by FabBighorn » Mon Aug 24, 2015 6:37 pm
Hi everybody, and thanks for all the useful info posted in this forum. I have problem with the charging system on my 96 bighorn and I was wondering if anybody out there can help me figure it out. My old alternator burnt out after driving in sea water (dumb huh) so I purchased a brand new Oex alternator from ripco but it doesn't start charging unless I rev up the engine to about 1200revs. Alternator belt is tight and not slipping. Abs 4wd water trap and charge idiot lights also stay on until I rev up the engine and the charge relay clicks in. When the relay clicks in the alternator starts then charging correctly and all lights on dash go away. I have tried with 3 different brand new blue relays (one was a Oex brand relay same as alternator) but none of them solved the problem. Seems like the alternator doesnt excite until it starts spinning fast enough to create its own magnetic field. There are 3 wires in the car's wiring (ig, s and l) but only 2 wires on the actual alternator (ig and l). Both wires get 12 volt. Does anybody know how can I get this (600 $) alternator to get excited and start charging without revving up the engine as it used to before? Any wiring trick? Any help is much appreciated. Thanks a lot.