Electrical problem... Advice Please!

[gstowner]

Hey guys,
I posted a thread over in the problem diagnosis and got some pointers. But here's where i'm at. I have a battery drain/alternator/headlight problem. I have been fighting this problem for a couple weeks now. I take it out and drive it and the battery gets drained. It starts not to run right, lights come on ect. Well I took it out a couple nights ago and it was running fine. I got home and flipped the headlights on and it immediately started running bad. This leads me to believe its something tied in with the headlights. Just now I was checking all the wiring over and 2 of the hot wires on the positive side of the battery (the ones that run to the 100a alternator fuse) is charred and melted up at the battery end. The amp is not blown. Any ideas?

Thanks

 

[timot]

Hey guys,
The amp is not blown. Any ideas?

Thanks

The fuses you mean? Do you have a multimeter? Do your rpms drop when you turn on the lights?

 

[gstowner]

The fuses you mean? Do you have a multimeter? Do your rpms drop when you turn on the lights?

Yeah sorry the fuse is fine. Yeah I have a multimeter. And yes the rpm drop, but I have idle surges too. The two other hot wires running to the positive terminal are the headlight wires. They are a little charred but not as bad as the alternator wires.

 

[timot]

you need to check for voltage drop at the alternator, fuse box and battery. You have compound problems. The idle surge could be you ISC going out and boost leak, which when you turn your lights on the ISC can't compensate for the voltage drop and the idle gets worse. Is this your daily driver?

 

[gstowner]

No this isn't my daily. Now when you're talking voltage drop, you're talkin when the car is running test it then turn the head lights on and see the voltage drop?

 

[timot]

No this isn't my daily. Now when you're talking voltage drop, you're talkin when the car is running test it then turn the head lights on and see the voltage drop?

I'm almost positive your voltage dropping when you turn on the lights, hence it idles lower and runs like crap. Are you charging the battery in between when it dies? What I would do is check voltage drop between the alt and fuse box and fuse box and battery, if you see more than a .3 change your connections are to blame, and I'm going to guess your corrosion around the battery has something to do with that. Test with the car running. And your accessories off.

 

[rajasai420]

If your driving your car around, lights start to come on and it wants to die, then it sounds like you alternator is going bad. Once your car is started the alternator takes over charging duties . Do a voltage drop test and a load test on your charging system.

 

[gstowner]

If your driving your car around, lights start to come on and it wants to die, then it sounds like you alternator is going bad. Once your car is started the alternator takes over charging duties . Do a voltage drop test and a load test on your charging system.

The car only wants to die when headlights are on. I have disconnected the battery when the car is running and the alternator is fine. Its a reman. that I just put in and i've already pulled it and had it tested.

 

[rajasai420]

Did you ever try to hook up voltmeter to your headlights? With the bulb in and the headlight on you should get 12v. Are you getting 14 volts at the battery with the headlights, accessories, and engine on? If not how many volts is it at when it dies? What kind of headlights do you have in there? Maybe you have too high wattage bulbs?