alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

Night before last, my driver side HID in my flipups died. I went to zerox7's yesterday to do a full fluid change and we tried to figure out what was wrong with it. It turns out the red wire going into the bulb was basically hanging on by one string of wire. So we stripped it and pushed it back in and made sure it stayed in with some glue/tape. The light still doesn't work. When I put on the lights, it flashes and makes a sound for a split second and then stays off while the passenger-side stays on.

We figured it could be something with the relay. But on another note, my battery died today while stopped in the middle of the road. I had the stereo on and the music was slowly dying on me (stuttering and bass stopping and starting), then the lights stopped working and then the car just died all together. I had to get a new battery today but I'm thinking if it could have anything to do with the relay and the HID ruining the car battery? I'm not too knowledgeable about stuff like this but the battery that died today was running consistently above 11V (shown in my commander) up until this afternoon. I went for a longer drive today and it just died abruptly at a stop light.

What are some things I could check up on? The alternator seems really new (I'm not sure when the previous owner replaced it but it looks like the newest component in the whole engine bay), and the HID bulb that's not working doesn't seem to be burned out (it turns on for a split second when you turn on the lights). What are some things that I could check to see what's causing both the HID failure and the sudden battery failure?

Ceylon

iTrader: (3)

Most HID ktis are individually earthed, check the earth for that light. Does you system run off a single stock headlight plug? Or use both? Test those, if they work properly..Then its part of the HID kit its self thats the issue. Just get multi meter on all the wires, check the relays are working etc. Should tell you where the issue is.

Ceylon.

alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

I haven't found a cause of the HID problem but I have found the cause of my battery dying. It's been extremely hot in LA (obviously) and I've been turning the AC on at 1 to get the fans going. I've noticed today that with my brand new Interstate MT-35 battery, the voltage actually dropped to around 7V and my car started sputtering. As soon as I turned off the AC completely and got going, the alternator jumped in quick and pulled the voltage back up to around 12-14V.

Does anyone have experience with this AC problem? Now whenever I turn on the AC, you can feel/hear a noticeable stutter in the idle meaning that if I left it for longer it would drain the battery again like it did with the other. Someone please help?

zweetz32

iTrader: (2)

your car should not be dying when it's running. When the car is running, the alternator should be providing power to the car. Even without a battery/dead battery they car will still stay running and all electronics still working. Check your alternator. Also are you running the HID off the oem harness or did you make a relay so that it gets power directly from the battery?

alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

It's got a relay. The thing is, the alternator is pretty new, like I said above. It's the newest looking piece in the whole engine compartment. Also, the car is COMPLETELY fine if I don't turn on the AC, even if I turn on just the blowing and no AC, it's fine, runs fine, cruises fine, idles fine. As soon as I press the AC button, the voltage starts dropping and the idle slowly starts getting rough after a few minutes and after maybe like 20 minutes of driving it starts to become almost undrivable, and then eventually dying. I'm guessing it's something to do with the actual AC as opposed to the alternator. Any other suggestions?

alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

Anyone?

alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

Anyone have any solutions? I can't even start the car right now. It's got a brand new battery (a week old) and it's still not cranking out enough to start the engine. I've tried getting a jump and it starts but then stutters a lot even with all my electronics turned off. If I even turn on say the low beams, the car starts bogging down. Like I said, the alternator looks really new (obviously not the stock one), and the A/C seemed to be a direct culprit, but now it's not even starting/staying alive with the A/C off.

baggedoutmazda

just because it'' looks new'' means nothing.with a good battery & altenator with the car running you should never see below aprox 12.5 vdc. if it drops below this you have a charging failure/ bad ground/something shorted out/ faulty battery. find a shop to check this out before you short something out imo

David Hayes

iTrader: (6)

You can go to any auto store (Pep Boys, Autozone, etc.) and they will check the charging system for you. Have them check voltage at both the alternator and the battery. If they can check amperage at the alternator, have them do that also.

As previously pointed out, your car should never drop below 12.8 volts with all of your accessories on. You could have a bad alternator (even though it looks new), poor electrical wiring between the alternator and the battery, poor grounding on the car, or a voltage draw somewhere. You could also have an AC grounding or shorting problem although I would rule this out as the car stutters even with the AC off. My guess is:

1) Voltage draw. Something is shorting out the car and is draining the battery. You can check this out by charging the battery and letting the car sit for a day or so to see if it drains. If so, then something electrical (maybe the HID lights?) are draining the system.
2) bad alternator
3) Bad/loose wiring from the alternator to the battery
4) Poor grounding.

#1 seems most likely to me as your brand new battery is dead and something is running it down when the car is off.
#2 is easy to check at any store. Go have this done. They can do it with the alt still in the car. I mentioned having them check amperage (amps) at idle. The car should not draw any more than 15 or so amps at idle and if it draws more than this, then you have a bad grounding problem which can be solved by installing a ground kit like the Hyper Ground Kit.
#3 is easy to check also. Check to power wire on the alternator to ensure it's tight and the connector is not broken. Do this with the black ground wire removed from the battery or sparks can fly! Follow the wire to the ground points and ensure everything is tightened and not corroded.
#4 install a ground kit for the fun of it. Can't hurt and will make the car run much smoother anyway. I just posted in my thread how to do this.

I am having a similar problem myself although my battery does not drain. I have found a high amperage draw on the car which was fixed with new grounds from Hyper and am paying someone else to track down the voltage draw on the car.

Good luck.

alanwu07

iTrader: (5)

Thank you for the AWESOME writeup. I've just left the country for a short visit to my parents, but I will be back soon. I'll update as I check the various things and go through those steps. Thanks a lot for taking the time to write that! VERY appreciated!

feijai85

iTrader: (1)

switch the bulbs and test...see if the driver side bulb works on the pass side ballast, if it still flickers on the pass side with the driver bulb then its the bulb. also try with the ballasts...switch to see if the driver side works on the pass side. if you check the bulb and in the middle is black its the bulb. im pretty sure your problem is the ballast, the flicker happened to me also on my other cars.

Rotech7

iTrader: (10)

............
David is right..
With Electrical issues, you said Stereo, HID & AC all in one sentence.. Think of how much amperage that draws ..
Ive had cars that die on me in the past that were 2002-2004 cars with no stereo systems in them.
The Cause, always turned out it was a Doctors car that always ran the AC, turns out the Alternators were shot in both cars, using up the battery power to run the car until it dies, then thats it..
I sugjest you up grade your Alternator to something like this
http://www.motorcityreman.com/9396rx713l.html
And get your self a good Grounding Strap kit and you should be fine..