

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 9:33 AM
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JIMBO81
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It is at 12.2v at idle.
Dec 22, 2019 at 10:05 AM
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JIMBO81
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It's dropping every time I rev and put a load on.
Dec 22, 2019 at 10:08 AM
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ASEMASTER6371
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Make sure the belt is tight.

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 10:54 AM
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JIMBO81
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Update: well you're right it was the belt. while I didn't have a tight I had to go buy a new one and the old one was stretched. problem solved 12 hours later thank you.
Dec 22, 2019 at 2:10 PM
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JIMBO81
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I hate electrical with the passion.
Dec 22, 2019 at 2:10 PM
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JIMBO81
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I do have another question for you. I have a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee special edition 4.0 L California emissions bank 1 sensor 1 it's pulling that p0031 I've changed out the O2 sensor twice now and check engine light goes out 10-15 minutes later it comes right back on same exact code.
Dec 22, 2019 at 2:12 PM
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ASEMASTER6371
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Glad to hear it is fixed. Good job.

As far as the other vehicle, site rules are 1 vehicle per question.

If you would go back to the beginning and start a new question, we will be happy to help you.

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 2:17 PM
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JIMBO81
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My apologies. thanks a million.
Dec 22, 2019 at 3:49 PM
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ASEMASTER6371
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No worries. We will just pick up on another thread.

Roy
Dec 22, 2019 at 3:50 PM