good alternator but no charge on battery

[austingunkel]

ok so my problem is i have a good alternator and a battery that can hold a charge. my battery is not getting anything from the alternator. i have replaced the famed battery voltometer light and it works but still no charge. when i go to crank the engine it either cranks or nothing, no the starter doesnt click, and yes the starter is brand new. im thinking it is the lead from the battery to the starter not getting a good connection but would that cause it not to charge? as always any and all help is appreciated, and sorry no picture my budget goes to the car not fancy cameras.

austin

[Tha Driver]

Clean ALL of your cables. Battery cables on both ends, starter cables, & ground cables. When I say clean I mean take them completely off & clean up the cables & where they connect. Don't forget the engine to frame ground. Hopefuly that will cure your problem.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. - Winston Churchill

[Fierofool]

If I understand correctly, sometimes the engine will crank and sometimes it doesn't?  Since the 85 didn't have a voltmeter, the only way to be sure the alternator is charging is to put a voltmeter on the battery terminals and see what the reading is when the car's running.  It should be around 14 volts.  

A cause of occasional crank/no crank can be that the ignition switch is faulty, or the neutral safety switch on the clutch pedal is sticking, as well as loose or dirty connections in the battery to starter or battery to ground circuit.  A loose or dirty connection in the battery cables or alternator wire will cause a no charge situation.

I use the word crank to mean that the engine will rotate by use of the starter.  

[austingunkel]

your talking about the clutch pedal but mine is an auto and im thinking its in the leads comming from the battery also but tomarwo is the day i say off to the mechanic with you to her and let them deal with my faulty wirring and my blown exhaust manifold gasket hopefuly they wont hurt the bank too bad

[TopNotch]

your talking about the clutch pedal but mine is an auto

On an auto car, there is a park/neutral safety switch.

[austingunkel]

i just got the estimate and its not pretty they said my cat is clogged and thats why my exhaust manifold gasket blew so the gasket the cat and all the bolt for the manifold are siezed and need to be drilled out and tapped so they have to remove the engine and on top of that all of my wiring is burnt up so it will be at the doctor for a while and will cost me about what i make in a month but after that i guess i will have only cosmetics to worry about
austin

[Fierofool]

Austin, email sent regarding the wiring harness.

[austingunkel]

so i got a call today from the garage telling me that "my engine is no good" he said i have two bad cylender that are leaking oil what should i do and how much will it cost me

[RobsFieros]

So they said your cat was stopped up and caused the manifold gasket to blow and now their telling you that you have two dead cylinders. Take it to another garage for a second opinion. This time find one that works on Fiero's. You need to let Don check it out to see whats really wrong with the car. A lot of garages think the easiest way to fix a problem on a Fiero is to replace the engine.

[Tha Driver]

so i got a call today from the garage telling me that "my engine is no good" he said i have two bad cylender that are leaking oil what should i do and how much will it cost me

Did they actually say "two bad cylinders that are leaking oil"? If so they don't have a clue. Cylinders don't "leak oil". They leak compression, or have blow-by (which will make the engine burn oil - causing it to smoke going down the road).
Take it somewhere else. Like Rob.    He does good work, & dosen't lie about what's wrong with your car.
~ Paul
aka "Tha Driver"

Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm. - Winston Churchill

[Fierofool]

Email or call Clyde Davis at the info I emailed you.  You're too far away from Don or Ashby or Rob.

[austingunkel]

i called clyde he told me to go in to the shop and have them show me whats going on and then give him a call with the specifics

[austingunkel]

theres oil getting by the two cylenders furthest from the pulleys and the rockers are good. they told me there not comfortable tearing the motor down they want to replace it. but they let me get away with not paying as much for what they already did. is there anyone in my area that can work on this or anyone with the ability to tow it a little further away. i talked to clyde and he said he would but he doesnt have the equipment to do it, any and all help iss appreciated.

[Fierofool]

The closest mechanic we have is in Snellville, here in Metro Atlanta.  I'll check with the South Carolina club and see if there's anyone over near Charleston.  I'll post back what I find out.

If I may make a suggestion.  If you do have to rebuild or replace the engine, try to get a 93-95 Camaro or Firebird 3.4 engine.  Everything from your motor will go onto it, and the only thing needed is to have the location for the starter redrilled to the other side.  Gives you about 20 extra horsepower and costs the same as a 2.8.  I just picked up a complete 95 engine with everything on it for $400 and it only has 48,000 miles on it.  Add a $145 gasket set and you're ready to go.  You couldn't rebuild yours for that money.

For more information about this swap, check out the Tech Tips on the left side of the home page.  Open Tech tips and scroll down to Off Site tech tips on the 3.4 conversion.