hoping someone else has had this problem. My 84 gsl 12a 5speed has stock electrical system w/ power windows. the only extra is a small 'bazooka' subwoofer that is powered directly from the battery terminal as suggested in instructions. I don't even have the rear defrost connected. Whenever I use multiple electrical Lights, vent fan, wipers) items i get a power drain that is sometimes enough to stall the car at idle and/or cut out the stereo/subwoofer. Increasing the idle-revving the engine increases alternater output and corrects the problem. the battery is newer and stays charged, and the alternater is fairly new and guage in car says its providing charge. Do I need to add a heavier power wire somewhere ? I have put in a couple extra heavy ground wires because age/rust sometimes affects the ground so i believe car is well grounded. Any help would be appreciated.
Reed

 

You need a 2nd Gen alternator. preferably from a TII.

 

Don't rely on that 20 year old gauge. Get a good multi meter and test the out put from the alternator. There should not be that much loss of power from what you are using. I have 4 times the power off of my stereo and my lights don't even fade, I also have a 1 farad cap in line too. The battery should be around 12.2 volts with the car off and 14.4 volts when it is running.

John

 

hIGH aLLL

 

You might want to just invest in a higher amperage alternator.

 

Ive got a TII alt, multiple grounds, and a 1 farad cap and a gauge but my lights still dim when the bass hits and I dont get above 12v at any RPMs

 

i heard that the 92 buick lesabre 100 amp alterntors will work with little modification.

 

sounds like a good option- gotta be cheaper than Import alternater especially new/rebuilt- Only hesitation is to be sure it fits -I'll probably go to parts store and compare em. anyone else heard of this- do I need to consider other specs or is the 100 amp range the only thing t consider. thanks

 

Yep...click here

Lot cheaper alternative....right around $60 when they pop up on eBay...

 

aparently all you gotta do is change the pulley, and maybe shave a bit off the ears, i'm doing this monday. money to amps ratio is un beatable compared to a 3rd gen alt, thats for sure, search, there was a post just last week.

 

yayo420, sounds like you have a problem then. Does the chage go above 12volts with the system off. Mine goes up to 14volts with the system off and is still above 12 when its on.

John

 

I don't know about unbeatable. $ 20 bucks for a boneyard S5 alternator ain't bad, but most will have to eBay it. Cheapest I could find was $49 on eBay for the Buick one vs $69 for the TII alternator, those are both "Buy It Now!" prices....consider you only have to rework the wiring on the TII alternator, there are no mods to the shell (Which could land in the alternator and kill it the first time it spins) and I don't know if it's worth the hassle unless you have a couple of amps you listen to at 120 dBs all the time to drown out the power hungry, old-school Carter electric fuel pump along with fog lamps you never turn off and an electric fan running the second you turn the key with the AC always on...

 

as the pioneer of the dankus racing gm cs conversion 120 plus amps does the trick and the mods are simple as soon as i get this stooopid computer to recognize my cam again ill post pic of the ear mod, as for the connecter i removed the plastic from the female spades and plugged them rite in, be back with that pic soon, ps the pulley was off a ford alt, is double so can use two belts my charge voltage is 13.5 at 900 rpm and 14.5 from 1100 up and 33% more than t11

 

picture ,alt mount

 

Why is it cocked to the side?

 

amp anbd dual pully upgrade all in one ???

 

I had a water pump housing that was to blame for that once. I never noticed it until I tried to put a GSL-SE alt on my 83, and when checking the belt alignments, I realised the damn thing was crooked as a dogs hine leg. I put the stock alt back on and saw the same thing. I replaced the water pump housing with a spare and the -SE alt went on just fine.

~T.J.

 

Will an SE alt bolt right in without any mods?

 

Yes, but I believe it's only a 5 amp improvement.
Get an FC alternator, or a 1988 or Older Turbo II alternator. It is BOLT IN as long as you get the spacers.

 

And if you don't get the spacer, it's simply 5 or 6 standard Home Depot washers...and I just picked up an 80 amp alternator for the '84 off of eBay for $22.50....makes anything else a big pain in the behind for anymore than that...

 

the alt looking crooked is more the angle of cameera and my sloppy cutoff tool work, the belt alignment is dead on