I was you guys could give me some insight to a minor problem I'm having.

I installed a pair of subs and a two-channel amp in my Bonne two weekends ago. Now the voltage guage starts out, on a cold start, in the high 13'* (almost touching the 14 line), but slowly it starts to creep down to the point where it is low 12'* to high 11'*. Now, its summer, so I have had the stereo up and the A/C on. When I shut off the A/C no change. When I shut off the Amp : again no change. So today I drove the 20 miles to work with everything off except the head lights (its still dark at 5:50 AM). Again the gauge hit the low 12'*. Saturday, for ***** and grins, I put an engine analyzer on it to get a real number for the voltage - the car was warm (been out an about for about 40 minutes) and A/C and stereo had been on. With nothing on in the driveway @ idle, the analyzer read 12.8 volts, while the dash guage read 11 something. Asked a mechanic, and he said 12.8 was too low and that I probably blew the alternator. He knew a kid who did an amp install and went through 5 alternators in 4 weeks because he did wrong. Now, I've had this in for two weeks and I have not had a problem starting the car nor has the guage read lower than 11 (other than @ idle with the analyzer, I turned all the lights on, the a/c, defroster, and wipers and the dash gauge read 10 - i forget the analyzer read). What do you guys think?

Thanks

Sounds like the alternator is going. The voltage should be about 13.8 v when the car is running, 12 v when the car is off. If (when?) you replace the alternator, you might want to consider moving up to the heavy-duty (SSE) version. It should be able to handle the amp with less strain.

you might also consider store.clubgp.com

they have a nice 160 amp alternator that will fit our car.... granted its expensive


Lee

Thanks guys.

I was wondering did anyone else have troubles with their dash voltage gauge like this before. We learned by putting the analyzer on that the dash gauge can be up to 1.5 V off. And the gauge acted like this before the amp (ever since I owned the car as a stock Bonne), the difference now is that the minimum is lower, instead of not going below 12.5 it goes to 11.5 (approx).

And where can I get the HD-SSE Alt? I checked my usual parts places and all they had was a 105-amp W/O SC and a 105-amp W/ SC.

One more question, where do I start to try to figure this out?

Thanks!

The SSE/SSEi have an 140 amp alternator. The SE has the standard 105 amp one. Any parts store should have both. I don't know if you can swap them (if the wiring harnesses are the same or not), but it can't hurt to try. For my own system (with 3 amps) I have a cap installed and I've never had alternator trouble.

Another option is to get your old alternator rewired for better Amps. I know most rebuild places will do it if ask them & tell them you're running a high powered stereo system!

I noticed you're driving an SE, did you up to the SSE 140A alt?

No, mine is a 105A one. It is a newer one, not the factory original though. When I first put the stereo together for the car (two years ago or so) I replaced my original one because I didn't it think it could take the load of the amps. I also got a 1 farad cap as well. Since then I've never had a problem.

Ok, let me see if I can help here... I worked at adavcne auto as an assistant manager for a few years, and used to look through the picture books. First of all, for 1995'* anyways, you CANNOT simply buy a 140-amp SSEI alternator and slap it our your car, they are different mounts. What I was able to find, by comparing pictures and mounting locations in the books, was that I think if you get an alternator off a supercharged 1996 Buick Riveria, it WILL fit the '95 series II motor fine. This info might not help you since you have a series I, but this is just the hassle I went through. When it finally came time to do my alternator (at about 120k), I got one for the '96 SC riveria just like I planned. The mounting holes and wiring plugs were all in the exact same locations so I thought I was all set. get it all on, start the car, and the picture of the engine lights up inside the little car on the dash, and wouldnt turn off. It also puts that "check gauges" up on the HUD, VERY ANNOYING. Anyways, to make a long story short, I looked through the factory service manual to see if there was any way to trick the computer, but that was before I found this site and forum, and I really didnt want to attempt anything I my own, so I ended up taking back the '96 riveria one, and getting just another normal alternator for my '95 SSE. Havent had any problems at all yet, and as soon as I put the correct alternator back on, the engine light went off.

Who knows, if I had it all to do over again today, especially with the help of some of the really smart people on this forum like teuobk who like to look through their factory service manuals and play with electronics / wires, I think I could've kept the 140 amp and I'm sure we could've found a way to trick the computer.

Anyways, hope this helps.. Never hurts to try!! (unless you blow something up, then it hurts)

Seems like a cap might be the thing to try. . . how do I know what size to get?

Will I have to change my fuse by the battery? The cap goes with the amp, right?

And does anyone know how much amperage there is to spare (theoritically) with the stock/OEM 105 A alternator?


Appreciate it