waddle

okay so a couple weeks ago my first h/o alt that i had singer instal a self excite and extrenal reg. on started being all buggy and sometimes not charging at all when i would turn on my car, well it just finally started getting colder in mn so I kinda wondered if that was the problem, anyway i already had a better alt on the way, a mechman 320 self excite. and when i installed it i was in a friends heated garage, and it fired up right away. Now every morning on my way to work it takes like 5-10 minutes of straight battery power before the alt kicks on. however if I drive home from work, get same problem, but then maybe an hour after car sits when i get home I go out again, It fires up right away. Now if it was only one alt I'd blame the alt, but with it being both of them is there anything I need to know to fix this problem

You may need to have it externally regulated to bypass the ECU's charging, normally ecus will limit the voltage to improve MPG, lower emissions, ETC regardless of the draw... That is how my mustang is... most newer (2004+) are electronically controlled, which sucks. it is bypassed, the ecu has no control over the alt, its just a pos wire is all it takes that goes to the battery

no that was filled with epoxy or something from mm

its not engine rpms, i can rev it but until engine warms up it wont kick on

mm isnt external regulator, just set for like 14.8 all day

well on the singer it is the way youre saying, but the mechman i dont know how that one works, but i know the guy i got the mechman from got the self excite because cobalts hhr's ions ect have a weird charging system so we needed a way to bypass it so i know the mechman is self excite, and singer used the term self excite, but the way you explained it is correct

anymore ideas, yesterday took about 10 minutes before and after work, 10 hours in between, today took 20 minutes in the morning and after work fired right up

if i rev it when i turn it on, the mechman dooesnt turn on, and with the other alt, that works but alot of times that would confuse the alt or something and throw it to 16-18 volts for a couple seconds, and then usually turn right back off

well ive watched the belt and didnt see any, plus if it was slipping wouldnt it make sound

yeah i dont quite understand it, from my understanding, as soon as the alt spun it was supposed to kick on, and yes driving 1500-3k and no belt slip

well i run a volt meter, thats the first thing, both alts are set for about 15. when i start my car and it says about 11.9 and keeps dropping and my lights are dim and fans are slow and computer says " check charging system"(although that ones kinda irrelavent, becuase i dont use the stock plug) then when it kicks in jumps right up to 14.8-15, and this isnt both on at the same time, its one alt in the car or the other