My alternator recently died so I installed a higher output one that I bought a while ago for when I finally upgrade the sound system. It just clicks but won't start. I can jump it and it will run but the interior lights kind of pulse. I drove it for about 20-30 minutes after installing the alternator and the car runs fine aside from the lights and then not being able to start on its own. I'm going to change out the ground and power cable to heavier gauge ones. Should that fix the issue? I took the battery to be tested and one place said the cell was going bad and the other test I had done said it was fine. I figured it wasn't the battery because the battery light isn't on when the car is running. Any ideas?


***UPDATE***
I was able to fix the issue. It turned out I could tighten the nut more on the power cable (?) post on the alternator. I also did the big 3 upgrade by following the video I linked below. Car started up and had no pulsing whatsoever and what seemed like less static from the sound system.
Thanks for everyone's help and input!

 

Battery light doesn't necessarily have to be on for it to be dead.... I'd suggest have your battery tested before you replace things you don't need... Cheap first, battery tested and then check your fuses.

 

This may be a dumb question but do you mean like a load test? They had the battery hooked up to a machine and said everything looked fine. I'm gonna look for my multimeter and check. If the battery is good do you think new cables would make a difference? I have to use a portable starter to get the car going and it turns over very slow and sounds weak.

 

So it runs now. I'm guessing maybe I didn't tighten the cables on the battery post good enough? Do you think it would be ok to run on the stock cables until I have the time to change them? Thanks for help!

 

Hopefully that's all it was! How does it turn over now? Does it still struggle or is it normal now? If all is normal then I would still check the connection to ground just in case it's loose or something, but you will be ok to run the stock cables depending on their condition. How's the condition of your cables? Posting a pic would help.

 

It turns over fine but now I have this weird "pulsing." Most if not all the cabin lights will have this pulse when the car is running. It's nearly the same symptoms of a dying alternator. I bought new 4 and 0 gauge cables to both replace the battery cables as well as add some grounds. I had a few questions about changing the cables. I didn't pay attention to the cables when I replaced the alternator but from the alternator there is a ground and a power cable right? I was reading about changing out the cables and some people referred to the battery harness and having to take the whole engine out to access the rear of the engine. I was hoping I could just change the cables that go from the engine to the battery. I'm still learning so I might just be completely wrong haha. I haven't really found a thread or video on what I'm looking for. Even finding the stock ground locations was hard despite looking through the manual.

 

You must have a bad connection elsewhere, would just be guessing but check all of the connections in the fuse box in the engine bay. Your main power fuses are there. Also, check the connections on the plugs coming into the kick panel fuse box. Is your car slammed? If so, have you done the fenderwell harness relocation? Have you looked there to see that cables are not worn, grounded, etc? There are a lot off possibilities. But I would think you are wasting your time changing to larger cables, the factory ones are sized appropriately, unless there is some issue with them such as corrosion, bad ends, etc.

Also, make sure you have a strong battery, I used to think a battery was either good or not, but ran into a flaky one and opened my eyes. Don't think that's it, but just another of the many possibilities.

 

I am by no means an expert, but not sure about your “higher output” alternator you mention. Few years back on the SC replaced an aging alternator (the original which was pushing 22 yrs) with an OEM part plus new battery cables which resolved a host of flaky electrical issues.

If you continue to have weird behavior you may want to try a “regular” part.

 

ooh man, sorry I just left you hanging like that.. Yes a battery load test.... I was told it was good and charged it, but it wouldn't hold a charge... You can also have your alternator check to ensure its operating correctly. Although staying on would indicate that it is functioning within parameters. A damaged wire as stated can create havoc among the electrical system. Double check your engine grounding points as well as fuses as these can also cause electrical gremlins to come out...

 

Tomorrow I'm gonna take a look at it. I'm wondering if maybe I didn't tighten something enough or maybe like you said I have a loose connection somewhere. I've checked the fuses in the engine bay and they all looked ok. I haven't checked the one in the footwell though.
I'm currently riding at stock height. I was told before that I might have a loose ground somewhere so when I'm under there tomorrow I'll look. I considered upgrading the cables for two reasons: One was to compensate for the (alleged) increased power from the alternator, and also because a year ago the negative terminal and some of the cable broke so now the stock wire is a little short to reach the battery post. But if you think it's not worth it I'm not gonna mess with it. When I'm buying/upgrading/working on something I just like to have more than I need if that makes sense. What kind of upgrades/modifications would require heavier cable, if any? I plan on upgrading the sound system and installing a double din when I have the time but other than that I don't plan on adding any major electronic components or anything.
The battery seems to be working fine. Do you think adding some extra grounds would help? I've read in a few threads that it helps with finding narrowing down electrical issues. I was planning on ground the same points as in this video:
Thanks for the input and help!

 

lol no worries man. Everything seems to be running aside from the aforementioned issue. Do you know where the ground points are? There's one near the firewall, one by the air intake box (iirc), and one near the oil filter. Is that all? There are also ground straps too right? I didn't think to look at the grounds when I installed my alternator but tomorrow I plan on checking the connections and I'll just check the ones I can find.
Thanks for the help!

 

Yeah I think the only reason I bought it was because I planned on upgrading the sound system and figured why not? But I now know that the "higher" amperage is usually less than what they say. If you don't mind me asking why did you change your battery cables? I was planning on doing that since the negative cable broke a while ago and is now a little short to reach the post. Did you use heavier guage wire? The stock wire is 4 gauge right? I think that's what I read when I looked at it the other day. If the problem persists after checking and changing things maybe I will just put in a "regular" one.

 

I know my alternator is going our or probably already died (no charging when engine running, but what does it mean when the battery light does not turn on before cranking engine?

 

OP, What alternator did you use?

 

Amazing build! Loving everything so far, kudos to your attention to detail.

Just wondering, where did you get those Michelin tire decals? Thanks!