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Battery Drains and Car Dies While Driving

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Krueger84

Probationary Member
9
0
Jul 24, 2010
Destin, Florida
I've been having this problem for about 3 weeks now..... The car will just die on me while driving and the battery just drains to about 8 volts. I replaced the alternator but no luck, the problem still exists. Im not sure if it has anything to due with it, but my srs light came on a few days before it started happening, also the battery light wont come on when i start the car, all of the other lights do except for the that one. Anytime this happens, i have to jump start the car, but sometimes itll only drive for a couple of minutes. Im lost and the mechanic that was checking it is too. Thanks in advance for the help.
 
Check with a volt meter and see what the alt is charging!!!!!!! just because u got a new or rebuilt alt does not mean it is good. A draw has nothing to do with a car that is running. the SRS light and others will come on due to low voltage. Check all your fuses u may have a blown fuse.
 
This happend to me and it was simple fix. My car came with a stock amp, and the guy unpluged the amp and left a live wire under the driver seat...awesome..after that she started up and held charge...needless to say he motor was out 2 days later :hellyeah:
 
Battery could be toast as well.

Maintence free doesn't usually mean reliable.
 
i have checked the fuze box and no fuzes are blown, the battery doesnt seem to drain while the car is off and battery leads have been cleaned. I really have no clue what it could be.
 
Your alternator is crap man. When I first bought my GS-T this happened to me. And if you run it too long like that lights start flickering and crap while your driving. It sucks. Just replace it.
 
On this topic of alternator fuse: I went through this same problem on my daughter's 91 Eclipse-new alternator and battery and the battery was draining and no charge from the alternator.

Took the alternator in for a check where I bought it (no Autocrapzone place for me, but a well-known alternator repair shop here in my town..) and it checked out good...but he did mention to me on checking that ALT fuse.

Guess what, he was right. that 80A alternator fuse-even though it looked good, was wide open with one leg broken off way deep inside the fuse.

Went out to a yard and yanked a couple of these fuses from busted up DSM's.

NOW, here's the surprise: those fuses are NOT plugged in as with the rest-they are bolted down by two bolts on each side of that fuse. Two, 10mm bolts is what holds thus fuse down in that block mounted next to the passenger shock tower.

Put that new fuse in, put everything back together and the Mitsu was running like a top and charging very well with the ALT putting out 13.9vdc by my digital VOM.

Something to think about.

DSM
 
No I agree with the 80 amp alternator fuse. I have have it happen to me and your symptoms are exactly what mine were. Check that first I am 99.99 percent sure!
 
Thanks, I will definitely check that fixed. The alternator was already replaced with a new one. I'll post my results as soon as I do it.
 
Well I'm back to the drawing board. I tried replacing the alternator fuse and still no luck. I took the car to a technician and he couldn't find the problem either. He recommended replacing the ecm but I don't want to.buy one if mine is good. Anymore ideas? I'm about ready to give up
 
Is your alternator belt slipping? if it's slips it will act like a dying battery or a faulty alternator. also, measure what the output voltage is at the alternator when running. that will help us a lot.
 
It sounds like your alternator. Check your belt. Make sure it is not slipping. Check your alternator by doing an output test under load. A good shop or Oreillys can do this for you. It takes about 15 minutes.

Is yours doing the crap where it only does this when you run ac? I had mine doing that in the GST turns out the alternator was putting out just enough to charge the battery but if I turned on the ac it was actually putting out only enough to keep the battery from going dead.
 
Check your alternator by doing an output test under load. A good shop or Oreillys can do this for you. It takes about 15 minutes.

What ^^ said. When you asked someone for an alternator load test, a lot of retards at shops will usually hook up a voltmeter to the battery terminals while the car is running and say, "yup, alternator's workin man". :rolleyes: This is not a load test.

Reading material here - http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/art...55-alternator-issues-brake-battery-light.html


Thanks, I will definitely check that fixed. The alternator was already replaced with a new one. I'll post my results as soon as I do it.

Where did you get this new alternator from?
 
Both are excellent write-ups on self testing the charging/electrical systems..

....and that is what my DSM was doing before I did put a new ALT in .. battery and brake light would flash off and on on occasion.

Took it off, took it to a respectable ALT shop here in town (won't get caught showing my face at Autozone) and they told me that my ALT was signing its death warrant.

Got a rebuilt one from them and have been good since.

If you go out to yards to find busted up DSM's for that 80A fuse and have been all taken, look at other Mitsus, for some of them also used that 80A alternator fuse..

good luck-DSM
 
The tensioner for our alternators is a joke on the 1g and even 2g.

I'd suggest trying to find a new one period. They are not easy to find but you can find them new.
 
The belt isn't slipping and the alternator was bought new from O'reillys. I'll have to take it to get the alternator output but probably won't b able to til Saturday. Thanks for all the suggestions. By the way, the car starts at around 13.5 v and drains slowly, the ac and lights just make it drain faster.
 
sounds like the voltage regulator in the alternator but first double-check your battery. are the fluids up? if the alternator is good, then it seems the battery just plain isn't holding a charge.
 
My friend at the alt./starter shop said it could be the ECU.
 
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