SpawnedX
Banned Member
- 4,016
- 56
- May 18, 2004
-
West Warwick,
Rhode Island
Let me forewarn you, in order to understand why I think this could be a possible alternator failure I will need to explain a rather detailed set of events, so this post might be rather lengthy.
I first purchased my 1997 Eclipse GS-T in October 2003, it came with an Eclipse (the car audio company not a Mitsubishi stock radio) deck and an EQ of unkown origins (this is relevant). I noticed that everytime I put my radio over a certain volume level it cut the sound to the speakers. I also noticed that if you held the clutch in, say you were at red light in first, the volume would cut out to the speakers after a minute or so. I figured the wiring was shoddy, because my passenger side tail light also refused to work, I brought the car in for electrical work to find out the wires were burnt and they replaced them and fixed the wiring. I thought this would solve the problem, but it didn't. Next I had to replace my alternator belt, and every time I replaced it, it would squeal each time, until the third new belt we put on the problem seemed to be resolved.
At this time I noticed a small almost inaudible click past 4k RPMs only in first gear, but my mechanic says it sounds normal, nothing to worry about. Then one day the clicking spread all the way to 3rd and then became a loud almost sounding like a stove pilot trying to light, but not consistently coming from the block, I noticed the power dying to the car (I was on the highway) and had to continiously downshift to keep enough power to the car to get it off the exit, when I got it off the exit a loud pop/bang was heard from the block and the car died out (however the car didn't light up like a Christmas tree as I would normally expect in a seized engine).
I turned the car off and walked to a payphone figuring I just blew the engine, the white smoke billowing and the cars refusal to kick over seemed to be a telltale sign. I had the car towed to my house the next day and it has been sitting there waiting for me to replace the engine, which I haven't yet (this took place in March), because of numerous financial reasons too lengthy and boring to discuss.
Today I had my friend jump the car so I had enough battery power to get a cd out of the cd player and lock the doors and yadda yadda. The battery we found out was completely dead the day after we towed it to my house, didn't think too much of it.
Anyway, today my friend had me try to kick it over, so I turned the ignition and it seemed the car was about to start all the gauges engaged properly, except the oil gauge because all my oil was in a pool on the ground where the engine seemingly blew, so I didn't question it, until today when I remembered bottoming out real bad with my car the day before it blew, and maybe I knocked the pan loose and I just happened to lose it on the highway, but didn't hear it because of this electrical pop, and maybe since the oil is suspended in the engine, it just pooled out because the car turned off/engine blew.
Anyway, the turbo gauge was working, the fuel gauge, got a battery light and the door open ligh in the dash, looks like my normal dash board during startup, the doors were open and the battery seems incapable of holding a charge. Just when it seemed like the car was going to kick over the battery lost it's power and the car reset itself, the alarm activating being the telltale sign drawing from my friends running car.
So I started putting all this together, the problems I had with my radio being a possible bad power connection, the alternator belts, and the car wanting to seemingly start and a battery that was no more than a week old going completely dead in an unused car in a day all seem like a possible alternator issue. The oil possibly just being from a pan that was knocked loose and fell off during a coincidental situation, could I be looking at just needing a new battery and alternator, or am I searching for a miracle when all I have is a blown engine and the ticking noise just being the starts of the lovely crankwalk?
Please any and all insight, opinions, ideas, I don't have the money to bring this car to a mechanic just to be told I need a new engine and the money I paid the mechanic to tell me this could be put to replacing the engine (and yes if I replace the engine I am putting in a 6bolt 1g engine).
Thank you in advance.
I first purchased my 1997 Eclipse GS-T in October 2003, it came with an Eclipse (the car audio company not a Mitsubishi stock radio) deck and an EQ of unkown origins (this is relevant). I noticed that everytime I put my radio over a certain volume level it cut the sound to the speakers. I also noticed that if you held the clutch in, say you were at red light in first, the volume would cut out to the speakers after a minute or so. I figured the wiring was shoddy, because my passenger side tail light also refused to work, I brought the car in for electrical work to find out the wires were burnt and they replaced them and fixed the wiring. I thought this would solve the problem, but it didn't. Next I had to replace my alternator belt, and every time I replaced it, it would squeal each time, until the third new belt we put on the problem seemed to be resolved.
At this time I noticed a small almost inaudible click past 4k RPMs only in first gear, but my mechanic says it sounds normal, nothing to worry about. Then one day the clicking spread all the way to 3rd and then became a loud almost sounding like a stove pilot trying to light, but not consistently coming from the block, I noticed the power dying to the car (I was on the highway) and had to continiously downshift to keep enough power to the car to get it off the exit, when I got it off the exit a loud pop/bang was heard from the block and the car died out (however the car didn't light up like a Christmas tree as I would normally expect in a seized engine).
I turned the car off and walked to a payphone figuring I just blew the engine, the white smoke billowing and the cars refusal to kick over seemed to be a telltale sign. I had the car towed to my house the next day and it has been sitting there waiting for me to replace the engine, which I haven't yet (this took place in March), because of numerous financial reasons too lengthy and boring to discuss.
Today I had my friend jump the car so I had enough battery power to get a cd out of the cd player and lock the doors and yadda yadda. The battery we found out was completely dead the day after we towed it to my house, didn't think too much of it.
Anyway, today my friend had me try to kick it over, so I turned the ignition and it seemed the car was about to start all the gauges engaged properly, except the oil gauge because all my oil was in a pool on the ground where the engine seemingly blew, so I didn't question it, until today when I remembered bottoming out real bad with my car the day before it blew, and maybe I knocked the pan loose and I just happened to lose it on the highway, but didn't hear it because of this electrical pop, and maybe since the oil is suspended in the engine, it just pooled out because the car turned off/engine blew.
Anyway, the turbo gauge was working, the fuel gauge, got a battery light and the door open ligh in the dash, looks like my normal dash board during startup, the doors were open and the battery seems incapable of holding a charge. Just when it seemed like the car was going to kick over the battery lost it's power and the car reset itself, the alarm activating being the telltale sign drawing from my friends running car.
So I started putting all this together, the problems I had with my radio being a possible bad power connection, the alternator belts, and the car wanting to seemingly start and a battery that was no more than a week old going completely dead in an unused car in a day all seem like a possible alternator issue. The oil possibly just being from a pan that was knocked loose and fell off during a coincidental situation, could I be looking at just needing a new battery and alternator, or am I searching for a miracle when all I have is a blown engine and the ticking noise just being the starts of the lovely crankwalk?
Please any and all insight, opinions, ideas, I don't have the money to bring this car to a mechanic just to be told I need a new engine and the money I paid the mechanic to tell me this could be put to replacing the engine (and yes if I replace the engine I am putting in a 6bolt 1g engine).
Thank you in advance.
