jwick76

iTrader: (1)

Hey folks,

Having a stupid electrical issue. Have checked everything to where it's either a relay or the PCM. Of course, the fuse box just has engine symbols for stuff and not what they are on the engine. Can any of you tell me which of these might be an alternator relay so I can replace and test?

If it's not a relay issue, then I'm selling the car as I'm not about to mess with installing a PCM module...

Thanks!

CrAnSwIcK

iTrader: (5)

there's no relay...what's the problem?

jwick76

iTrader: (1)

:-/ great, not what I wanted to hear. Okay, so here's the whole history pertaining to anything relating to this issue:

I am on my 4th alternator with my 2003 OZ rally. In 2007-ish I had the factory recall reflash of the PCM done to address the melting Cat warm-up issue, and they had to replace the cat as well.

In 2010, OEM alternator tested bad at the main wire output on the alternator (not the voltage regulator). Replaced.

In 2011, reman alternator was bad and 100amp on-battery fuse was blown, replaced with reman Mitsubishi alternator.

In 2012, decided to rewire based on amplifier needs and corroded battery terminals. Used 2ga wire and gold connectors for alternator power wire, kept original wires for all other power connectors. Used multi-ouput battery terminal (0g, 4g, two 8g).

Started blowing fuses for the amp, and melting the inline fuse assembly for the alternator wire (100amp). Replaced these 3 times before I decided to upgrade the battery to a top and side-post Optima redtop. I then relocated the alternator wire to the side post, away from the other wires. No more fuse issues.

Present day:

I was on the highway and the battery and brake idiot lights started flashing, and my voltage gauge started registering 11.2v and dropping (normally it was 13.3v-13.6v). I checked all wires and fuses, everything looked good.

I then went through a heck of a time with replacement alternators. Two from ebay (the original, and the seller's replacement) both had non-functioning Voltage Regulators. I also found my 7yr-old Optima was testing bad, wouldn't charge past 7.2v once the charge went below 4v when it was sitting for two weeks. I found a broken wire on the alternator harness, and bought and installed a replacement one (the break was too close to the connector to fix the original wire).

So I bought a replacement battery and tried the replacement ebay one, still nothing. Had this tested at the AUtozone down the street, and they said it was good...but it didn't look like they tested the VR, and didn't give me a report. I then wasted $350 for a shop to try to diagnose it, based on the bad battery, bad wire...they started looking at the system first. I stopped them from ripping apart the dash, and got them to focus on the alternator...bad VR. WTF.

I then bought more... The one I got from Advance Auto also had a bad voltage regulator, FINALLY I went to ANOTHER Autozone and had them test the alternator before I left the building and give me a printed report. This one worked. I installed it, and got a bright flashing battery and brake light, instead of the weak flashes I got with the original problem alternator.

We were hoping there was a relay somewhere that was shared with the alternator that could be causing this issue, but it's looking like the PCM is bad. Only other thing we can do is start pulling wires and testing pinouts on the PCM. Either way, super labor intensive...

Continuity tested the connection for the voltage regulator from the car, the power wire from the battery to the alternator.