I am having trouble getting my dash to light up after connecting my battery back to my car (u know when all the lights in the cluster come on when you turn the key on). I built a sbc 357 for my 81 Calais and I am using the Camaro pulleys and the alternator as well. I am using the EC 82 from Napa. What wires do I need? I haven't cranked the car yet but the volt meter I put in works when I turn the key to the on position. Nothing else works such as electric fuel pump or fan. Exactly what wire color wire do I need. I am wondering if it has something to do with me not using the back of the cylinder head as a ground point. Everything is on fuses and relays. Just the sources that are on a key switch power source does not work.
Alternator Conversion
- Thread starter Mean_n
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Is it only the warning lights that don't work?
It's hard to help without knowing how your car has been rewired.
It's hard to help without knowing how your car has been rewired.
An electric fan and electric fuel pump should be wired from the battery thru the starter(they only get power with the key on) on their own circuits, not from any existing circuits in the car. Some people do like the fan to be operable with the key off though. In that case it can be wired direct to the battery.
On mine I used a buss bar from an early 90's Chevy truck. Actually I used all of the starter and alternator wiring from the truck. After that each device gets its own circuit breaker and relay. And each is grounded to the frame.
Grounds are important. You need a ground preferably a braided copper like the factory used, from the block to the firewall, then the battery ground from the battery to the block with a jumper of the same size from the block to the frame, last you need a ground from the battery to the fender, this one can be 10ga.
On mine I used a buss bar from an early 90's Chevy truck. Actually I used all of the starter and alternator wiring from the truck. After that each device gets its own circuit breaker and relay. And each is grounded to the frame.
Grounds are important. You need a ground preferably a braided copper like the factory used, from the block to the firewall, then the battery ground from the battery to the block with a jumper of the same size from the block to the frame, last you need a ground from the battery to the fender, this one can be 10ga.
The warning lights don't work,yeah that's it but I wired the fuel pump and fan to switched sources and they do not work but I have to check the grounds. Nothing has been re wired I just deleted some that are on the harness leading to alternator. The alt. is brand new and the battery, I have not cranked it yet but I figured the warning lights should come one. Everybody says just use the brown wire but the red wire is what is making everything work like the dash lights head lights, that's it. I have the triple gauge cluster with volt meter and it reads the battery voltage but nothing else works. (about 14)
The red wire does provide power to the car but the brown wire is for the dash warning light. What wires were removed from the alternator harness? Just so I'm sure, the pulley setup is serpentine right? If so you have to have that brown wire hooked up to the alt and the light has to work. If not you WILL kill the new alt. It has to have resistance in that wire. The bulb provides the resistance needed. A resistor can be added and may have been on the connector from the Camaro.
And it has had rewiring done if wires have been eliminated and an electric pump and fan have been added.
What I will do is put pics up tomorrow morn to help everybody understand what I am talking about. I installed the fan an pump, I got the car with no engine or transmission, I have some wires going to the alt capped off b/c I did an alt. upgrade, I only have the brown and the red wire out and of course the wire that hangs loose from the the plug that goes into the alt and EC 82 adapter for the alt upgrade.
Does the EC82 have a resistor in it? The part I see most people use is different. My engine uses a CS130 alt and I used a 1 wire plug from a 91 Chevy K1500 350 5 speed. It has a resistor built in. I went that way just for simplicity.
I do know when I did the research for mine there were a lot of different wiring setups for that style alt. I literally spent days trying to work it all out, I had the 91 Chevy, 89 GMC K2500 and a 99 GMC Jimmy to pick parts from. None had the same alt wiring.
I do know when I did the research for mine there were a lot of different wiring setups for that style alt. I literally spent days trying to work it all out, I had the 91 Chevy, 89 GMC K2500 and a 99 GMC Jimmy to pick parts from. None had the same alt wiring.
Truce the EC 82 has the resistor in it or it has the black bulge in the line. What are you supposed to do with the red wire that hangs off the plug in on the alt. Is it supposed to hang or connect it on the back of the alt. The dash has a volt gauge in it so I assumed I need a resistor. I will upload pics in the morning to give clarification.
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