993James993

My Son's 87 NA 944 wouldn't start. We took out the battery and it tested bad at a nearby Auto Zone. The battery was still under warranty and we replaced it with a brand new one. Son drove the car today but the battery is not charging. How should we proceed to troubleshoot this? The shop where we want to take it can't fit it in for a week or so. Is it likely that the voltage regulator is bad? Can that be changed out easily?

Thanks for any help!

Jim

951Porschiste

Voltage regulator is at the back of the alternator. On a turbo 944 getting to the alternator is a PITA (ask me how I know ). I've heard that they're easier to remove on an N/A. My guess is that the alternator itself is bad. Take it out and get it tested at Autozone.

james944

Thanks for the advice 951Porschiste. I think you're right about the whole alternator being the problem.

Does anyone know of a way to get the alternator out without putting the car on jack stands? I was all set to pull it out yesterday since the shop manual made it sound pretty easy. That was until I realized that I don't have a place to jack the little bastard up and that you need a 9201 to put the whole thing back together (951Porschiste is right about this job being a PITA). Clark's Garage has a tip on pulling the alternator without messing up the belt tension, but the car is parked on gravel and I don't think it's safe to climb underneath it while it's jacked up on this surface.

Thank for any help,
James

streckfu's

If you go back to AutoZone, they can test your alternator for free as well.

If you go to a mechanic, they will tell you the alternator needs to be replaced which will be ~$250 plus labor when it could be just the voltage regulator which runs ~$20 plus your time.

The alternator is much easier to remove if you can put the car on jackstands or ramps. If you were to remove teh 17mm bolt that holds the tension bar to the alternator, you can then swing toward the engine and slide the belt off without adjusting the tension. There's not much ground clearance to work with...This is the way I do it and you don't need the 9201.

If you could raise the car onto anything like a 6x6 board under the wheels or anything that could get you some clerance....Jackstands being the safest choice, obviously.

Charlotte944

You don't need to put the car on stands. All you need to do is raise the car enough to get to the belt tensioner and A/C compressor mounting bolts. Make sure you loosen the tensioner mounting bolts too. If you leave them tight you can break the mounting points and then you're screwed.

Once the belt is loose you pull the alternator out from the top. The most difficult part is getting the upper mounting bolt out. It is LONG and will require some carefull wiggling to get it out.

The next difficulty is getting the pully and fan off of the original alternator. I use a strap wrench to hold the pully, works every time.

You don't really need the Porsche tool to tension the belt. Just set the tension so there is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of deflection at the center of the lower span and you should be OK. Once you have every thing back together, start the engine and turn on the A/C. This will load the system and let you know if the belt is set too loose. If the belt squeals, tighten it a tad and test it again.

mpd425

What Charlotte944 said . I just pulled the front tires on a couple pieces of 2X12 to get it a little higher off the ground so it was easier to get to the tensioner.

bearone

make sure the alt lite comes on when the key is turned on.
if it doesn't the batt won't charge.

i had to change out a batt on warranty as it wouldn't hold a charge.
the repacement took 8 oz of water and needed a top charge and now i don't have any more batt problems.

the 1st batt was never fully charged and the alt won't bring it all the way up like a generator.

87951.

silverBean

You don't NEED to put the car on jackstands, but it is much harder to get to the belt tensioner that way. You need to remove the alt./ac belt first off. Then the alt is held in by two bolts. I think the smaller bottom one is a pain because there is hardly any room to get a 1/4 turn. It will come but its just slow going. If memory serves my voltage regulator was close to sixty bucks for an 85.5 n/a. Before all of this though, check your main grounds from the battery. If they are oxidized clean em up.

tod84944

You can check your alternator at home, if you have a VOM meter. IF you don't have one, you can get one at Harbor Freight or Pep Boys for a few dollars.
With the car running, check the voltage at the battery. It should be around 13.5, or a little more. IF it is only 12, your alternator is not putting out enough. You have to have more than 12V.