First off, i'm going insane!
Secondly, the car is a 88 vert with TII engine.

I changed my battery 2 weeks ago, cuz autozone said it was bad.
So a couple of days ago, my battery started to drain out. I would get about starts out of the car before the battery would be completely drained. So i figured, my alternator was bad, hence the battery not charging.

I just got done changing my alternator 2 hours ago, and i was driving back home when all my lights dimmed down to zero, and my powersteering went out. So i pull over, and my battery is so dead, the headlights wont even retract.

So i put my other battery on the car that i had in the trunk and started it up, went to autozone, and had my old alternator checked. Surprisingly, my old alternator was rock solid, good to go.

So now i'm pissed, cuz they said i must have a alternator to battery wiring problem.

Is there anything common that goes bad, that would cause the alternator to not be able to send juice to the battery?
Where should i start, i dont know what to do!

 

I always check the battery with a digital multimeter to make sure its good. Next I start the car and check it again with the engine running. Should see approx 14.5V (I say approx cause I don't have my book in front of me). Next I turn on all the lights, heater fan, rear window defrost and all the accessories to put a big load on the electrical system. Checking the battery again I'm looking for no less than 13.5V (again, I don't have the book or FSM right in front of me but you get the idea). The FSM also shows how to check the amps too so I'd start with the FSM. you can download it free at www.iluvmyrx7.com


I don't ever trust the teenage pimple headed grunge ball behind the counter to do **** right. He was probably daydreaming about trying to get laid with some high school skank when you came in with your part. So I check it myself and decide if I want a new alternator. That way all he has to do is get it off the shelf, and I can check that it is the right one before I walk out of the store.

 

you are a wise man. I really need to get a digital multimeter so i can start doing the same thing. Thanks for the FSM, I didn't have that. I am going to return the alternator, i'll just tell them i didn't use it, but i'm still stomped on what the problem is. The manager himself, (middle-aged 1 armed guy) Mike, said that i seem to have wiring problems from the alternator to the battery. He said something is not letting the alternator give the battery any power.

What are the placed i need to check? what are common problem areas? I really need help with this, its my daily driver.

 

VOLTAGE TEST
Engine running, headlights & heater fan on high:
Alternator post to alternator frame = 13.5-14 volts (verifies the alternator output)
alternator post to battery (+) = 0 volts (verifies the primary + wire)
alternator frame to battery (-) = 0 volts (verifies the primary ground)
Turn off the motor, but leave the lights on.
Battery (+) to battery (-) = ~12.5 volts and holds steady. (verifies battery)

 

If the alternator checks out OK, check the battery cable attachment points to verify they are solidly attached--especially the ground wires. Remove the battery cables and clean the battery posts.

 

^ yeah, if you got all that crusty meth looking **** around the battery terminals, thats bad. Go to walmart and gets some of that corrosive preventing spray from the battery isle, clean the terminals and spray that stuff on there.

 

well, my whole ground wire is about a month old, with new ground contact points. My battery terminals are 2 weeks old, with a 2week old battery.

Evidentally, my alternator is good, according to the alternator tester.

So would a bad ground cause the alternator to not be able to send juice back to the battery? What about a bad chassis ground, could it cause that? If so, i think i would start with redoing the chassis ground point.

 

Clean the posts AND the terminals(ends of the cables).
I had pretty much this same problem your describing with my FC about a week ago, and it ended up being the battery cables, not the battery. I gave 'em a good cleaning with a wire bristled brush, and it seems like the problem's solved.

With my car, the battery either seemed completely dead, or the car would start right up. No slow chug---chugging. If your car's doing that, maybe the terminals are your problem too.

 

i appreciate the help but i just did all that stuff when i bought my new battery.

In order, this is what i have done:

(1) 1 month ago---> Ground cable from battery to starter bolt changed, spliced in the chassis ground.

(2) 2 weeks ago---> Changed my battery

(3) 2 weeks ago---> Along with the battery change, i changed the terminals, cleaned the battery post with wire brush to get the shiny, and cleaned the inside of the post terminals to get them shiny.

NOW: #$)(#^$%()#*% 2 weeks later and my car is being a *****.

 

An 88 vert with a turoii engine. Hmmm.

Are you using the same vert harness or????????? Any part of the harness off the turbo engine?

Is there anything new about the small plug on the back of the alternator? Same vert one or ?????????

Is this alternator on the engine now one out of a series five??? Is the connector for the two wires on the alternator a different style than the original one????

Someone in your family should have given you a cheap digital meter for Christmas to help you. You NEED one,. If you had one you'd have fixed this long ago.

 

The small plug on the back of the alternator was the same.
No, the alternator on the car now is a brand new s4 alternator, and the connectors are the same.

I don't know about the engine harness, but a lot of stuff is cut off and left out, hence the turbo engine, so i guess its the stock na harness.

 

Well, go to the after Christmas sales and buy a digital meter for about twenty bucks and do the voltage checks suggested much earlier in this thread. It sounds like the output wire on the alternator isn't connected to the battery for some reason. Reason unknown. Might be another thing though.