AstinaGT Forums - View Single Post - 1997 BA astina hatch 1.8L Charging/Alternator problems.

jamand · 16-07-2016, 08:08 PM

Thanks for the input. Today l put the battery from my Falcon au,into the astina,this battery is only 12 or 18 months old and definitely good,shows the strong green dot though the sight glass and multimeter shows 12.6v,but unfortunately still have the battery charge fault light on,and only reading12.5v at the battery, engine running.

The alternator that was originally in the astina has the PD type plug,the 2nd hand alternators l got from the wreckers both had the PD labelled plug socket,also their serials numbers matched the alt that was in the car.
From the bit of research l've done the P[phase] pin is for the stator which the pcm uses for field load indication. The D[driver] pin is for the pcm to control the field circuit. l only have a vague notion of what this really means,a bit over my head,except that l figure the pcm controls the regulator.

But l also have read somewhere on the net that bench testing these PD type alternators the traditional way without a specific type of adapter will damage the internal voltage regulator. l know the auto lecy did use an adapter when he bench tested the alt,the one that is now in the car,but l don't know if it was the specified type or not,he told me the alt tested good and was outputting sufficient amps so l imagine it must have been.

project.r.racing when you say l may have a major energy draw somewhere,do you mean that the alternator can't keep up due to a current draw greater than what the alt can put in?

Thanks again to you both for your help.

16-07-2016, 08:08 PM	#5
jamand Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: Mackay Car: Astina 1.8 L BA 1997 Hatch Posts: 4	Thanks for the input. Today l put the battery from my Falcon au,into the astina,this battery is only 12 or 18 months old and definitely good,shows the strong green dot though the sight glass and multimeter shows 12.6v,but unfortunately still have the battery charge fault light on,and only reading12.5v at the battery, engine running. The alternator that was originally in the astina has the PD type plug,the 2nd hand alternators l got from the wreckers both had the PD labelled plug socket,also their serials numbers matched the alt that was in the car. From the bit of research l've done the P[phase] pin is for the stator which the pcm uses for field load indication. The D[driver] pin is for the pcm to control the field circuit. l only have a vague notion of what this really means,a bit over my head,except that l figure the pcm controls the regulator. But l also have read somewhere on the net that bench testing these PD type alternators the traditional way without a specific type of adapter will damage the internal voltage regulator. l know the auto lecy did use an adapter when he bench tested the alt,the one that is now in the car,but l don't know if it was the specified type or not,he told me the alt tested good and was outputting sufficient amps so l imagine it must have been. project.r.racing when you say l may have a major energy draw somewhere,do you mean that the alternator can't keep up due to a current draw greater than what the alt can put in? Thanks again to you both for your help.