charging problem

[austyfrosty]

ive been having a problem lately with my charging system. last week i replaced the alternator with one for a 323 cause my original one was only putting out 23amps. now at night if i have the heater blower, lights, and radio on and go to stop and hit the brakes the lights will dim for a second and really drag the idle down and then brighten back up and run fine. it will do this three or four times when im slowing down till i stop. with my original alternator on there it would just dim the lights at night as soon as i hit my brakes and they would stay dim until i took off from a stop or revved it. im wondering what would cause this problem? i didnt know if maybe my battery is bad or if the alternator i bought was a bad one. it was a rebuilt alternator. thansk for the help. by the way it is a 1990 festiva l 5 speed.

[GenevaDirt]

loose belt or bad alternator?

[Pu241]

Bad ground?!?!?!

Pu241

[WmWatt]

Can you test the alternator with a volt meter?
First, at idle, the voltage across the battery terminals should be 14.7 volts according to my manual, but I've read here anything between 13-15 is okay.
Second, you can test the alternator itself. I don't have the specifics with me but if someone doesn't post the details you can find then in automotive texts at a public library as I did. Or you could take the alternator back to where you got it and ask them to test it, or you can take to some auto parts stores where they do free tests.
Third, you can check the deflection of the alternator belt. I think its 5/8 inch for a used belt. I use two rulers. A short one (or any straight edge) placed across the alternator and water pump pulleys as the base line, and the other push down on the belt and read the deflection from the base line.

That may eliminate the alternator as the problem and you can start looking for problems with the wiring.

[austyfrosty]

i put a new belt on it and tightened and tightened the ground so im gonna see what that does. i tested the volts at the battery with it running and it was around 14.5. i need to get the amps checked though so i think im gonna stop by advance or somewhere to get that done

[Pu241]

...and tightened the ground so im gonna see what that does. i tested the volts at the battery with it running and it was around 14.5. i need to get the amps checked though so i think im gonna stop by advance or somewhere to get that done

the gounds(multiple) need to be clean and tight. Just tightening them wont really help with getting a good contact.

Pu241