Hegg
Jedi Hopeful
Offline
Alright, so I've got my Elan +2 running more or less. Now my problem is that the car isn't "charging" while it runs. It was originally a generator car converted to alternator.
Sometimes the ammeter will read positive amps, but most the time it reads negative (i.e., the alternator isn't supplying the system). Of course since sometimes it's charging and sometimes it's not, I would suspect wiring.
I can't seem to trace it down though! When the car is in non-charging mode, I check continuity between all kinds of stuff and it all looks good. I'm to the point that I want to check the alternator output while the car is running, but I don't know how.
So, that's why I'm here now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif My alternator has the ground wire and a thick red wire going to the fuse "box", on the same side as the thick Brown/Yellow "hot at all times" wire. There's also a plug with two brown/color wires, but I assume that the red wire is the one that should be providing amperage output.
What can I hook my multimeter up to while it's running to see what the output is? I would assume I need to pull the red wire from the fuse box, otherwise my readings would just show battery amperage.
Electrics aren't my specialty. I broke my headlight switch this morning, so now I gotta source one of those. Can't wait to see the price tag on that!
Thanks once again for allowing me to draw on your expertise.
Sometimes the ammeter will read positive amps, but most the time it reads negative (i.e., the alternator isn't supplying the system). Of course since sometimes it's charging and sometimes it's not, I would suspect wiring.
I can't seem to trace it down though! When the car is in non-charging mode, I check continuity between all kinds of stuff and it all looks good. I'm to the point that I want to check the alternator output while the car is running, but I don't know how.
So, that's why I'm here now. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif My alternator has the ground wire and a thick red wire going to the fuse "box", on the same side as the thick Brown/Yellow "hot at all times" wire. There's also a plug with two brown/color wires, but I assume that the red wire is the one that should be providing amperage output.
What can I hook my multimeter up to while it's running to see what the output is? I would assume I need to pull the red wire from the fuse box, otherwise my readings would just show battery amperage.
Electrics aren't my specialty. I broke my headlight switch this morning, so now I gotta source one of those. Can't wait to see the price tag on that!
Thanks once again for allowing me to draw on your expertise.