Any tricks to accessing the B + terminal on my alternator ? Wanting to test terminal voltage prior to ordering new cable and there is absolutely no room behind the alternator to get to the terminal. Short of removing it, how does one test the voltage output at this terminal ?

 

I use a clothes hanger wire that is bent at the end with 2 90dg bends. I have it taped to insulate it except for the tip. Soldered the end to a long wire for test purposes. So with a good flashlight I stick the wire in there and make contact with the B+ post and then hold it in place while my assistant does the readings with my multimeter and other wire(s). Its worked ok, beats removing the alt, but be careful. I also put a 10 amp inline fuse in the wire just in case.
You can also stick a stick pin into the harness wire if you can reach it so I've read, and clip your test lead to it.

 

Is there no rubber insulator over the connection point on the alternator ? Is the terminal connected to the heavy guage wire running from the upper right side of the alternator when looking directly into the egine bay ?

 

There's no boot over the post on my alternator. I believe the starter has that boot.
The location of the cable sounds right. A handy tool to have for this is a small mirror on an extension wand you can get at any auto parts store. Just don't touch the alt post with it when peering in there, unless the battery is disconnected.

 

As an update, replaced the harness and the difference is remarkable. Car starts, hot or cold, better than new. ( 18 month old battery rated at 850 CCA ) Charging curcuit is transformed as I haven't had the need to put the car on the CTek charger for 2 weeks. Now I drive the car everyday but used to have to leave it on the charger over night. Readings on DMM for static battery 12.81 volts. For battery at idle 14.8 at full load, voltage at DME at idle under full load 14.7. Both at idle the readings are more than a full volt better than with the old cable.

 

Glad that worked-out. So you ended up replacing cable and did not remove the alt to reach the terminal for test?

 

I had to remove the alternator to replace the cable but as all the other tests( static battery volts, DME volts and battery at idle under load) I ran where in spec, although at the low end, there was no reason to run the voltage drop test at that point. Given the symptoms, I suspect the cable is more often at fault than any other part of the charging system and is the cheapest to replace if not the most accessible.

 

Good info! Thanks for the response.