a short????

[ffemtcurrence]

...im ready to give up on this car anyway...for the past week my battery light was on so i figured ok well the alt. is completely gone, after all the squealing and the bad bearings..so yesterday i install a brand new alt., took it for a test drive the belt squealed so i stopped and tightened it back up, and everything seemed fine, the lights were on bright, everything seemed ok...then early this morning i take it out to go get gas and drive around, well my battery light went on and off, the batt light would be dim and i give the car power and the light would go out..well i drove to work and the light seemed out (cant see with all the sun shining on it)...and right before i get to work when i push the brake pedal everything in my car dies even the engine skipped and when i let go of the brake everything was fine and i push the brake again and the tach goes crazy everything shuts down again...so i go to leave and guess what i cant start my car b/c i have no juice, i have no current in my battery...im at work charging it now thank god i bought a battery charger so any ideas..i dont know where to start looking

 

[I'll sho u]

Could be a bad plug on the alt, I have seen a lot of those go bad causing a no charge problem. The go bad often enough that some manufactures include a new plug with there alternators

 

[hawkeye18]

wow... that's a weird one. if your brake wires were shorted, the fuse would've popped. I would check for burnt wiring. That much current flowing through anything other than the battery wires will pop a wire. Ant it will scorch the battery wires. It sounds like possibly a dead battery? Plates can short out due to sulfation and cause this issue. Do you have a spare battery you could try?

 

[Jim Blythe]

I know from experience that the reason your cars dies when you put on the brakes is low battery voltage. The brake lights bring the battery voltage down below what the ignition needs, and the car spits and sputters until you release the brakes then the voltage is high enough to run the ignition. Its the warning that you better get the battery charged before the engine dies because once it's dead you can't restart it until you do.

You didn't says if the alternator was new, used or reman'd, be careful about remans, they don't always work.

 

[ffemtcurrence]

i have a spare battery at home whenever i can leave work ill try that...i bought the battery early last year..but yea hopefully its the battery...i checked all the fuses and none r blown but if the battery was bad shouldnt the alt still supply the power even when i pushed the brakes and made everything go haywire

 

[ffemtcurrence]

the alt. is brand spankin new thanks for the replys, could be the battery hmmm ill be able to tell tomorrow

 

[Jim Blythe]

This may sound silly but did you use a volt meter to determine that your battery is getting charged? Should be between 13.8 and 14.2 with no load.

 

[hawkeye18]

you need a battery tester. You can put a multimeter and it will more than likely register ~12 volts... but that's cos there's no load on it. Get a battery tester from AAP or AZ, they're like $40, and test the battery under a good load. If the voltage falls quick, then the battery is toast!

 

[Jim Blythe]

you need a battery tester. You can put a multimeter and it will more than likely register ~12 volts... but that's cos there's no load on it. Get a battery tester from AAP or AZ, they're like $40, and test the battery under a good load. If the voltage falls quick, then the battery is toast!

You should get a reading of between 13.8 and 14.2 volts across the terminals of the battery if the alternator is working correctly and the battery has a full or nearly full charge. The battery tester will only test the load capacity of the battery.

 

[Lightning]

you need a battery tester. You can put a multimeter and it will more than likely register ~12 volts... but that's cos there's no load on it. Get a battery tester from AAP or AZ, they're like $40, and test the battery under a good load. If the voltage falls quick, then the battery is toast!

*2

A bad alternator can toast a battery very quickly...


Shouldn't have buy a tester though (but always handy to have around), most parts store will have one that they'll bring out and test yer battery for free!

 

[hawkeye18]

this is true... just make sure they don't try to test the battery with it still hooked up! It's not a guaranteed blow-my-car-up act, but it stands a pretty good chance of messing something up.

I have a battery charger, battery tester (140 amp) and two spare batteries! I've had way too damn many alternators crap out on me. Oh, I have two spare alternators laying around, too... you just learn to stockpile.

 

[ffemtcurrence]

its not bad batteries nor a bad alternator..there is a huge draw somewhere...i leave the battery in my car and it dies in less than 4 hours...and with the battery light out its still not charging enough...but the alt. is putting out the 90 amps it should...nemore suggestions

 

[1993BlackSHO]

Well it almost sounds like you have two problem. First you have the battery drain problem, which means something is pulling current from the battery when the car is off. But if that was you only problem, everything should still work fine with the car running.

First to find what is draining your battery when the car sits, you will need a digital multimeter that can measure current. Set the meter to current or the I setting and you probably will have to plug in the test leads a certain way for this measurment. Remove one of your battery cables and put the meter across the battery terminal and the battery cable that you removed. If your key is off, all doors and trunk are closed, and under hood light unplugged, you should be reading close to 0. If not start pulling fuses one at a time from under the hood first then in the car until you do read 0. That will point you to wherever the drain is comming from.

If you find a large enough current draw, I suppose it is possible that it could be causing all of your problems. The alternator can only put out so much, but I cant imagine one thing pulling that much current. Start with this and see what you find.

 

[ffemtcurrence]

i will thanks everyone for the replys greatly appreciated

 

[ffemtcurrence]

*update**
-i have a 2 brand new batteries
-theres is no extra draw or short
-my alt. is not getting the 12 volts from the battery telling it to charge...i tested the wire no volts what so ever...ive checked the big fuses under the hood on the top drivers side and of coarse the fuses in the car...where would these fuses be, did a fuse blow, why isnt that big connector not getting the 12 volts

 

[Jim Blythe]

*update**
-i have a 2 brand new batteries
-theres is no extra draw or short
-my alt. is not getting the 12 volts from the battery telling it to charge...i tested the wire no volts what so ever...ive checked the big fuses under the hood on the top drivers side and of coarse the fuses in the car...where would these fuses be, did a fuse blow, why isnt that big connector not getting the 12 volts

I'm guessing that you took my suggestion and tested to make sure that that alternator voltage was not reaching the battery? There are three inline fusible links that protect the alternator from too much current draw, I'm guessing that one or more of them is blown. You should find them taped into the harness right at the alternator stud. If you can reach the stud with the alternator in place, disconnect the negative side of the battery and run a heavy gauge jumper wire from the alternator up to the positive post on the battery. While the engine is off, reattach the negative post, if there is no drain you will only see a very slight spark when you touch the battery, that is all the keep alive circuits recharging, if you see anything more then you have have another problem; I'll presume that you don't, with the battery reconnected you should now be able to start the car and find that the alternator is charging, look for a reading of about 13.8 to 14.2 on the volt meter across the battery leads. If the alternator is working, and it should be, then turn off the car and disconnect the battery and remove the jumper. Most auto parts store sell small rolls of fusible link so that you can place the damage one. The orginal ones are about six inches long and are usually orange with a small black plastic piece in the middle, rarely can you tell by looking which is blown but with a slight tug the blown one will stretch right out usually right near an end. What you will find is that the connecting wire is either a 4 or 6 gauge wire connected to the fusible link that is about a 16 gauge. Use a butt connector to make the splice, heat shrink covering is ideal but a fair amount of electrical tape wraping everything will do. Its a pain to make the repair because of tight quarters but not too hard. Good Luck

 

[ffemtcurrence]

the 2 pronged connector that you hook up on the alt. shouldnt the 12 volts be going thru that b/c if it is, it aint doing it for me...my light still flickers, we have a alt relay somewhere right...could that be bad...im not sure on how to test the alt like you said im just not here today

 

[ffemtcurrence]

i realized that repair shops are sometimes just no help...i take my car in to check where my failure could be...and all i get back is the alt. is not charging..well no shi* really i told you that when i dropped it off!!!!...ok well i hook the amp to the battery directly with the key off i get 12V, and when i turn the key on i get 1V or less...even with the car running...no fuses are blown at all even the fuse able links are good....ive tried 3 different alts. now i really need more help i dont know where to check anymore...

 

[Jim Blythe]

I don’t know where you call home but at this point without seeing the car in person I am baffled. If it were me, I would try to find the best auto electric shop in your area. A good tech should be able to find the problem in no time.

 

[ffemtcurrence]

do we have an alt. relay under one of our front fender wells , i thought i saw that somwhere, not the voltage relay the alt. relay, ive been running off of 2 batteries, after i get home i charge them up and take them with me, so 1 batt i use on the way to work or out one way and use the other the otherway especally if i need my headlights on and heat/defrosters since theres ice here....o near the hood latch under the plstic molding there is a part that say BIG FIX and it looks like a ground (u eould have to unscrews the little lip on the car) anyway that part goes to the alt. the 2-wire the plugs into the alt..what is that for...and yea