I am in the middle of a LT1 (96) swap into my G body. I have the positive battery lead going to the starter and also to the stud on back of the alternator. My negative lead goes to alternator bracket. I noticed with my multi meter I have continuity between the ground and the alternator battery stud. Is this normal?
Continuity question
- Thread starter Baker7888
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The negative lead from the battery goes straight to your Alternator bracket?
I run my Negative lead straight to the block from the battery with a star washer on on the bolt head. I also have other ground straps that run from the block to the frame and body. I think if you move your battery cable to the block with bare metal between the cable lug and the block and have a ground strap from the block to the car, you should be good to go.
move it to the block on the LT1 (this is how the Camaros are grounded)
Should cure up any grounding issues.
Should cure up any grounding issues.
Ok in other words (with battery not installed) i am getting continuity between the positive and negative terminal.
Battery has never been installed and alternator is brand new Delco unit from rockauto. The battery stud on back of the alternator was apparently loose out of the box, found when i was tightening down battery lead connection. Easy fix i thought So I split the alternator and the backing nut was infact loose. Tightening the nut (inside the alternator) behind the stud tightened everything up. I was playing with continuity setting to chase my choke wire when i discovered this. Just checked my truck (battery removed) and yeah there is not supposed to be continuity between positive and negative leads. Obviously this points to faulty alternator but wtf, also i cannot contact rockauto and probably voided any warranty by splitting it....... thoughts?
If there's no seals how can they tell it's been split? If RockAuto sold you a faulty alternator they should refund you in full. I agree it's faulty. Did you try initiating a return on their website? https://www.rockauto.com/help/?page=4#PRTDMG they might be one of those suppliers that refuses to work over the phone (Summit Racing is way better about this type of stuff). I don't think anyone at the warehouse is going to scrutinize the part as long as it looks clean they should swap out no ?s asked.
If you have pay to ship it back it might be worthwhile to rebuild it yourself with some higher quality parts. I rebuilt my 12si with a Powermaster Rebuild kit and put a 140 amp stator in it and it's better than a new alternator now. I'm sure there's upgraded CS style alternator rebuild kits too if you're running one of those on the LT1.
Yeah RA has no phone center but their prices are awesome. You do have to pay for shipping, still comes out cheaper. I do regularly use Summit as well and love their customer service, I always call.
The 4 bolts that hold the alternator together are marked. Not a big deal to line the marks back up but I am 99% sure the box is long gone. I will try to initiate a return and see what happens.
What is your take on local alternator rebuild? I was thinking they may be able to fix it ??
If there's an old guy nearby that has an "Automotive Electrical Shop; Alternators & Starters Rebuilt" it'll 99% likely be done better than any reman from Mexico or imported Chinese aftermarket. I would trust an Alternator to be right over done by one of those guys over any parts store Alternator. We have 1 guy left in the whole Denver area D&D Auto Electric, guy has nothing but positive reviews, hopefully you have something similar to D&D near you.
Ok plot twist. It is past the allowable return date but since it's Delco it's warrantied and RA is gonna replace it. So I'm gonna go that route for now.
A continuity tester puts out a small DC voltage just the same as an ohmmeter. That's normal. The alternator is essentially a length of copper wire that is grounded at one end, while the other end goes through a group of diodes to the output stud.
It's great that RockAuto is giving you another unit.
Save this tech tip for next time: try the continuity tester both ways on an alternator. It should show open circuit in one direction and continuity in the other direction. That's good.
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