I hate my car...it hates me =(

[AmBo]

Well, I have posted several times about battery issues with my car and now it seems to have hit an all-time low:

Now the battery light is on ALL the time. I THOUGHT it was my amp so I disconnected my amp and reattached the battery terminals and BAM! It's STILL on!

I went to Pepboys thinking they would check it out for no fee and the ******* goes "hmmmm...20 bucks." I told him I don't think so and left the store. How rediculous! Most shops won't charge a penny to check the battery and alternator! How obserd...

So does this mean my battery or my alternator are shot? This battery light has been an issue for a year now...I'm fed UP!

 

[hotmustang331]

What is your charge gauge reading? And try and shut your car off with the lights on, if they dim QUICK and the battery gets weak quick, but when you fire it up they go bright again, then your batter is bad....if you have problems with your battery dieing when driving down the road at night with the lights on (cars is running of course) then its your altinator. If you have been having problems for a year now I think its your battery, cuz if the altinator stopped working your car would just die even when running and the battery would never get recharged....have you thought to check your ground wire and make sure nothing is corroded?

 

[AmBo]

hotmustang, thanks for the reply. Here are my responses:
"try and shut your car off with the lights on, if they dim QUICK and the battery gets weak quick, but when you fire it up they go bright again, then your batter is bad" Everything seemed fine. No dimming of lights. Fired right back up.

"if you have problems with your battery dieing when driving down the road at night with the lights on (cars is running of course) then its your altinator." I never had a prob with the battery dying. Just when my bass would hit, the lights may dim a SLIGHT bit.

Now here is an update: I had my amp wired to the extension of the batter, not directly to the battery. I now see that it is the fuse box and that is where the alternator gets its power from. So I got mad at my car and decided that we had to spend quality time together. I drove her around for 10 minutes and NO battery light! Normally it would flash at LEAST once, if not pop up the whole ride.

Now, how should I go about hooking up my amp to the battery? Is there a piece that people use to splice directly to the battery?

 

[highvolts]

If you have an AutoZone, NAPA, or Advance Auto, They will check both for free.

 

[RedDaemon]

hey if u hate ur car...im sure ill like it...u can drop it off anytime between 5 and 8

 

[Shiroelex]

At Autozone, I picked up a new gold plated battery terminal thing, that had two holes in it. They have set screws that hold the wires in. That's how I have mine set up; the car's regular hookup in one hole, amp in the other. The package 'claimed' gold plating, however, I have never seen gold rust before until now. Otherwise, the terminal is doing great. It was like $5.

 

[hotmustang331]

Must have been drawing enough current to fool the computer into thinking that your battery was weak. And well thats great that my above suggestions allowed us to rule out the bad battery and bad altinator conserns....and also do you ever have any weak battery problems after the car sits for a few days or if your playing your radio for a while? Like its hard to start or anything? If not, then there is nothing wrong with your charging system/battery. Must have been where you wired in your amp.

 

[AmBo]

Yea, I never had a hard time with the battery. Car has MAYBE once or twice in a year gave me a SMALL scare on the startup. Other than that, I've never had a problem really. I'm going to look into those battery terminals. Anyone know where I can pick one up online?

 

[twogts4us]

Your alt is shot.

 

[Beasty306GT]

altenator crapped the bed! time for a new one

 

[Roger_4.6_96]

I got almost brand new alternator for sale from my old gt engine.

 

[AmBo]

I think my alt is going. Now the battery light doesnt come on EXCEPT sometimes it will blink when at lights. I think it's almost time to get a 200a alternator.