Dusukun

My FB is having some major charging issues, and I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions.

Problem: Severe amp drain.
The battery is fully charged, the alternator is generating sufficient power, and the pulleys and belts are all taut. She definately lacks power, and usually wavers between 12V and 13V (on a rare good day with no loads) on the voltmeter in the dash. Whenever a load is placed, i.e. headlights, heater, turn signals, brakes, etc., severe amperage is drained, and there is even audible noise of the drain when several loads are being used. Nothing works at full power: the lights are dim, the dash meters are sometimes faulty, the windows roll up and down slowly, etc.

I have tested to make sure that the alternator is outputting enough and that the battery is receiving it; I have checked the grounds to make sure they are tight and clean; I have even tested some of the components in the path of the current; and so far, everything has checked out fine.

My fear (for $$ and pain-in-the-*** sake) is that it is the result of excessive resistance in the wiring harness.

Another thought I had: Probably a long shot, but my positive battery cable terminal is a little small of a fit for the battery post. When I first put it on, I took the handle of a pry bar and MADE it fit! Doing so cracked the connector a little but not enough for me to deem it unusable. As I remembered that the other day, I decided to take it off to check to make sure it wasn't more broken than I thought it was. And, actually, it was not cracked hardly at all, though still a tight fit and difficult to get on and off. I cleaned both the posts and connectors at that time (a week ago), and already the positive post is black and tarnished while the negative post is still bright silver clean. I don't know if it's really probably too much of a hopeful longshot to even replace the cable with a bigger connector or not. But again, I put a multimeter on the battery with the car running, and it says about 13.75V. And if I'm not mistaken, that is sufficient.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful and appreciated!

rhinor61

Honestly, I would take my battery down and have them throw a load test on it. Sounds like you have a few dead cells in your battery.

Battery job to store the power to operate the car, the altenator job to re-charge the battery when the engine is running.

Shoot us a picture of your engine compartment, always helps to see what we are working on.


Simple isn't it?


John

rotarydankus again

try this , pull and clean the fuse link terminals at the left strut tower , then run a 4 or 6 ga wire from the back of the alt to the fuselink case then on to the + battery terminal, and then run an extra 4 gauge from- cable to chassis, all else fails theres the DANKUS SALVAGE YARD RACING 120 AMP ALT CONVERSION FOR 35.00

mazdaverx713b

iTrader: (91)

the groung for the negitive cable is grounded to the strut tower on the left side. if that ground is weak you will have the problem you specify. it is grounded by a 10mm bolt that likes to corrode and rust. also, if you feel so inclined, check your cables for continuity. they often like to corrode from the inside out. the problem i had with my power drain was the bad ground on the strut tower. it also grounds at the other end to the bellhousing. make sure that is clean and tight. after i replaced my ground, i replaced the cable. all has been well since. for note, DO NOT buy aftermarket cables. they DO NOT have the correct hookups and loops for the grounds. aftermarket ones will work, they just need to be customized. mazdatrix sells the mazda ones and they really do work great.

Dusukun

Awesome...All excellent (and cheap! ) suggestions...I will definately check it out here and let you know how it worked out. Unfortunately, it's gonna have to wait a day or two...It's f@#!ing COLD in Denver right now!! Today it was in the negative numbers, and tomorrow doesn't look too much better. Wednesday it should be warming up, though, so I'll give them a shot sometime this week.

THANK YOU!!! for the suggestions...Any others are welcomed!