MarkPan

guess i'll just measure voltage and calculate..

don't live in NJ, actually I live in canada. I was just meaning north america in general

RussB

Or are you saying that you'll just measure Voltage drop? That's certainly better than nothing, and if there were a way to pump a calibrated current through the cable that would be great, but I can't think of a way to do that . . . maybe use the headlights to suck a more or less fixed amount of current . . .

Check eBay to see if that cheap Craftsman clamp-on DMM is available. It's handy as heck when working with our cars.


(It's amazing that David Sarnoff's RCA empire -- once the world's leading manufacturer of things electronic -- fell apart so quickly after his death. They used to make good stuff, including VTVMs.)

SteveJ_in_TX

Chris Miller's site has some detailed information about something that may be the root cause - the infamous battery splice. The alternator may be putting out the charge, but it may be (as someone else posted) the cable resistance is too high and the charge just doesn't make it to the battery. And the splice may be the culprit.

MarkPan, check this link out and let us know what you find.<ul><li><a href="http://members.aol.com/c1j1miller/electrical.html#Alternator/Battery%20Splice">http://members.aol.com/c1j1miller/electrical.html#Alternator/Battery%20Splice</a</li></ul>

MarkPan

thanks!

so the splice has 2 4GA wires, and one 2ga.

2ga -&gt; battery
4ga (1) -&gt; alt
4ga (2) -&gt; fuse box?

gotta find the thing now...