xisien

iTrader: (1)

yeah i pulled a battery out of my van as it had the same exact battery in it. Funny thing is that my van started up fine on the old battery that was in the car after sitting for 2 days. 4 hours after the van battery was in car.. dead.

I'm in the process of pulling the new alternator off and trading it in. Pulled the battery completely out and following the lines completely, also checking any other wiring I can get to. Going to put in a new neg and crimp in a new positive. Also going to put on a new alt belt.. will see where this gets me.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

Ok so.. more fun, and I'm really starting to dislike refurbished alternators... well.. when pulled the new one back off and turned has a rough/flat sounding spot in it when turning it. Went down to the local AutoZone tested the new alternator after pulled off, one store tested out bad, but they had none in stock so went to the other store that had some in stock.

This other store tested the one I just pulled off a 2nd time.. tested good. Their machines are junk as I've had alternators with bad syllanoids test out fine. Told them I want to go ahead and swap it as I've had good alternators test out bad.

They pulled another refurbished alternator out, it was covered in dust, and looked as though somebody just pulled it off a car. Made them test it out and it tested out good... Get home put it on the car and put some Tsunami gold plated cable terminals on. Start the car, it looks fine then all the sudden the battery and brake light come on. Notice that when idling and lights are turned on the lights are dim, when revved they brighten up, but when positive cable removed the car dies instantly. Far as I know these are suppose to be signs of a bad alternator, or am I missing something?

Every indication I have seen says that indicates a bad alternator, I mean seriously!!? What is the luck of having 3 bad alternators? My thought is there is a plug that hooks into the alternator, where does this connect to coming off the alternator, and could this possibly be bad and causing this?

Also I have seen somewhere that the fuse that is located on the positive battery terminal could mess with these lights. Its hard to believe that the only place you can get the positive assembly with fuse is from the manuf for 200+ (sorry thats a little high for just a cable assembly). Does this mean you can never add aftermarket cables or terminals!?

BTW I double checked all the connections 3 or 4 times, as I just couldn't believe this alternator is bad too.

senate6268

iTrader: (20)

Have you checked all your ground points to make sure they are tight and corrosion free? There is a ground cable on the timing cover, a large gauge that goes to the transmission bellhousing and another that goes to the frame behind the driver's side headlight.

In regards to adding aftermarket wires with that stock 200a on-terminal fuse, it can be done. I have my battery relocated to my trunk. I have a 0ga wire running to the engine bay that connects to a 250a inline fuse and then connects to the harness and alternator wires.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

checked the bellhousing and the frame behind the driver's side headlight, will have to double check the timing cover ground where is this ground coming off, as there are only two main grounds off the cable itself, the bellhousing and the frame.

I notice there is another fuse in the box under the hood does this serve the same purpose as the one on the terminal? As it seems the same wires were running into it.

I figured the fuse can be bypassed if needed, as I have seen a few car pics with aftermarket cables/terminals.

I'm ready to start banging my head on something... thinking will just take it up and have it diagnosed.. although there is a good chance they will not get it right, and then I just wasted money and time.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

Checked battery this morning and on a good note it hadn't drained after sitting for 4-5 hours... the downside after running for a few min the batt/brake light flickered again.

blaze_125

iTrader: (8)

Nope. You got it right.
The battery is only storage for power for when you want to crank the car, or use electronics while the engine is not running. The alternator is actually what keeps your car running regardless if the battery is connected or not. If you disconnect the battery and the engine dies right away, it's a bad alternator.

When I changed mine, the shop I baught it from said something about Lancer alternators being tricky to rebuild. Apparently they aren't built like every other alternator and most rebuilder fail at rebuilding Lancer alternators. The alt will test fine on the test bench, but will fail when you install it in the car.

Look for a different source for your rebuilt alternator.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the info,

I informed autozone of this, and the guy actually began to argue with me... told me that on newer vehicles you cannot check the alternator by removing the positive cable. After he informed me it is very rare to get a bad rebuilt alternator, I informed him of how often I have gotten a bad rebuilt through the years. He informed me that they have 2 certified mechanics working there and he would be happy to let me talk to one.. I didn't feel like debating with him any longer, so just informed him I will pass on talking to 2 "good" certified mechanics that work at a part store and test alternators through the battery cables rather than at the alternator itself.

Dropped it off at the auto electric shop a few min ago.. will see what they say.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

Wow I have never had this much problem with autozone before... Well had it checked and sure enough the voltage regulator is bad on the new one. Shop will put a new bosch in, and give it to me at their cost plus labor.. which is pretty cheap for the part and only like 75.00 to put it in.

Well the problem is they of course will have to charge a core charge, autozone has now sold me 2 bad rebuilt alternators I will not get another from them. So i call them and let them know of the situation, since they cannot produce my old alternator they said they will credit me an additional 80.00 to cover the other core charge I will have to pay. Informed them that the other core charge is 110.00 they told me thats all they will do and I will just have to bite the other 30.00.

Well at this point I am pissed because I am having to eat another 30.00 because they do not keep have good rebuilt alternators. Funny thing is the store manager didn't understand this and said thats all he can do.

03lances

iTrader: (14)

I am really leaning toward some kind of power drain on your car. You said you switched batts in your vehicles and let them both sit, You tried to start ur mitsu with the known good batt with similair result to the other batt and let the van sit for 2 days and started fine with the batt in question, you have already ruled the batt out I know but going through everything here. So now back to the mitsu, you let the good batt sit in it for a few hours and had the same problem. Now if the alternator was the problem there should have been no reason for the batt to drain while sitting unless the short was in the alternator itself which I guess could be too. i would suggest after confirming you have a good alternator if the problem persists then take a multi meter or even a continuity tester and check for continuity between the ground cable going to your batt and various components in your engine compartment. Something in there could have easily vibrated loose and be making contact where its not supposed to causing a drain. Hope this helps somewhat.

blaze_125

iTrader: (8)

It's not a power drain. The alternator is crap. If it was a power drain it would have to be something that drains more power than the alternator can put out and I really doubt that guy is running a 100 000watt sound system while he's troubleshooting an electrical problem.

Car dies when battery is disconnected = Bad Alternator!

Once your alternator has crapped out, every time you crank the car you start draining the battery. After a few times the battery goes dead and you need to charge it again. In some occasion you may get lucky and the alt might decide to charge one in a while. So you'd crank the car, you get lucky and the alternator starts charging your battery again. You shut everything off, crank it again and now the alt goes back into "f you" mode and doesn't do **** but sit there and do nothing; so your battery starts draining.

Now please, if I'm totally out of my mind and wrong; I sure hope someone will set the record straight.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

Well the shop confirmed bad voltage regulator in alternator, after going at it to get my money back for the junk alternators from autozone and they covered the extra diff in core charge for the new alternator after I called corporate on them and got the district manager involved. I went ahead and had the shop put in.

So has new bosch alternator in it. The shop checked grounds and cables and said they seem fine, they couldn't find anything with them. Well now know the alternator is good, and when got up this morning batt was drained again.. so back to square one.

blaze_125

iTrader: (8)

That means you got part of the equation solved.
1. the alternator was bad. fixed
2. battery keeps draining.

To ensure 1 is actually solved, does the motor keep running if you disconnect the battery?

Now how about you give us a breakdown of everything electrical you added or changed on your car?
Got an alarm system?
Grounding kit?
Changed the head unit?
Got a sound system with amps?
Do your lightsautomatically shut off when you exit the car?
Have you blown a fuse lately? Which one was it? Why did it blow?
What's the last unusual thing that happened to your car shortly before this started happening?(storm, mods, ran out of fuel, hit a huge pothole, etc...)

D420mac

iTrader: (1)

I have similar issues

xisien

iTrader: (1)

To ensure 1 is actually solved, does the motor keep running if you disconnect the battery? YES after 3 alternators its finally good heh

Now how about you give us a breakdown of everything electrical you added or changed on your car? taillights and ram intake are the only things added at this point. Taillights connected using the OEM connector. Had no problems for 2 weeks after they were added. After this happened changed out the battery cable terminal to some Tsunami terminals and pulled the grounds from bellhousing and beside battery the 2 spots where my negative cable is running to ensure they were getting good connection. Checked the other grounds via diagram from alldata


Got an alarm system? NO

Grounding kit? NO

Changed the head unit? NO

Got a sound system with amps? NO only factory

Do your lightsautomatically shut off when you exit the car? When ignition is turned off if they are accidentally left on yes, although I shut them off myself to ensure they are off

Have you blown a fuse lately? Which one was it? Why did it blow? NO

What's the last unusual thing that happened to your car shortly before this started happening?(storm, mods, ran out of fuel, hit a huge pothole, etc...) Nothing was running perfect no problems starting etc.. No majorly bad weather and definately have not hit any potholes. Got up one morning it started fine went to work, got off work and it was dead.


Have checked with 2 Different batteries, using 2 different vehicles and they are fine in my van. Also had 1 battery checked by 3 different locations, and the other by 4 different locations.

When hooked up to jumpers after sitting for approx 3 1/2 - 4 hours doesnt have to charge for long starts immediately although you can tell it is ran down a little, its not a strong strong turnover.

When started every 2 hours or so starts fine. Once started runs great, no problems when lights are on they do not dim while running etc...

This is why I'm baffled.

xisien

iTrader: (1)

D420 have you had yours checked and narrowed it down any at all?