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Posted on Apr 09, 2017
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1990 buick riviera 3.8l. no power to alternator switch

The alternator doesnt put out any juice and the car just runs off the battery. theres a little two wire plug going into the alternator with a grey and a brown wire..As i understand it those two wires send voltage to the alternator depending on the load its bein put under. But when i run the buick and check those two wires they both read less than 1 Volt no matter what i turn on. (Radio, ac, heater) What controls that little plug? The vehicle has been parked for 8 years but still runs fine for bout 20 minutes then the batterys dead.I would really like to use this car as it only has 70,158 original miles. thanks for any assistance.

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Jeff Armer

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  • Buick Master 15,575 Answers
  • Posted on Apr 09, 2017
Jeff Armer
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The charging system (alternator) is controlled by the body control computer .
The brown wire is the turn on signal . The gray wire is voltage sensing .input bat. Disconnect the two wire connector an use a test light connected to battery positive , touch the point end to the terminal where the brown wire would go . IF the alternator is good this will full field it an it will charge like crazy . Don't do it very long , this is just a check to see if alternator is or is not the problem . If the alternator works like that you have a BCM problem an it would be in your best intrest to take to a qualified repair shop .

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  • Expert 228 Answers
  • Posted on Apr 09, 2017
richard foulk
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Hi, i have to jog my memory a bit but here goes. The wires on the plug control the alt.turning on and off. One wire has to go to a switched 12v pos so it can activate and monitor voltage. The other varies. Some it is the alt output. Before i changed wiring, id pull the alt and have it chked at an autozone or equil. Store. If they go bad ur voltage is a skew. Hope that helps.

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  • Contributor 6 Answers
  • Posted on Apr 09, 2017
fredi
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In this case check the fuses might be blow out or the wires are broken first try checking the fuses

5 Related Answers

Anonymous

  • 1066 Answers
  • Posted on Mar 13, 2009

SOURCE: new battery but no current going anywhere in car

the main fuze needs replacing.

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cwradio73

  • 1162 Answers
  • Posted on Aug 04, 2009

SOURCE: Low voltage, the battery runs low when running the car

What is the voltage you are reading? Is it below 13.2 or so? Also have you checked the current with the engine off to see if something else is working that should not be on. I ran across this twice while working on a truck and car. A relay that was wore out keep trying to close and would drain the battery every couple of months. Sometimes you can hear them clicking or buzzing. Touching them sometimes they are warm or real hot. But that is not a sure sign it is bad. In my Trailblaze they get hot but are ok. Another thougth is the belt on your alt, correctly set to spin it at the right voltage. I have ran across this many times lately with serpatine belts.

Anonymous

  • 353 Answers
  • Posted on Aug 21, 2009

SOURCE: 1997 Buick Park Avenue Ultra. Replaced battery,

recheck your body ground may have surface rust on bolt, body, or connection

Anonymous

  • 583 Answers
  • Posted on Oct 22, 2009

SOURCE: Will not charge

you will get some funny answers from some of these "experts " The symptoms suggest to me with out much doubt that the regulator is not doing its job correctly ,consistently.Iwould take it to an AUTO ELECTRICIAN and get it tested in situ.... there is only 4 things it can be , wireing ---battery---alternator-----regulator and of those the reg. is the only one that chops and changes. it will cost little for a sparky to check the reg ,. AND I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW THE OUTCOME

Anonymous

  • 75 Answers
  • Posted on Feb 04, 2010

SOURCE: Delco battery going dead X 3

I would check the water level in the battery, also there could be a ground problem somewhere.

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Yea

IF YOU PURCHASE A CHEAP TESTER AT YOUR LOCAL AUTO PARTS STORE, YOU CAN ELIMINATE TWO OF THESE POSSIBILITIES. IF YOUR HEADLIGHTS WORK THEN CHANCES ARE THE BATTERY HAS ENOUGH JUICE TO CRANK THE ENGINE. IF ALL YOU HEAR WHEN YOU CRANK IS A CLICKING SOUND, THEN CHARGE THE BATTERY. IF YOU DON'T HEAR ANYTHING WHEN YOU TURN THE KEY, THEN CHECK THE FUSES. YOU MAY HAVE A BLOWN FUSE UNDER THE HOOD. IF THE CAR CRANKS AFTER JUMPING THE BATTERY, THEN LOOK TOWARDS AN ALTERNATOR. I HOPE THIS HELPS. PLEASE KEEP ME POSTED. THANKS FOR USING FIX-YA AND FOR AN HONEST RATING.
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