battery/alternator issue
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battery/alternator issue
the other day i was driving back home at night and i noticed the light in my dash was really dim, so i looked at my gauge that shows the amps and i seen that it was on the negative side. my gauge shows from positive 60 to negative 60 and prior to this it was always in the middle at zero. so i took the alternator to the parts store near my house and they checked it and it passed, they suggested that i bring the battery to charge, they charged it for about 20 mins and i put everything back and now its still goes dead. in the day its fine, tho i notice that when i hit the turn signal the radio will turn off and on in sync with the switch and at night if i go somewhere i need to get jumped. any ideas help!!!
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From: Goffstown, NH
It does sound like you have a short that is grounding out casuing to battery to loose power. Did you notice if your alt belt was loose or is cracked? Did they test the battery when you brought it in? It could have a dead cell.
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i believe you do have an ammeter. if the guage shows a charge without the headlights on i'd agree with the possibility of a short in the headlight line but then you'd also see the headlight breaker flash the lights on and off. if there was a short in the parking light line, you'd blow a fuse. the radio will cut out below a certain voltage. the lights flashing brings it to that point and then back up again. your wipers will be very slow and the horn starts to sound like a frog.
so, go to the regulator wires (small black box, two wires, one screw terminal and one slide on terminal, right?). use a jumper wire between the screw terminal with the engine running and radio off. if you hear the alternator start humming and the engine slow down, you have a bad ground on the regulator or it died. don't rev it too much because it will put out higgh voltage that can burn out stuff. the high amps are not good to recharge the battery either.
so, go to the regulator wires (small black box, two wires, one screw terminal and one slide on terminal, right?). use a jumper wire between the screw terminal with the engine running and radio off. if you hear the alternator start humming and the engine slow down, you have a bad ground on the regulator or it died. don't rev it too much because it will put out higgh voltage that can burn out stuff. the high amps are not good to recharge the battery either.
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i just switched out the belts, and they are pretty tight. its just weird and this morning it didnt start so i had to walk to work. they didnt test the battery they just charged it. they did this last week and it didnt seem to make a difference since it started acting up.
Mopar Lover
Joined: Apr 2009
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From: Michigan: The First Line of Defense From The Canadians!
Are we talking short here, or massive draw/drain? Myself, I'd get my schematics and a clamp-on DC ammeter. If you have an electrician friend he will have one. Then I'd start working backwards from the battery to see what is drawing current with the key off, or massively with the key on. You can also verify alternator output with it. See if this helps. Since I'm laid-off, I'll check the prints for your car also and see what I can guide you to check.
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its not a massive drain, somthing is draining from my battery until it dies. the voltage regulator was replaced, but the battery is not holing its charge. while the car is on i remove the negative cable from the battery and the car dies, from my understanding its not suppossed to die. now to make things worse, i noticed that the motor is starting to overheat. before all this the needle would never even reach the middle now its close to overheating. fack!!!
Mopar Lover
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From: Michigan: The First Line of Defense From The Canadians!
K, I've got the diagrams and m looking at them now. I assume you've tested for output on the alt. at speed and have gotten 13.6-14.2 volts? Large black wire. I'm looking at the green wire for the alt. field. The alt may test well on a bench, but we may have an issue here. The green wire supplies current to create a magnetic field. And the rotor will generate A/c current when it rotates through, and collapses the magnetic lines of flux. Yes, you say the reg. is good, but are we still getting current to the alt through the green wire? Voltage is pressure, and at 12v it takes very little corrosion or dirt to block the current.
Last edited by scotts74birds; Jun 1, 2009 at 10:48 PM.
Mopar Lover
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From: Michigan: The First Line of Defense From The Canadians!
There are also 5 connections between the alt and the starter junction that can be tested for voltage drop. Is the ammeter getting warm back there in the dash?
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Joined: May 2009
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From: Worcester, Mass
i had the same exact issue about 3 weeks ago. all i did was change my ground wire. Now the battery doesnt die and the radio doesnt fade away when i hit the blinkers. i didnt even charge my battery, thats how i know changing the ground wire worked wonders. i went with a thick gauge if that helps. goodluck man. -440 mopar
Mopar Lover
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From: Michigan: The First Line of Defense From The Canadians!
Well, did you check to see what the alternator output is yet? On the black wire? It should kick in by 1200-1400 rpm. He's right about checking the grounds. Is the ground strap still on the rear of the engine, going to the firewall on the passenger side?
Last edited by scotts74birds; Jun 1, 2009 at 11:03 PM.
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ok, so it wasnt the battery or the alternator. turnz out the my ignition switch took a shiet and burnt all the wires. i replaced the switch and now the beast is charged and ready to go. also replaced all the fuses. only thing is for sum dum *** reason the new switch didnt come with the plastic the seperates the wires and noone has it around here. i have pics of it but photobucket is being gay. anyone kno where i can pick one up?
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