so last week i noticed my amps gauge thing was way low, and when i would have my headlights + the heat on, my headlights would be noticeably dimmed. i go out.....thursday, car wont start. charge battery, battery was wayyy low. car starts fine thursday, once. come out friday morning try to start it again, no go. car battery is dead again. now heres my question. what could this be? just a bad battery? i noticed a crack on my positive cable connector @ the battery, could that do this? can the alternator drain the battery when the car is off? thanks guys
Fix or replace the positive battery cable. If you don't have good connections your charging system won't work worth a crap. Charge the battery again and either take the battery to have it tested or try it again in the car. The alternator won't drain a battery, but it can't charge it properly if you've got dirty or broken connections.
From tha sounds of it i would say the alt went bad. You say with lights and heater on the lights dim really bad? Take the alt out and to auto zone/schucks or similiar parts store and they can check it for free! I just got a remanurfactured alt for my 92 notch and with my oldone it was like $65. If the alt is bad the reason for the dim lights and so forth was prob. because you were running on stright battery power. peace john
Replace the cables and the Alt and you will be fine. Auto Zone will test the Alt for you free and the cables are cheap.
start the car and let it idle for a couple secs, take off your red cable while car is running. if it continues to run, then your alternator is good, if it shuts off your alt. going bad or already gone.
okay guys thanks for the replies. i took the alternator off and had it tested, it was bad. got a new 80 amp dealy, threw it in, changed the positive cable. NOW, the stock amp gauge still reads pretty low, like 2 notches above the red, and the low battery/low amps warning light is on. thoughts?
update here, if i mash on the gas the light dims/almost goes out. but over the course of about a 20 minute ride the amp gauge steadily went lower and lower until i caved and shot home. any thoughts?
If the alt is working, have the batt tested. If you have a DC voltmeter, check batt voltage with the car off. With a normally charged battery, you should have something like 12.5 or above. Then start the car, and with the engine running, check it and you should see a higher level, at least 12.9 to 13.9 or so. It should stay there with the lights, ac, etc on also. You must have good connections at both ends of the batt cables also. Especially the ground cable. I would guess that the batt has died also. I have gotten in the habit of just replacing batteries when the starter begins to sound slow when cranking. The Autozone folks always want to test, I tell them to test after I get my new battery and go home.... If that does not work, check for battery drains, glovebox light on, or similar.
Batteries can go south when they are not secure (lead plates shift and break) or get shorted (ie: hood makes contact on terminals). If you replace, make sure to get rubber terminal covers as added protection against accidental shorting.
wellll thanks for the input guys, new battery, same problems. next? amp light stays on. also, i noticed the screws holding the alternator together, as in not the ones holding the alternator to the bracket. were loose. i tightened them, and its much quieter, but same problems. should i pull the alternator and request another?
i used to have that problem and got sick of messing with it so i went out and bought a 140 amp 1 wire alt and never had problems again...
