Philsphan

Well was driving yesterday to go to a movie. battery light and abs light come on c4 stalls at a light doesn't start back up. So pushed it into walmart parking lot that was at the light. Had it towed back to the house today. Basically problem is the alternator because after a jump car will die a minute later. Wondering do these things eat alternators because the mechanic I took it too when I lived in Fl stuck a new alternator on it June of last year.. Just another issue in a long line of work and things replaced on this car. Mechanic in FL I didn't trust hopefully being in Tennessee will be a different story.

solaris_vii

they can have a tendancy to eat up alternators, especially if you let it sit a while and you use the alternator to recharge the battery. if you can handle basic repairs then id recommend changing the alternator yourself and getting a lifetime warranty one from a local parts store so you dont have to worry about paying for another one. all you need is a half inch drive ratchet or breaker bar to move the tensioner to loosen the belt, then a couple different socket sizes (maybe 10 and 13? it has been almost a decade since the last time i did one) to remove the bolts holding the alternator which is conveniently right on the top of the belt drive on the drivers side and voila! reverse steps to reinstall and you are on your way!

Philsphan

Its funny because it really hasn't been sitting for the past 4 months I have been running it for the better part of 5-6 times a week between jobs. Yeah I have a buddy who works at autozone whose gonna replace the alternator and the fuel pressure regulator. Because it was also having trouble starting consistently before this and would stall about 10 percent of the time but start right back up. I wonder if the 2 things are related in any way. Hopefully once those 2 things are replaced it starts up on first turn no problem

Mark8801

Call Chevrolet and get a decent alternator. Been there, done that.

dizwiz24

And you dont have an optispark !!!

Actually..i had to go thru a few rebuilt in china autozone alternators before getting one that was rebuilt by someone who actually had their rice bowl for breakfast.

383vett

Probably a good idea to disconnect the battery first.

gerardvg

When you have a good alternator you have a good one, stay away from the cheap new ones that have issues with incorrect bearings.
I have had a new alternator which would stop charging, was intermittant and traced to the bearing not gripping the shaft and allowing the shaft to move back and forward. The brushes would not contact the commutator properly, i went to the Powermaster 86-91 alternator, no more issues since it just works the way it should.

Is your battery still good? below 10.5 volts you will not be able to crank the car at that voltage it inhinits the starter relay.
Totally discharging a battery will pretty much kill it, get the battery charged and check it as well as the alternator.


http://www.ebay.com/itm/Powermaster-47803-GM-CS130-Alternator-86-91-Corvette-5-7L-L98-140-Amp-Natural-/380515215418?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Model%3ACorvette&hash=item589879683a&vxp=mtr

solaris_vii

haha yes thank you DEFINITELY do that first!

DinoBob

Please check the junction block behind the battery. A lot of hots meet up there. My car had the symptoms of a bad alternator when in fact this block was bad. It was a fire waiting to happen.

larryinalabama

The Alt on my 90 vette looksthe same s the one on my 88 truck, Im guessing they are, those altnators were junk from the start. My 90 Cadi with a 350, alt is different, it had a bad noise, no way Id replace it with a autozone Chinese one so I put bearings in it, they were hard too find.

Setting all that aside I suppose a lifetime Napa alt or similar alt for our vets might be the way to go.

kimmer

But they even look good on a wrecker.

shakedown067

I get mine rebuilt about every other year, but the car does sit a decent amount. Have a feeling it's about that time again, but this time I'm going to finally pony up for a powermaster alt. I put one on my old truck and it was over 10 years old when I finally sold the truck. I finally saw the light with the truck after three alternators in 4 years (decent sized stereo, dual air compressors, etc).

JD Shredds

The things we forget to mention sometimes...

Philsphan

I went with the powermaster liking it so far. mine was the one for 160 idk the main differences between that n the 190 but think I made a good choice.

DinoBob

No one commented on the "terminal block behind the battery" issue I posted before. To go into more detail, the post had corroded on this block, and all of the various hot feeds were loose. The arcing between them from jostling around melted the Bakelite on the block and some of the wires quite a bit, and the car would have intermittent low voltage/stall issues that were very difficult to understand. I replaced the alternator and thought I was clear, but two days later it happened again. I recently saw a '84 coupe at a local junkyard with the left front quadrant by the battery burned to a crisp, and it gave me pause. Go through the wiring and check it!!

solaris_vii

if i remember correctly, 84s didnt have that block, but i cant remember when they came in. i think by his 88 they had them, and its definitely a good place to look/clean/lube/tighten