hey everyone, i have an 87 monte carlo with a 305.

so the question that i have is this, im using the stock alternator, which is a 2 wire connector type, i cant seem to get it to wire up corretly to charge my battery. my battery will keep a complete charge for 15-20 miles before it dies out n i need to charge it, so does anyone have any advice to solve my problem or a website or any wiring diagrams that will help me out?

any help is greatly appriacted because im tryin to make this my daily driver!

 

Welcome to the MCF. Sorry your first post is about having a problem with your Monte

Please give more details on your connection problem ?
Do you have a electrical tester ? Wires can break internally &
not have a good connection.
Has your battery/alternator been tested ?
How's your starter ? A bad starter can drag & drain your battery.
Have you checked your voltage regulator ?

Please post as much information as you can about your problem to assist our expert tech members in assisting you with your problem.
Check back on your thread question later 2day or this weekend to see `if any member has a solution.
Wish you a fast repair & a super daily driver.
Good Luck

 

thank u for the welcome! so........ yes i have had the battery tested but not the alternator, i have another one that im goin to try today n c if that solves my problem, starters fine, voltage regulator???? i have no idea bout that one, i bought the car with this problem already n im tryin to get it fixed, i believe i jus need to hook up the ground for the alternator, there are 2 wires io kno this for a fact, i jus dnt kno where they plug into, the wire colors are- dark blue- which i believe is the ground n a light brown or gray which is the power i believe, i pretty much need help guys lol

 

If you have not, your should invest in a auto manual for your 87 Monte....It's worth the investment.
Below are some links to check `out, until one of our expert member's post and hopefully has a solution for your problem.
Good Luck 4-Sure.
Oh, have you worked on cars before ? What's your experience ?
I've learned a lot here on the MCF about cars....
Check back on your thread ? later...Hopefully, there will be some answers....
How Does An Alternator Work - Charging System Alternator ...

There is a final step in the chain, the voltage regulator. ... The voltage regulator is basically a gatekeeper that will shut off the flow of juice to your ...
autorepair.about.com/od/glossary/.../howitworks_alternator.htm - Cached - Similar

VOLTAGE REGULATOR

The toughest challenge when diagnosing a charging problem is to figure out whether it's the voltage regulator or alternator that's at fault. ...
autorepair.about.com/cs/generalinfo/l/bldef_847.htm - Cached - Similar

How to Troubleshoot an Auto Voltage Regulator | eHow.com

The alternator and voltage regulator are the two main components on the charging system of your vehicle. However, pinpointing the cause of problems like a ...
www.ehow.com › ... › Auto Repair › Diagnosing Car Problems - Cached - Similar

Best Way - Voltage Regulator Problems | eHow.com

Best Way : Voltage Regulator Problems. As the name would suggest, the voltage regulator controls the voltage of an automobile electrical system.
www.ehow.com › ... › Auto Repair › Do It Yourself Auto Repair - Cached - Similar

 

thank u! i will deffinitly check those sites out n ive worked on cars for about 5 years now

 

~>bUMP THREAD 2 c `IF ANY MEMBER CAN HELP ON THIS THREAD SUBJECT...thANKS

 

so i jus replaced the alternator and the battery n its still doin the same thing. itll run really good for like 20-25 min n then the voltage will drop n it wont restart, iono if im jus wiring it wrong but nothings happening! please help!

 

so first off the alt grounds through the engine in most cases. and you say its a 2 wire alt? is it just the large wire to battery and a small wire on a spade connector? if so that small wire is just an indicator for the dash. but if its not charging that should be light up on the dash. make sure the battery terminals are clean and tight and that with a test light from battery + to alt case it lights up. and from battery large cable on alt it lights to battery -. its a very simple setup. the regulator should be one piece with the alt on that year i think
test the things i told you and let me know the results.

also get a digital multimeter it will become your best friend quickly with this kind of testing

 

thank u justin!, well earlier today like i said i swapped the alt n the battery n its still doin the same thing, well lookin at the alt, theres the connector which has 2 prongs n then the terminal on the back which i kno runs to the battery, i jus dnt kno which wire plugs into the alt, theres a light brown or gray one n a blue one which i think is ground, i dnt kno if i really need to use the blue one as ive been readin n it says that the 2 prongs on the alt, one is used for a light n the other engages it, i jus dnt kno which prong to plug the wire into, ya kno? this is my first complete motor swap, i did it my self in 3 days n it started on the 4th morning, not bad for not havin dun it before, figured out all the other wiring but not this one!