Last night, i was going to sportmart, as i pulled into a parking spot, just as i was about to stop, i rolled up my driver side window and then noticed the voltage go down, my head lights dimmed as well as my gauge lights, and then the car shut off. I didnt really think anything about it, but then when i came back out from the store, it would not start. I then decided to ask someone to help me jump it. It seemed to jump just fine, i then let it run for several minutes. Then i got in and began to drive, as i crossed the parking lot and turned on my lights(it was dark outside) the same thing happened, everything dimmed then the car decided to shut off. After that, i got out a battery tester i had with me, it read that the battery was low. I saw a pep boys across the way, so i went and bought a battery jumper. I did this and it started up again, as soon as i took the cables off, it ran for maybe a minute then died again, then i heard a clicking noise????, coming from the passenger side, sounded like from the alternator, maybe starter but sounded like it was coming from up top not down below? Can anyone tell me what that was? Any ideas? I also have a msd ignition hooked up, could this cause a problem? The msd box is next to the alternator, maybe this was clicking?? When i checked the battery again, it said flat. Finally, i decidied to just get a tow home, when the tow truck came, the guy tried jumping it as well, but again it couldnt hold the charge. This made him think it was a bad alternator. As soon as i get out of school im going to go home and figure this out. By the way i have a 130 amp powermaster alternater that is maybe a 1 1/2-2 years old? How can it go bad already. The battery now is a die hard gold,stupid sears..... between 2-3 years old. Also, if its just the battery, i was thinking about an optima? Should i get a yellow top or a red top? Whats the difference, better??? I need help!!!!!!!!!!!!
Car dead.....HELP!!
- Thread starter ras50gt
- Start date
bdollarbill
Member
- Nov 27, 2005
- 89
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- 6
You may have a bad charge wire coming off alt. to battery, on my 90 ragtop when I bought it the guy had installed new battery,alt, alt pigtail, ground wire,positive cable clamps etc.. all becuase he couldnt keep battry charged. I ran test from hot wire coming off alt with power coming out & had to chase it all the way to within 3" of solenoid to find wire burned thru on bottom. I guess I got lucky & found it but coulda spent a lot of time tracing down issue.
bill
bill
Search for Jrichker's no start checklist and start running down it. The systematic layout of his list will make sure you check everything, which saves time compared to jumping around testing and retesting.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Hey thanks for the help guys! I ended up taking out the alternator and taking it into the parts shop to get it tested. Sure enough the alternator was the problem. Oh, i also checked the wire going from the alternator to the battery like you said bdollarbill, and probably three inches from the alternator, the wire was melted and corroded, looked burnt. Not sure if that might have been part of the alternator going bad?? Or maybe the result of the alternator being bad? It kinda pisses me off though because that alternator was only in for a year and a half, i figured the powermaster one would be good for a few years at the least.Plus i dont run a stereo system, only thing on was the msd. I also took the msd off completely. Im not too sure what i should do now, im going to try calling powermaster and maybe they will warranty it, not sure. The guy at the auto parts store said i could take it to get it fixed for like 40 bucks. Anyways, i bought a prostart alternator, stupid thing came out to like 95 bucks too! And i also got a optima red top. Im tired of dealing with sears batteries over all these years. Now, i think my clutch is starting to go, maybe i should just sell the car, ive been thinking about a lightning, but that means i cant cut down hours at work anymore. What do you guys think about the alternator? Should i be worried about putting something better in? What do you guys have in your cars?
3G 130 amp with wiring upgrade.
Here's what I did...
I am very careful to maintain backwards compatibility, so I did things a little different. The white/black stator wire gets the insulation stripped back about 1 1/2" in the middle of the wire & cut in the middle of the stripped area. Then a short length of white wire with a 1/4" slip on female spade connector gets spliced on to the white/black wire. Slide on enough 1/4" heat shrink tubing on the white wire to cover the solder splice you are going to make. Next all 3 wires get soldered together & the heat shrink tubing gets shrunk. When you finish, the white/black wire looks like a "Y" with 1 white arm and 1 white/black arm. I left the black/orange wires connected to the original plug and did not do anything to them. When you are done, the original plug still has all the wires connected to it and they are still functional. The extra white pigtail wire that you spliced, soldered in & covered with heat shrink tubing is just long enough to plug into the 3G without much left over.
I ran the 4 gauge wire under the front of the engine next to the 4 gauge wire for the starter power feed.
It came up the same path as the fuel injector supply lines, and gets bolted to the power output lug of the 3G alternator. The 125 amp fuse is mounted on a plastic panel bolted to the stock ignition coil mounts. One of side of the fuse has a 4 gauge wire connected to the battery side of the starter solenoid & the other to the 4 gauge power feed wire for the alternator.
I had some 1" silicone aircraft heat shield tubing that I fed the 4 gauge alternator power feed wire through and tie wrapped & clamped it in place with some aircraft cushion clamps. That provided the wire extra protection from road debris and rocks. Some heater hose could be used to do the same thing.
Apart from the grinding I did on the mount bracket, there wasn't much to it. Rather than just grind a notch, I ground the whole web back to the thick part of the bracket. It looks much more factory that way.
Here's websites with pictures of the 3G installation...
See http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte/Auto/3G_130A_Alternator_Upgrade.htm - all the tech data you could ever want to know
OR
http://www.mustangcentral.net/tech/alternator.html - excellent pictures of installation
Use these sites for information on the right way to do the wiring. Some people will tell you that you can skip the wiring upgrade, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. A fire in the wiring harness is ugly and expensive.
Under no circumstances connect the two 10 gauge black/white wires to the 3G alternator. If the fuse blows in the 4 gauge wire, the two 10 gauge wires will be overloaded to the point of catching fire and burning up the wiring harness.
The secondary power ground is between the back of the intake manifold and the driver's side firewall. It is often missing or loose. It supplies ground for the alternator, A/C compressor clutch and other electrical accessories such as the gauges. Any car that has a 3G alternator needs a 4 gauge ground wire running from the block to the chassis ground where the battery pigtail ground connects.
Electric fan = 3G alternator if you want long life & reliability from your car.
The electric fan saves some HP. The stock fan's parasitic drag runs from 7-12 HP depending on who you talk to. The electric fan uses about 1/2 HP of power from the electrical system.
Figure this:
Ignition system & computer = 12 amps
Fuel pump = 12 amps
Exterior lights = 15 amps
Fan (heater or A/C) = 15 amps (can run between 5-25 amps depending on setting)
Radio & instruments = 10 amps
Wipers = 10 amps
That's grand total of 74 amps from a 65 amp alternator. Talk about overdrawn at the bank!
See WWW.partsexpress.com for the fuse & fuse holder.
Fuse @ $3.90 each (need one) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=071-952
Fuseholder @ $5.80 each (need one) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=263-630
4 gauge black wire @ $1.25 a foot (use string to lay out routing & determine length) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-196
4 gauge red wire @ $1.25 a foot (use string to lay out routing & determine length) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-194
4 gauge ring crimp terminals (package of 5) $3.25. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=095-584
Here's what I did...
I am very careful to maintain backwards compatibility, so I did things a little different. The white/black stator wire gets the insulation stripped back about 1 1/2" in the middle of the wire & cut in the middle of the stripped area. Then a short length of white wire with a 1/4" slip on female spade connector gets spliced on to the white/black wire. Slide on enough 1/4" heat shrink tubing on the white wire to cover the solder splice you are going to make. Next all 3 wires get soldered together & the heat shrink tubing gets shrunk. When you finish, the white/black wire looks like a "Y" with 1 white arm and 1 white/black arm. I left the black/orange wires connected to the original plug and did not do anything to them. When you are done, the original plug still has all the wires connected to it and they are still functional. The extra white pigtail wire that you spliced, soldered in & covered with heat shrink tubing is just long enough to plug into the 3G without much left over.
I ran the 4 gauge wire under the front of the engine next to the 4 gauge wire for the starter power feed.
It came up the same path as the fuel injector supply lines, and gets bolted to the power output lug of the 3G alternator. The 125 amp fuse is mounted on a plastic panel bolted to the stock ignition coil mounts. One of side of the fuse has a 4 gauge wire connected to the battery side of the starter solenoid & the other to the 4 gauge power feed wire for the alternator.
I had some 1" silicone aircraft heat shield tubing that I fed the 4 gauge alternator power feed wire through and tie wrapped & clamped it in place with some aircraft cushion clamps. That provided the wire extra protection from road debris and rocks. Some heater hose could be used to do the same thing.
Apart from the grinding I did on the mount bracket, there wasn't much to it. Rather than just grind a notch, I ground the whole web back to the thick part of the bracket. It looks much more factory that way.
Here's websites with pictures of the 3G installation...
See http://www.geocities.com/smithmonte/Auto/3G_130A_Alternator_Upgrade.htm - all the tech data you could ever want to know
OR
http://www.mustangcentral.net/tech/alternator.html - excellent pictures of installation
Use these sites for information on the right way to do the wiring. Some people will tell you that you can skip the wiring upgrade, but it will catch up with you sooner or later. A fire in the wiring harness is ugly and expensive.
Under no circumstances connect the two 10 gauge black/white wires to the 3G alternator. If the fuse blows in the 4 gauge wire, the two 10 gauge wires will be overloaded to the point of catching fire and burning up the wiring harness.
The secondary power ground is between the back of the intake manifold and the driver's side firewall. It is often missing or loose. It supplies ground for the alternator, A/C compressor clutch and other electrical accessories such as the gauges. Any car that has a 3G alternator needs a 4 gauge ground wire running from the block to the chassis ground where the battery pigtail ground connects.
Electric fan = 3G alternator if you want long life & reliability from your car.
The electric fan saves some HP. The stock fan's parasitic drag runs from 7-12 HP depending on who you talk to. The electric fan uses about 1/2 HP of power from the electrical system.
Figure this:
Ignition system & computer = 12 amps
Fuel pump = 12 amps
Exterior lights = 15 amps
Fan (heater or A/C) = 15 amps (can run between 5-25 amps depending on setting)
Radio & instruments = 10 amps
Wipers = 10 amps
That's grand total of 74 amps from a 65 amp alternator. Talk about overdrawn at the bank!
See WWW.partsexpress.com for the fuse & fuse holder.
Fuse @ $3.90 each (need one) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=071-952
Fuseholder @ $5.80 each (need one) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=263-630
4 gauge black wire @ $1.25 a foot (use string to lay out routing & determine length) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-196
4 gauge red wire @ $1.25 a foot (use string to lay out routing & determine length) http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=100-194
4 gauge ring crimp terminals (package of 5) $3.25. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=095-584
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