Just had to put a new alternator in my car, and when i got the car back the alternator was not even plugged in to the battery. So after driving down the street my lights start to dim and my gauges go crazy, and my car dies..
this is when i noticed my alternator was unplugged. So i get my friend to jump my car(with his sti) drive around the block and the same thing happens.


Any ideas?

 

Are you sure the alternator is hooked up right? The car can run straight off the alternator without a battery while the cars running. IT sounds like when he jumped your car, it charged the battery enough to keep it running a little longer.

How old is the battery?

If you have a multimeter, while the car is running, put the positive lead on the positive wire of the alternator, and ground out the ground lead, and see how many volts the alternator is pushing.

If the alternator is hooked up right, pushing 12-14v, then you probably should get a new battery

Do you have a recipt? Most batterys have a warrenty when you buy them lasting around 3 years.

 

The alternator was not installed by me, but was installed by a respected evo mechanic. I will check the alternator voltage. So it will run when the car is jumped regardless if the battery is bad?

 

Yes, if your alternator is hooked up right and is good, the car should run until you turn it off, once you jump it.

 

by the way, when you test the alternator, put the lead on the wire that goes to the positive battery terminal. The negative can go to the battery ground, sence its close

 

The alternator was brand new... The plug was unplugged. i plugged it back in with same results.

 

I troubleshooted alot of alternators before. Maby the ground wire on the alternator is not hooked up, or is bad. I would just double check the wiring on the alternator to make sure everything is hooked up right.

If the mechanic forgot to hook up the positive wire to the battery, then he isnt a very good mechanic.

 

Agreed on his so called skillz. Pissed me off good. He also charged me 300 in labor to do this.
I will double check the alternator. When i touch the lead wire, do you mean the plug that connects to the alternator? Sorry for stupid questions.

 

300 dollars for labor? I bet he finished the job in under an hour. Anyways, the wire going from the alternator to the battery. I would disconnect that wire from the battery, put the positive multimeter lead on it, then put the negative lead of the multimeter on a bracket, or the negative battery terminal.

Make sure the multimeter is set to VDC or DC. it should say 12-14volts.

If you are still stuck, I would call the mechanic and tell him what is wrong. He should fix his mistake free of charge, if not then theres probably some legal action you can take to get your money back, but i don't know.

 

Exactly.. 300 my ***. i called him all he says is let me know what you figure out, and if you can get the car here ill take a look at it. I will have to check the alternator when i can get a jump.

 

Could it be possible for the battery to have a dead cell in it, thus limiting the current through the battery so the car would not be able to run?

 

Any ideas?? It's raining so im still waiting to test the alternator.

 

If the car doesn't stay running after its been jumped, Its not battery related. I strongly believe its your alternator not being hooked up right.

If the battery is toast, but the alternator is strong. The car should be able to be jumped and run until you turn it off.

If the battery is good, but the alternator is bad/not hooked up the jump will charge the battery a short while, but the car will die a few minutes after the jump.

 

Thanks for the help. from what i can tell the alternator is all hooked up. I need to test the alternator unfortunately it's poring rain.

 

Finally got a chance to test the alternator today. Jumped the car hooked it up to a volt meeter, and the alternator is good. Also the car is now holding a charge and running.. for now. Any ideas why my car is acting haunted?