NEED HELP NOW...MEANING TONIGHT

[Danman765432]

Sorry about posting a double thread you can delete this one tomorrow but i just really need an answer now, sorry guys.

This is pertaining to my battery and i really need help so i could fix it tomorrow before i go to get my car painted and repaired.

First off it is a new battery and new alternator, about 4 months old.

Well i dropped my friend off at his house and my battery light came on. When i was driving it battery meter would not charge up like it normally did and it would stay low. So i wound up taking it up on the highway and it was still going down. On the way back after giving up hope my lights and everything got brighter all of a sudden and it was charging properly. Then i pulled into a well lit parking lot and sanded down my battery terminals and connectors since they had a little corosion on them. I then was driving home and then it did the same exact thing as before when it wouldnt charge.

Well in the past few days i jumped my brothers camaro twice, left my doors open for a few hours since i painted my doorjams, but i did start the car to charge up the battery for 20 mins and then disconnected it so the lights inside wouldnt stay on.

Also the weather tonight was pretty humid and it was drizzling earlier on.

I just need to fix this since i dont want to be screwed over and have to make another appt with painting my car.

Thanks for reading the story,
-Dan

 

[Danman765432]

bump

 

[mootang]

check all your electrical connections and make sure they are all good. check your battery voltage and the charging voltage. and let us know what you find out.

 

[bill302]

did you check all of the alternator wire connections to ensure they were clean and tight especially the release connector and the regulator connector...

 

[Danman765432]

i just went outside and checked all the alternator wires and they are all connected tightly...could it just be the moisture in the air or something like that.

 

[mootang]

check ALL electrical connections under the hood. If there is one with a broken clip it could be coming loose. the plug under the coil could cause thes conditions if it came loose as could some others probably

 

[black94gt50]

This exact thing happened to me about a year ago, I had my alternator rebuilt and when they tore it apart it had something to do with a wire that was making good connection sometimes and other times it was'nt. Well about three months after the alternator was rebuilt it failed again, so I went and bought a new one, since then it has been fine. Good luck on figuring it out

 

[Danman765432]

i gave up tonight since i cant really do to much and make noise since it is 2:14 in the morning and i also just got a bunch of sparks in the face. so tomorrow before i bring it in to get painted ill look into it more, or i could just bring it to the paint guy and try to blame it on him when i get it back and my car doesnt start. who knows but thanks for the help

 

[bill302]

all i can tell you is run but the closest autoparts store autozone,oreillys or advance auto parts when they open in the morning when they open and have them test your charging system they do it free, that will tell you whats wrong it sounds like a loose or dirty connection or a voltage regulator going bad.....goodluck.

 

[HISSIN50]

Dont overlook the alternator's regulator. The ground for the light is triggered in the regulator. When the alternator output drops, it activates the ground in the regulator to the battery light/resistor assembly, and turns on the light.

Given the ups and downs, the regulator is something else to check.

Good luck.

 

[Danman765432]

just a question, would this just happen all of a sudden like it did or would it be something gradual. I mean it was working fine all day before it just happened tonight when i dropped off my friend. Im just trying to be postive since i dont want another stupid thing to be wrong with my car

 

[HISSIN50]

just a question, would this just happen all of a sudden like it did or would it be something gradual. I mean it was working fine all day before it just happened tonight when i dropped off my friend. Im just trying to be postive since i dont want another stupid thing to be wrong with my car

I'm not sure if this was directed at me.

All of the advice on the thread is great. It takes but a few minutes to check connections. The biggest one that can cause such a drastic fluctuation is a loose connection on the back of the alternator or at the power distribution block. The latter is prone to corrosion.

Double checking and cleaning all primary electrical system connections (battery cables on both ends, motor ground, etc) is always good and doesnt take very long (I know you're in a time crunch though).

Bill's idea on a dynamic testing of the system (where they come out to the car and let it idle) or bench testing the alt is a very wise idea.

And to answer the question (if it was indeed for me), the regulator can most definately cause some radical ups and downs in alternator output. I would also check the wiring to the regulator (inside the wiring loom). I recently redid some of mine because the insulation had come off and bare wires were floating around in there. Not good. Another thing that takes about 30 seconds to take a looksie at.

Good luck.

 

[Danman765432]

Hissin Thanks for all the info again, ill recheck all the terminals and connections in the daylight when i can actually see better. hope it doesnt take to long to figure out so i could finally get my 3 colored car painted. I dont even know why i am still up its 4:15 in the morning

 

[Danman765432]

ok i got my whole 4 to 5 hours of sleep. So i took the car out for a little drive and it was charging and working fine, but it seemed as soon as i turned on the headlights it went back to being crap. so would that pinpoint anything?

I dont know if you guys saw my sig i also have underdrive pulleys too but it never acted like this before

 

[donkey_punch]

I dont know if you guys saw my sig i also have underdrive pulleys too but it never acted like this before

my stang does the same thing with U/D pulleys.