Im stuck having to have my mom drive my car to her work while I take hers to mine, so my car doesnt get driven more than a total of 20 minutes a day.

Now, when I get in it on the weekends and clutch in while turning the ignition, the car weakly starts. Tonight was the first time it just flat out died after I took it down the road to 7-11. I had my portable jumper with me and started up it fine, but what the hells the problem? My mom said she was having the same problem earlier today, but after a few cranks she finally got it going (she didnt know I had a portable jumper btw)

What are some common problems that cause this weak charge? Like I said, the battery is new, and Im noticing that when I hit the gas, when the cars on, the interior lights and headlights get a tad bit "stronger".

 

First, make SURE that the connections to the battery are clean. Use a battery brush on the inside of them. Next, check the output of the alternator. You'll need a voltmeter. Do a search here for the voltage you should be seeing.

 

Make certain alt belt is TIGHT! Can't stress that enough with high draw a/c cold weather. Also check there is no drain on the battery when car is off.

 

Is the alternator even working???

What is the voltage on the volt meter while you are driving??? It should be above 13.5 volts just to charge the battery, and if it is less than 12.6 volts the alt is not even putting out enough juice to run the car, and you are running only on the battery.

 

Damnit! My mom couldnt eve get the car started today. Neither could I.

My uncle told me awhile ago that a good way to see if its just a bettery problem or an alternator problem was to start the car and then remove the negative connection. If the engine still ran, it was the battery, if it died, it was the alternator. Well, with my old battery the engine was still running with the negative connection off.

My mechaninc who rebuilt my engine has told me that all my belts were on tight, and this was only a couple months ago back in October.

The odd thing is that I cant even jump the car anymore. It just dwindled out the longer I left the key turned with my jumped connected.

I have no clue on how to even connect a voltage meter to the alternator so Im s.o.l. there. I "cleaned" the connectors with a brush when I was installing my new battery. Its about 49 degrees outside now, so should I wait till it gets a bit warmer to try again?

 

NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!! That is the quickest way to blow an alternator, tell your uncle he is a dumb **** and knows nothing about import cars. You should be using a meter with an sufficient amperage gauge to see if there is output.

Without the battery the internal regulator in the alt can go ballistic trying to charge a battery, usually taking out several of the rectifiers with it. And the battery acts a capacitor for the system when the engine is running.

Again as posted before:

 

And on top of that how would I test it if the car wont start even?

 

jump start the car

 

You must be as tired as I am this early in the morning

 

I would guess it's the alternator. If you can, take the alternator out and take it to a near by auto parts store, something like Autozone. Most of them will do a free test on the alternator and sell you one if it's dead. The alternator is on top of the engine, so it shouldn't be too hard to remove.

 

i have the same damn problem, i know for sure its not the alt because if i drive the car around for a while its fine to start up for the next 2 days.
but then if i try to start it in about a week, battery is dead. something is drawing the power and i dont know what it is. this all started happening to me when i hooked up and amp, but then i blew it.
then my battery started to die after a week, so i replaced it, thinking the amp did something to the battery. it was fine for little while now its doing the same **** of not being able to last more than 2 days. i dont have anything connected to it anymore. no amp no nothing. i dont get it.
the alt is fine, when the car is running my charge is near 14, what else could this be thats drawing the power?

 

Can you take a pic of the battery and the connections for me to see.You should replace the battery connetors that tighten up to the battery terminals.

 

Jump it and drive to a parts store that has free testing. They'll check your battery and alternator for free and tell which if any are bad.

 

ok lets say the battery and alternator arent bad is there anything else that could cause this for the battery to just drain while sitting?

 

You must of left something on and didn't realize it.Like I said before if it starts with a jump take off the battery terminals while the cars running if your alternator is good it will still run with the terminals disconected.You might need to replace the battery terminals.Still get the battery and alternator tested though.Good luck.

 

you could have a dead short somewhere

try this

dissconnect the neg cable turn everything off close the doors so those lights wont come on

and tap the neg cable to the battery it should not do a thing

if it sparks a little its drawing power from the battery and if you have everything off and all the doors closed so lights wont try to kick on when you tap the termanal your gonna have a dead short somewhere that is killing the battery while its sitting

 

how can i find this short? i suppose there really is no way. that sux, that means i will likely have to disconnect the battery everytime i park it for the night.

 

bump

 

Do all your power components work properly, How long does it take for your battery to drain?

 

Get a battery charger, and charge up the battery. Then start pulling fuses, leave the car over night, and when you pull one, and the battery stops draining, then you look to see which fuse you pulled, and youve narrowed down the area of the short. Just dont disconnect the negative terminal while the car is running, as Icemark said, you'll kill the alt. Ive had numerous people tell me this is the best way to troubleshoot this type of problem while working on friends domestics, and it could make the problem go from a short to a short and a bad alt.

 

If you want to be accurate, put an ammeter in line between the positive cable and the battery (car off). If you see current being drawn, then its time to start pulling fuses till you dont pull any more juice.

Jarrett

 

Well, on my part, I have a portable jumper and I cant jump start the car now.

When I turn the ignition, the engine makes a muffled, dieing sound that revs down until all there are are rapid clicking" noises... The battery isnt drained as the engine lights and door lights still work... I called my mechanic and he said its possibly my starter thats f'd up... He said to push start it and get it to him to check out... Ill do it Tuesday.

Only thing is how am I gonna push start my car on my own with a curved road??

 

tap your starter with a hammer a few times. If the car starts, your starter is indeed on its last legs.

 

grr...I hate the term dead 'short'.

 

I had a similar problem with my starter. The car would barely turn over, and then crap itself. So I got the starter rebuilt, and then the alternator went. So I got a new alternator and now I have more problems. The CD player works when it feels like it, and the headlight get brighter when I am on the gas, not to mention the voltage reads all the way at the top and the Oil pressure gauge reads the same. Sorry to distract from the original posters problems..but you guys have any ideas for me ?