macsrx7

Here is the original thread describing my problems...

I'm thinking that the alternator was only working part-time (brushes going bad?) so I'm replacing the alternator....

I replaced the battery already. Thanks to the previous owner who sold me the car, he gave me the list of receipts, er, a book of receipts (very meticulous owner, thank God) and in it I found the receipt for the alternator and it is 5 years old. Does that sound right? I mean, an alternator dying in 5 years??? I hope so!

Is there anything else you guys think it could be, other than the alternator? If it's a bad ground, where on the car should I look (specific to this problem, or maybe not FWIW).

Thanks in advance!!

-ian

macsrx7

ok... i replaced the alternator, however it's still not within operating specs. i made them test it before i took it out and it tested good...

i'm now wondering if the new battery (the same one i replaced 2 weeks ago) has gone bad.

at idle, the volt gauge reads at 14 and slowly drops down to almost 8V. the radio loses power, all the interior and exterior lights dim, and the blower drops speed. however, when i'm up to 1500 or so RPM the gauge reads 16V.

I don't know what else it could be so I'm taking the battery back and having them replace it with a new one since it's under warranty.

If you guys can think of anything I'm overlooking that would be great!

thank you

-ian

macsrx7

well, for what it's worth (seeing as how this wasn't a very hot topic, probably because of the title seeing as how people may have thought it was a thread about making a cake or bread, but I digress), it must have been the freakin' alternator the whole damn time.

took the battery back and when they tested it, it failed miserably (probably due to the alternator being bad the whole time, must've been running on the battery alone for those two weeks) and they replaced it since it was under warranty. now the volts are holding steady no matter what the hell is on and at what speed/power.

Lesson learned: should've listened to the one guy in the first thread i made about it being the alternator.

peace,

-ian

freemanrx7

Rotary Resurection has a great write-up about making new custom ground wires! If yours are original they need replaced. Also you can make more grounding points since the stock setup is kinda weak.

ericgrau

iTrader: (1)

It's almost always the alternator or the battery, both are easy to pull, both can be tested for free. Fuses are sometimes a problem too, but those are easy to check. So are shorts, but for that you just need a multimeter set to amps and, if there is in fact a short, some methodical fuse pulling to isolate the source.

The worst a bad ground can do is screw up your ECU (hesitation, running lean/rich), or drain some extra power when the alt or starter is under high load. Grounds shouldn't ever cause charging problems, unless yours are disconnected or something ridiculous. Though the extra power drained by a bad ground could make an already overloaded system even worse. Like if you have a partly drained battery, old starter and poor starter ground, for example.

Oh yeah, alternators are a gamble, so your replacement can last anywhere from 2 weeks (no joke) to 10+ years. Save your warranty, especially if you just picked up a random one.