changed alternator, changed battery, but....

[ashly78]

ok guys, pleeeease help!

I have put a new alternator, belt and battery in my car. It was okay for 2 days. Now, the battery light is flashing, my lights seem to be surging some, but my voltage meter is showing fully charged within the normal area. What could be wrong now?

Thanks for your thoughts.
Ash

 

[Adverse2Change]

Is there any corrosion on the battery cables (battery side and alternator side)? I had a problem with an old Lumina where the cable end on the alternator side was dirty and corroded and caused the alternator to crap out and thus the battery as well. Probably not your case, but worth checking nonetheless.

 

[ashly78]

yes, there is corrosion on one of the cables, should I replace the cable to see if this is the issue?

 

[Adverse2Change]

That depends, is the corrosion only on the ends of the cable? I don't want you wasting your money on a new cable if this isn't the problem, so try and clean the ends first. A dremel tool works well for this situation, if you have one. Clean it and see if that helps, otherwise wait and see if anyone else has any ideas.

 

[Kingpin's Stang]

You should try cleaning the terminals first with can of coke and try tighting them up as well. Coke eats at the build up and is a cheap fix.

 

[ashly78]

The corrosion is at one end of the cable. I have tried to clean it, but still some corrosion left. I will try to clean it again or worse case scenerio get a new cable and see if this is the problem. Let you know tommorrow. thanks for your suggestions.

 

[ashly78]

Ok, the cables have been cleaned throughly. I took the car to Autozone to test the battery and alternator to make sure they were good. The voltage checked out as good there, but it just didn't seem right to me, so I took it to a buddies shop. They checked the voltage on the alternator and it was 18amp, so he said to I definitely got a bad alternator and to take it back. What do you guys think?

 

[Silentst2000]

Ok, the cables have been cleaned throughly. I took the car to Autozone to test the battery and alternator to make sure they were good. The voltage checked out as good there, but it just didn't seem right to me, so I took it to a buddies shop. They checked the voltage on the alternator and it was 18amp, so he said to I definitely got a bad alternator and to take it back. What do you guys think?

If a buddies shop says its bad then take it back. Also, baking soda is 100x more effective on terminals than coke.

 

[ashly78]

Hey guys, thanks so much for your help. The mystery has been solved . There was a loose wire found under the fuse box. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Adverse2Change]

Hey guys, thanks so much for your help. The mystery has been solved . There was a loose wire found under the fuse box. Thanks for all of your suggestions. Merry Christmas everyone!

That was my next guess! Now the real question would be: were the battery and alternator bad to begin with or was it just that loose wire?