5spdz34 Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 After the old alternator locked up on me and busted the belt, I have had a lot of problems. After a friend of mine towed it home with his trailer, I replaced the alternator ($97 for new) that same night so I could have a car for school. I replaced it in only 4 hours!!!! Not bad, eh? I drove it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday morning. Then I had to jump start it that evening and figured it needed a new battery because it would stay running but wouldn't start back up, it would just click. So I jumped started it and headed to the parts store. Bought a battery (cheapest one was $60). I replaced it really quick and started up great for the rest of the day and that night. Heading over to a friends house, all the lights start to go dim and I'm losing power, I pushed the clutch in to downshift and it stalls. It wouldn't start back up and was doing the same thing it was doing that afternoon. I have to have a car and I'm lost on this one, it's still sitting off the road near my friend's house. With a good long jumpstart, it will start up and stay running, but I don't now for how long. It won't start back up though after the jump. A bad alternator? It better not be.... All the connections are tight. It's got a new battery, alternator, battery post bolts, and clean terminals and connections. HELP!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99RegalGS Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Your brand new alternator might be bad. It can happen. It happened to my dad in May. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cutsup1996 Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 maybe you got a ground shorting out or corroded wires somewhere, also the coil packs my be shot, my mechanic said that could and does happen and many people over look it,(coil packs) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 While the car is running check the battery voltage. Use a voltmeter on the battery terminals and see if you are getting around close to 14 volts. If you are getting 14 volts then the alternator is charging. Check the alternator wiring. Aside from the connector tab on the alternator there is another wire connector that you have to tighten with a nut. If that wire connection is loose or not connected then you going to have a back feed and will drain your battery completely and thereby having to boost all the time. Newer battery can recover quickly after being completely drained and starts the car when you boost it, but sooner or later that new battery can't recover quickly after a complete drain and then its time to get a new battery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sonyman87 Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Your brand new alternator might be bad. It can happen. It happened to my dad in May. I agree with THIS! the only reason you were running was b/c the battory was powering the car. when the battory died so did the motor. let it sit for a long while it will run again for a shortened amount of time. simple TEST: charge your battery, get a volt meter. test votage while car is off. 12.4... turn car on test voltage while running good alt should be ~13-14volts anything higher then starting voltage if you are running lower then your starting voltage your Alt is bad or you have a bad connetion to your alt. i hope this will help diagnose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ribbie Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 Like most of the posts previous to this one: Diagnose the problem. You need to narrow down the problem(s). The best thing you could do is go and buy a multi meter. It is one of the most handy things when looking for the problem(s) you might be faced with. It has helped me time after time. Other than that these guys have you on the right track, Slade901 D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandprix104 Posted November 3, 2003 Report Share Posted November 3, 2003 maybe you got a ground shorting out or corroded wires somewhere, also the coil packs my be shot, my mechanic said that could and does happen and many people over look it,(coil packs) I check people's batteries all day long and this happens all the time. Fist of all check every bit of wire running to and from the battery. check for areas gorunding, worn wires crumbly or soft spots in the wire. sometimes wires will corrode in the middle and lose connection. also remove the terminals from the wires and cut the wires back until you see shiny copper/aluminum again then clean the terminals in baking soda & water and re-attace them. If all the wires check out OK then take it to checker auto or advance and have them test youre electrical system. it will test the alt without removing it. If thats ok then youve got short in the vehicle somewhere and youre in for some real fun! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5spdz34 Posted November 4, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 4, 2003 After getting over to where my car was, I just wanted to see what would happen if I tried to start it. Well, it started right up with no hesitation so I drove it onto the trailer. Now get this, the other night when it stalled, it had NO power left. No lights, no nothin! I got home to drive it off and it would not start. I figured I hadn't let it charge long enough or something. So I jump start it and it starts right up. Drove it off the trailer, into the driveway and it started to die again. The lights dim as the engine hesitates, then it just dies. I jump start it again and get my volt meter out. I check the battery as it's running and it got a steady 12.5 volts. It was not moving at all for about 3 minutes. Then it started to hesitate again and the volts starting dropping slowly. At about 10.4 volts, it died. After about only 30 seconds, the volts dropped all the way down to 3.7 volts off the battery. I turned the key OFF and with a minute or so, the interior lights slowly came back on and the battery had a strong 9 volts but wouldn't start up. Another quick jumpstart and it's running again. This time, as soon as it was running again, I turned it off and turned it back on. I did this about 5 times and it started up everytime. Your guess it as good as mine........ FYI - The battery light by the tach flicked on and off a lot during all this and I do remember it had came on right before it died the other night a few times. ALSO, as I checked all the fuses last night, the INJ 3.8/A.I.R. 3.4 fuse under the hood was blown. So I replaced it and it blew again. I don't know if that is important for this recent problem but just thought I would add that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandprix104 Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 id say both your alt and battery are dead. The alt should be putting out about 14-12 volts 12 at minimum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 The alternator is not charging the battery. Remove th alternator and have them check the alternator and see if it is giving out a proper voltage and see if it works fine. Autozone, Advance Autoparts can check your alternator for Free. If the alternator comes out fine, then the problem lies on your electrical wiring and probably there is a short. If the alternator comes out dead, then replace the alternator with a new one. Before putting it on your car, have them test the new alternator on their machine for proper operation and once it passed the test then try it on your car. Put the new alternator on the car and start the car and see if it you are getting close to 14 volts. Turn OFF any accessories on car. If you are getting 14 volts, then the alternator is charging the battery. If you are still not getting 14 volts then the problems lies in the wiring. Trace the alternator wiring for any short or cut. The fuse that you said that blows the fuse all the time everytime you put a new fuse then you may have to remove the fuse box and look the wiring at the back where this fuse connects to because sometimes they might shorted together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandPrix34 Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 the battery is connected to the....starter??? Possibly that might be the prob? I m haveing the exact same problem... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sdoDrew Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 I killed 3 Alts in my car with my sound system. If your running a few subs Id suggest enlarging the grounds, gettign a capacior, and beefing up yoru alt. if not, I dunno. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joey b Posted November 5, 2003 Report Share Posted November 5, 2003 might sound stupid, but did you hook the bat lead up to the alt? I made this mistake once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5spdz34 Posted November 7, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 After a long 2 night battle with OtterZone on how I was returning the alternator they sold me. They claimed it wasn't their's and said I was a theif for trying to swap a part that wasn't their's. So after talking with the general manager the next night, he finally agreed to swap this one out for one that works. Some people, eh? I got home and installed it... only took me 3 hours this time! I had to jumpstart it again because the battery was only putting out 2 volts... After getting it going, I did the usual quick check on everything and everything seemed to hold fine. I checked the battery with NOTHING on and it had 14.6 volts STEADY!! I was so relieved that this was the problem. I drove it around for about 30 minutes to make sure the battery was charged back up and it actually seemed to have a little bit more "pep" than previously. I drove it to school this morning and it started up fine for me. Hopefully when I get out there this afternoon, it'll start for me. I brought my voltmeter with me to check it again just so I can know what it's doing. Thanks for all the help and hopefully this solved the problem. Next I have to tackle the engine cradle mounts. I have a busted one on the back passenger side (bolt is still in securely). I'm going to go ahead and replace all the mounts this Saturday. I'll go to GM and get all 4 mounts and get new bolts as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaPaPooh Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 theif? damn!! had the recipt? if so they are dumber than i thought!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grandprix104 Posted November 7, 2003 Report Share Posted November 7, 2003 why am i not suprised by that story? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gearhead43 Posted November 14, 2003 Report Share Posted November 14, 2003 eeeyuup.. Sounds like the battery had a BAD CELL in it..... When that happeneds , they just will not retain a charge, no matter how much the alternater tries to put out to it. I just hope that the regulator in the new Alternator was NOT damamged by the bad battery. Cause if it was, you are going to start having those problems all over again!!!. It's always recommended that when replacing a defective alternator, that the battery first be charged up with a charger to within 90% charge to aviod "SPIKING"? the alternator and causing the diodes to fail prematurely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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