mewantsa87gnx Posted June 28, 2005 Report Posted June 28, 2005 Ok, so excuse my dramatization of the situation (THAT RHYMES!), but I am having a few problems with my electrical system (see any other posts by me). Recently I changed the amp, power and ground cables for my audio system. Ever since then I have been having problems with the electricity in the car, however I do not see the amp being the problem. To attach the new power cable I used an extra long terminal bolt, but in the process of installing it in the battery I somehow managed to overtighten it and pulled out the bolt from the battery out through the lead and I wasn't gettin clean power. Oh well I needed a new battery anyways. So I put in a new battery and now I have a blinking VOLT light fading in and out the whole time I am off the gas pedal, as soon as I step on it the light goes out. The light has NOT been steadily on yet, just blinking and fading in and out at the same time. So I took a volt meter and measured what I am getting from the alternator (13.9-14.1 volts) and the battery (12-13). So to me this seems fine (wrong??). Took it to a local shop and the kid told me its the alternator, I am not so sure, need you guys' opinion on this. PS. I have also noticed that my AIR BAG light will blink (not all the time however) when the VOLT light does its binking thing, I can't really pinpoint when exactly this happens. Quote
Aaron Posted June 28, 2005 Report Posted June 28, 2005 The blinking airbag light points me to an alternator. When our alts go down, the car will shur off non-essential equipment in order to maximize its running life. These systems include and are not limited to ABS, Airbags, and HVAC controls. Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted June 28, 2005 Author Report Posted June 28, 2005 corsica alternator = monte carlo alternator, what say ye, aye or nay? my father has a corsica alternator i could possible use. need more opinions about my situation, thanks guys Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Posted June 29, 2005 Though the alternator is pushing enough juice 13.9-14.1, is that not a sign of a alternator that is fine, you still believe its the alternator? Last night i had to turn my headlights on, dimming was present in the headlights and the dashboard, just to see what would happen i turned on the AC and the speed variation of the fan was definitely felt as well. What should a healthy alternator be spitting out for voltage? Also can anyone answer my question above? Quote
GP1138 Posted June 29, 2005 Report Posted June 29, 2005 corsica alternator = monte carlo alternator, what say ye, aye or nay? my father has a corsica alternator i could possible use. need more opinions about my situation, thanks guys We need to know what engine it came off of. The Corsicas have a 4-cyl and a V6 option. If it's off the V6, then possibly. If it's off the 4-cylinder, no way. Quote
ShockTherapy Posted June 29, 2005 Report Posted June 29, 2005 you need an alt with a higher amperage output, or you need a capacitor for you system, your amp is battling your headlights and stuff for power. for as bad as this sounds, fo for a 1 farad cap. Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted June 29, 2005 Author Report Posted June 29, 2005 its off the V6 corsica, same amperage output as the monte carlo alternator, and as for the capacitor, honestly i do not think that would be a problem, its only a small 2 channell 1000 watt Sony amp, max output of 380/channel @ 4ohms, it does draw 40amps, and besides that Volt light is on even with the amp unhooked from the battery Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 6, 2005 Author Report Posted July 6, 2005 anyone thinkg this could be the car's computer, i mean it has been over a week since this problem surfaced and the volt light is still on and the alternator is still pushing 14 volts, but more systems are going haywire from time to time, ABS, brake light will go on sometimes, the driver side window will not close sometimes Quote
Turbocharged400sbc Posted July 6, 2005 Report Posted July 6, 2005 An alternator can still put out 13.8 to 14.2 volts the problem is it isnt producing enough Current! i have seen more than a few that show 14 volts but are only putting out 13 amps at max load... yes the PCM/ECM controls the field coil on the alternator but not often have i seen the brainbox be the problem (on chryslers yeah Gm's no...) put a clamp on amp prob on the wire comming off the alternator and turn on all the accesories i bet you dont even get 20 amps outta her 9should peak at 61 to 105 amps at 200 rpm max load (battery load tester applied... james edit: you may also have a problem with the lead from the alt terminal to the battery if you have 3.8v at the alt terminal and only 12-13 at the battery, a good system will have a max voltage drop of .2 v at the alt terminal and battery terminal. Oh and get a Capacitor! think of it as a resevoir for current/voltage....if you clamp an amp probe over the amp wire (near the Bat) you will see the current spiking, with a cap mounted/wired near the amp you will see a smooth sinewave this is easier for the alternator to handle and prevents the alternator from fullfielding during the microseconds that the subs hit/draw peak current... Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 9, 2005 Author Report Posted July 9, 2005 i could see that but why is it that just 2 days ago i was driving the car around and all was well, besides that volt light still being on, parked it at my house but in the morning when i went out to start it i had nothing, not even the dome light was on when i opened the door, its as if i have an electrical "leak" Quote
Turbocharged400sbc Posted July 9, 2005 Report Posted July 9, 2005 when the alternator stars not charging the battery as much as it is supposed to the battery uses it's reseve capacity to power the accessorys the battery doesnt like this a car battery is not a deep cycle battery it is designed to start the car and get recharged by the alternator while the alt handles all other electrical loads and just keeps the battery topped off for the next engine start... after a while (this happens from old age too thats why you see them being rep on average every 4-6 years (dep on the quality of the battery, cold temps/hot temps etc) the plates will start sulfiding and branching after a while the plates will short to each other when this happens the battery will drain itself even when not connected to the vehicle, with it having to provide keep alive power (approx25-75 milliamps) to the ECm/radio etc it will drain in one night no problem esp if the alternator isnt charging the battery enough to keep it fully charged... sorry to say it but you alternator's (lak of being fixed) has now finally taken out your battery... you will prob need to replace both.... should check for (alt) current (not just voltage) in the first place and maybe the battery would have been fine...but then again if it's (battery) 4 years old it was prob gonna need replacment anyway.... one way to test if the alternator's able to provide enough power Start the car (or now in your case jumpstart) and then disconnect the battery...now your alternator is the only source of power for the cars fuel pump and ECm accesorries now turn on the blower motor the headlights rea window defogger everything! a good alternator able to put out the 105amps it's supposed to the headlights will still be bright even with all the electrical accessories on..if the lights are yellow or if the car dies when turning on all the accessories...then your alternator is shot...replace...WITH your battery.... Regards, James Quote
z34Phoenix Posted July 9, 2005 Report Posted July 9, 2005 how about putting a cap at that battery itself? would that help. Quote
Turbocharged400sbc Posted July 9, 2005 Report Posted July 9, 2005 the Capaciter should be mounted as close to the Amp (current drain) as possible within 3 ft of the amp is usually good...a Cap near the Battery wouldnt help much as when the amp is drawing massive current it will still have to draw it through the cables which at high current means that there will be voltage drop, you want the cap near the Amp to help correct this..the amp will hit harder when drawing max current....(they now have 20+ farad Capaciter Blocks!!) believe me i know this stuff...I am partially deaf because of it! my 92 Chrysler Imperial (if i hear nice Caddy one more time.... :x ) during my HS years had 2600 Watts RMS (Not peak!) and all 4 of my Sub amps (powering 4 RF Punch Power's (yeah the ones with the 4 inch VCoil and a magnet that barely fits through the opening of the box) 12's) along with the Alpine V12 interior speaker Amp under full sinewave current draw (20hz signal) sucked 200+ amps through the (00 gauge-welding cable) cables and when i meaasured voltage i had 9.5v or so at the AMP terminals...after adding two 1 farad CAPs (within 3 ft of the Amps) it measured ~11.4v on a hard hit, but still dipped to 10v under sinewave... it was cool though how the current spiked with the subs when the amp probe was on the cable between the Caps and the Amps (still spiking to 200+ amps) but when i stuck the probe on the battery side it was a gentle sloping current draw of ~150 amps (less if it was just hitting-but under sinewave it was still better than before) i swear tha i got another 2-4db just from the Caps... I sold my subs and Amps (the sub one's) so that i could put a downpayment on my toolbox and start me on my Career...besides i was getting sick of the trim pieces breaking off the car now I still have my Alpine HU, Alpine digital signal processor/soundfield controller, Alpine parmetric EQ, V12 4 ch for my interior speakers (MB Quart) and a V12 500w 2 ch for my single 15" Kicker (boy i missed all that trunkspace!) I still have the dual alternators and Caps as well as the 300lbs of dynamat and other sound dampning material in her... but the trans is shot so i have to rebuild it to get her back on the road I dumped sooo much money into her! still clean as evar with no rust...it's just a bitch locating the trim pieces i need (the chrome) esp the trunk lid trim it was held on my 14 6mm thread nuts and my stereo snapped each of them off! still have it but gluing it on doesnt work...well now it might... take it from me there is such a thing as too much! i have the hearing loss to prove it! that and all the gas i burned just letting her run to recharge everything so she would start up in the morning! dont go deaf! James Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 9, 2005 Author Report Posted July 9, 2005 i understand that what you say would happen with an old battery but i just bought a brand new battery last week and i have disconnected my amp in fear that is whats causing all the problems 2 days ago, i just dont have the money for the alternator, this car is such a headache Quote
Turbocharged400sbc Posted July 9, 2005 Report Posted July 9, 2005 Then when you drive your car your running off the battery...the alternator needs to be replaced or you will kill this new battery also.... fer a perspective...at least you dont drive a Landrover those alternators go for 400-600$ be glad that you have an american car! when you get a new alternator you shouldnt have any more problems...for a while at least you dont have several Amps and need to replace the alt every 3 months... James Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Posted July 13, 2005 so i finally got around to fixing the car today, charged up the battery and got to it, first thing i noticed is that interior light was back on, a good indication, however as soon as you put the key in and turn it the light comes off and i get nothing, no lights on the instrument panel no click from the starter, completely nothing, tried shorting the solenoid and that did not work either but then i decided to try the key again and now it worked, the car started and i moved it from the street to the driveway and i noticed its EXTREMELY sluggish and the volt, air bag, and SES lights were all on, tried reading the codes by jumping the diagnostic terminals but it seems not to be working for me, i still have doubt about the alternator being the culprit, something is constantly drawing from the battery, when i first reconected the cables to the battery terminals, with the doors closed and the keys NOT in the ignition a spark jumped from the negative battery terminal to the cable with the positive terminal already attached, anyone? also i noticed that the alternator is running really high, pushing 16.8-17.5 volts Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 13, 2005 Author Report Posted July 13, 2005 just tested my battery after it sat outside just 4 hours and the voltage dropped by 1 volt from before, something is definitely drawing it Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 15, 2005 Author Report Posted July 15, 2005 guys i need help, i can't go on opening the hood and disconecting the battery every time i park, anyone know anything about electrical?? Quote
Supreme Cutlass Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 Sorry, I know my car used to have a weird power draw too, I've never been told EXACTLY what it was though. I'll try and find out what I can and see if it helps. Quote
mewantsa87gnx Posted July 15, 2005 Author Report Posted July 15, 2005 ok guys i just got back from a shop, they scanned my car for codes and came up with 2 of them; PO755 SSB Error, and P1630 System Voltage High/Low, the guy told me they both point to the PCM, one of those codes said something about a short which leads me to think that that is the culprit, however when I opened up the repair manual it said that the car might run rough while the PCM relearns after disconecting the battery, anyone have any input? Quote
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