Warning lights acting weird, alt not charging

[TylerW]

Hey guys:

I am reviving an '83 Cutlass Cruiser(was a board member's car here actually) with the 231.

It's running good other than some minor carb issues, but something electrical happened all of a sudden..and this gets weird:

When i first got it running after sitting a couple years, I noticed the Charge lamp was on dimly. I went for a couple test drives and when I got back from those both the OIL and CHARGE lamps were on full strength. I turned the engine off, turned the key back to ON and both the OIL and CHARGE lamps were off, even with the key on. I started the engine, and the OIL lamp came on bright and went out when the engine stalled.

I swear I'm not making that up.

I had a suspicion, so I got the engine to idle and pulled the negative cable and sure enough, the engine died. I know these alternators have to have the light to excite the regulator, so I'm wondering if I have a wiring problem and not an alternator problem, since now the charge light is totally unresponsive.

Just not sure why the oil light is working in reverse during all this.

Anyone ever have these kind of gremlins?

 

[foxtrot]

If you disconnected the ground from the battery and the engine stalled then the alternator is bad. Needs to be rebuilt or replaced. Start there and debug any other issues after alt is repaired.

 

[seawolf18]

Take the alternator off and take it to a local parts store and have it tested, They will usually test it for free. If it tests good start with the ground wires. You should have two on the battery. One big one, and a smaller one that goes to the body. There is also a ground that goes from the rear of the cylinder head to the firewall. If you need the wiring diagram for the charging system, or the factory charging system trouble shooting guide go here: viewtopic.php?f=16&t=48692