Just cant figure it out...

sidewayzisbest · Jul 22, 2004

When i cut my car off i have battery level in "normal" and when i try cut it on, its almost dead. And also when at idle i turn my wheels it will want to surge in nuetral...But also everynow and then my car will want to surge and cut off at idle. The starter seems to be working good still the stocker though.

things i have done: had battery checked by autozone(which could be wrong i guess, its only a "silver" battery), I changed the terminals and battery cables.

Also when i prime my fuel pump and check my gauge should my fuel level keep pressure?

Anyone have any ideas?????

HISSIN50 · Jul 23, 2004

huh? get a voltmeter and let us know what the battery shows in various situations. when off, the VOM should show ~12 - 12.6 volts. while cranking, 9-10 is normal.
at idle, ~12.6 volts is alright. at 2K rpm, 14-14.5 is good. car not running, but key on, could be ~11.5-12.6 volts.

once the pump primes, unless all pressure was lost from the previous time the car ran, it should hold pressure pretty close to what it primed with. IIRC, there is a check valve in the pump to help it 'hold' pressure.

good luck. (dont mean to come off like a jerk, but i was a little lost with the phrases like: 'cut it on,' and 'cut it off.'

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

your starter might be going bad and grounding out your electric system

mob · Jul 23, 2004

well im not sure about this at all so before u guys call me dumb and everything im just giving my opinion, lol but i kinda had the same problem, i had the same battery i got it from autozone when we bought my car and we put it in the storage but when we went to get it it wouldnt start we had to jump start it, we took it back to autozone and they said that sometimes the batteries have defects or something or there just bad, maybe thats like yours not sure but thats what happened to mine, they changed it for us and it works fine, maybe its just your battery even tho they checked it already, it could be the starter or all that stuff that they said but i dont know, good luck

stangman_ia · Jul 23, 2004

Are we talking about a new battery here or is this an old one and you just cant afford a new one? If its new just take it back and get a new and try that! If that dont solve it, then look at your altenator! Instead of running around wondering what is wrong eleminate one thing at a time.

If your trying to get a battery that is three to five years old, get a new one, your try to kick start a dead horse!

Just like HISSIN50 stated check your volt's. With your engine running if your not getting anything above 13.25 volts I'd say your altenator isn't doing its job! If its not keeping a charge your battery is slowly going bad. Altenator is not a battery charger, if your battery gets low it wont bring it back and it will just stay low. Cheap battery's cant handle that and fail early in life.

One check your volts, get a good battery, like a Interstate. Even if you dont live in cold climate get a battery with a larger cold cracking amps like 750 or higher. Those are battery's wont fail you for long time! I've had one last 6 years, in IOWA. Where our winters are always well below zero all the time!

Dont worry man you'll get this licked, stick to it, it will work out.

GOOD LUCK to You!!!

sidewayzisbest · Jul 23, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
huh? get a voltmeter and let us know what the battery shows in various situations. when off, the VOM should show ~12 - 12.6 volts. while cranking, 9-10 is normal.
at idle, ~12.6 volts is alright. at 2K rpm, 14-14.5 is good. car not running, but key on, could be ~11.5-12.6 volts.

once the pump primes, unless all pressure was lost from the previous time the car ran, it should hold pressure pretty close to what it primed with. IIRC, there is a check valve in the pump to help it 'hold' pressure.

good luck. (dont mean to come off like a jerk, but i was a little lost with the phrases like: 'cut it on,' and 'cut it off.'

Ill check the voltmeter tomorow, the pump primes to 36psi for a second then goes back to 0psi with a sport comp gauge on the rail. Yea i prob didn't make since but its like 1am over here =p

I had a friend that was thinkin i should just run a 4ga from teh starter to bellhousing to help ground it but when he started it he thought the starter was doing very good.

sidewayzisbest · Jul 23, 2004

stangman_ia said:
Are we talking about a new battery here or is this an old one and you just cant afford a new one? If its new just take it back and get a new and try that! If that dont solve it, then look at your altenator! Instead of running around wondering what is wrong eleminate one thing at a time.

If your trying to get a battery that is three to five years old, get a new one, your try to kick start a dead horse!

Just like HISSIN50 stated check your volt's. With your engine running if your not getting anything above 13.25 volts I'd say your altenator isn't doing its job! If its not keeping a charge your battery is slowly going bad. Altenator is not a battery charger, if your battery gets low it wont bring it back and it will just stay low. Cheap battery's cant handle that and fail early in life.

One check your volts, get a good battery, like a Interstate. Even if you dont live in cold climate get a battery with a larger cold cracking amps like 750 or higher. Those are battery's wont fail you for long time! I've had one last 6 years, in IOWA. Where our winters are always well below zero all the time!

Dont worry man you'll get this licked, stick to it, it will work out.

GOOD LUCK to You!!!

thanks,

this battery is about 6months old and i thought about getting a red top optima battery but i just didn't want to spend 100 dollars if i didn't have to. The only thing i think about the alternator is maybe the wiring. I plan to order the pa wiring kit just to make sure and look better right now i have a 4 gauge connected to 2 10 ga fuselinks(might of messed up connecting those 2), the alternator is a 150amp 3g alt about 4months old i think.

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

that not likely but iwas just givin you more than one option if others didnt work out ..but it does sound like somthing grounding out to draw power while its sitting or like they said its an old battier and its just discharging

HISSIN50 · Jul 23, 2004

cool, get back to us with some numbers. im still not sure i even get what the problem is. but assuming it is hard/no starting: get a buddy to jump start you. if it fires up, suspect the new, expensive battery.

if still no go, as suggested, get some jumper cable or actual jumper cables. run a new motor to frame ground. you can also clean and double up your battery ground. these two things will get you good battery ground and a good ground for the starter (remember, juice flows from ground to positive).

with some numbers and the ground stuff checked, we can help out more. now if im missing the problem, disregard this whole post.

if you have other probs, Jrichker's no start check list covers everything except the kitchen sink being at fault. IIRC, he has one that is 'no crank' also, if that is your problem.

have you had AZ, etc do a charging system test with the car running? the wiring for your alt could be funky (gauge wise, it sounds alright, but i cant see it from my desk. )

good luck with the problem.

sidewayzisbest · Jul 23, 2004

im at work right now waiting to get off so i can check it

to clear some things up if you didn't understand( i wrote this at like 1am =p ), Something is draining almost all of my battery when i start the car almost to dead

HISSIN50 · Jul 23, 2004

sidewayzisbest said:
im at work right now waiting to get off so i can check it

to clear some things up if you didn't understand( i wrote this at like 1am =p ), Something is draining almost all of my battery when i start the car almost to dead

is something draining the battery while the car is off, or does it just show low volts while actually cranking and/or crank slow? sorry to beat it to death - my brain is just not getting this.

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

like i said a starter will draw while the cars off and still work perfectly fine if theres a short in it or some prob

Daggar · Jul 23, 2004

shttygtstang said:
like i said a starter will draw while the cars off and still work perfectly fine if theres a short in it or some prob

If the diode is bad in the alternator then the same thing can happen. The alternator turns into a really crappy motor when not being driven by the engine.

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

Daggar said:
If the diode is bad in the alternator then the same thing can happen. The alternator turns into a really crappy motor when not being driven by the engine.

will it charge while runing

Daggar · Jul 23, 2004

yes it will... when being driven by the motor the voltage from the alternator will be higher than that of the battery and it WILL charge.

All the diode does keep the flow of electricity flowing in one direction and stops it from flowing in the other. Without it the battery is trying to power the alternator.

HISSIN50 · Jul 23, 2004

shttygtstang said:
like i said a starter will draw while the cars off

i hope the starter does not draw while the car is off. i think you mean it draws in the crank position (the car is not off in that situation).

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
i hope the starter does not draw while the car is off. i think you mean it draws in the crank position (the car is not off in that situation).

yes while its completely off ive had it happen somehow the starter broke down and crossing power with its self and was drawing from the bat. i only found tis out after replacing a alt and ecu i called my father who is a good mech. and he told me aboght this
(on my dodge)

HISSIN50 · Jul 23, 2004

shttygtstang said:
yes while its completely off ive had it happen somehow the starter broke down and crossing power with its self and was drawing from the bat. i only found tis out after replacing a alt and ecu i called my father who is a good mech. and he told me aboght this
(on my dodge)

the solenoid should keep the starter from drawing current, even if it wanted to (internal short).

shttygtstang · Jul 23, 2004

hey im not mr goodwrench i jus saying from past probs ive had

sidewayzisbest · Jul 24, 2004

HISSIN50 said:
is something draining the battery while the car is off, or does it just show low volts while actually cranking and/or crank slow? sorry to beat it to death - my brain is just not getting this.

Well i dont think its draining while the car is off b/c no matter how long i leave the car off (1 -5 days), it will be at the same battery level, almost completely dead or at the last "bar" on the stock gauge. So im thinking something is draining it while cranking.- no prob me or anyone can figure out what the problem is.

also when i turn on the mark 8 fan, it will want to surge sometimes but it definently cuts a lot of power since my headlights will dim. Im thinking this is in the wiring and im going to get a PA wiring kit for it. think i might of messed up b/c i used the tutorial where you have the 4gauge running as power wire and then you put 2 12ga fuse links from the end of the 4ga to the soliniod thinking i might have a loose connection there.

did a volt test but it might be wrong since i wasn't sure of the setting i was supposed to use, but if it is then battery is fine then. Havent put the volt meter on the battery while the car is on yet though.

thanks

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