Have 1989 Escort RS Turbo won't charge. Have replaced the alternator and charged the battery before trying the new alternator. Still got the same problem. The battery is only 2 months old but had gone flat. Can I check the alternator output straight from the alternator?

Mick, April 2007

On the back of your alternator is a regulator with a harness plugged into it. ground the screw that has an arrow pointing to it. sometimes the rebuilt ones or new ones you buy dont work straight from the factory. when you have it grounded ,place a screwdriver at the back of the alt. if it is magnetized your alt. may be working but possibly the reg. isnt. Check out this website called star-alt.com a lot of info there. helped me an awful lot and im a mechanic.

jd, April 2007

yes you can. there will be two or three wires on the back of the alt. use a multimeter and put the wires from the multimeter on to the wires of the alt. with the vehicle running you should be getting 13 volts. 12.5 volts minimum with all the lights on.

ian wright, April 2007