What up group?
About a week ago my car had some electrical problems while driving. I was on the freeway & noticed my dash lights were more dim than normal. I typically keep the rheostat (dimmer) knob at a low setting, but this was unusally low. I tried to brighten it up, but the light level remained the same. So I changed my path & drove directly home.

On the way home, I checked a few things. e.g., the light level with stereo on & off. It got worse with stereo on & at one point the stereo actually cut off when I switched the headlights on & off. I never stopped the car until i got home. I turned off the ignition & immediately tried to start it, but it was dead. (no starter turning - not even a click, interior lights were very dim, ...)

I let my battery charge for several days, but it never reached 100% level like it normally does. Yesterday I got my Haynes manual out ready to diagnose my charging system. I started it while it was still connected to the charger & it fired right up as it normally does. I disconnected the charger & measured voltage level with no extra electrical load. It only showed 12.5 volts. I then turned on my lights & then my stereo. With each added load the voltage dropped ~0.5 volts per load. This was all measured at idle. I never measured @ 3,000 rpm

Anyway, I drove it around the neighborhood (all of 3 mins of driving?). Came back & measured idle voltage & now it was at 9.5 VOLTS!!!

As for electrical load aside from stock, I have a couple of amps & a high output stereo; & high-power headlights. the foglights are standard bulbs that come on eclipses.

I'm thinking my alternator needs replacing because it sure wasn't charging the battery when the car was crunk. According to sources it should have measured between 13-14 volts. ( if I recall?). I last replaced the alternator back in the 90's. so it very well could be the culprit. I have replaced the battery at least 3 times in the past 5 years & I fear i may need to replace it again because of a faulty alternator.

That being said, does anyone know where i can get a 90 amp galant alternator or high output alternator that will fit our cars? I'm wanting a higher output than the standard 75 amp because of the extra electrical load.

Any ideas or referrals?? I need some solutions pretty quickly because I need my ride rolling!!

thanks!

Parts store don't have one?
What about eBay?
The dealership?

Your best bet will be to do this. Replace your battery and retest your charging system. A battery that dead will make an alternator look bad because it will not accept a charge. Then after you replace your battery and if the alternator is good get a capacitor for your stereo. Get one even if the alternator is bad. Just get a stock alternator. There are no higher amperage one's available. The only way to get more amps is to have it rebuilt and that can get spendy. I suggest just buying a Cap. for your stereo and that will solve a ton of your problems.

Yes, there "are" higher amperage alternators than the stock 75amps. There is a 90amp alternator that is made by Mitsubishi no less.

Why not just connect your volt meter to the back of the alternator to see what kind of voltage its putting out? That will tell you if its the alternator. OR just go to Autozone and have them test your battery and or alternator for you. It's free so what do you have to lose?


90amp alternator

You can get a 135 Amp from 4alterstart.com.

RiceKiller_TSi said:

Yes, there "are" higher amperage alternators than the stock 75amps. There is a 90amp alternator that is made by Mitsubishi no less.

Why not just connect your volt meter to the back of the alternator to see what kind of voltage its putting out? That will tell you if its the alternator. OR just go to Autozone and have them test your battery and or alternator for you. It's free so what do you have to lose?


90amp alternator

Click to expand...

A multimeter won't tell you what you need to know & voltage isn't what your looking for. To find the source of the problem you need to get the battery & alternator load tested. If you don't have a load tester your local parts store should be able to test them for you. Checking for voltage is pointless to find out the condition of the battery or alternator.

95blackGsTurbo said:

Your best bet will be to do this. Replace your battery and retest your charging system. A battery that dead will make an alternator look bad because it will not accept a charge. Then after you replace your battery and if the alternator is good get a capacitor for your stereo. Get one even if the alternator is bad. Just get a stock alternator. There are no higher amperage one's available. The only way to get more amps is to have it rebuilt and that can get spendy. I suggest just buying a Cap. for your stereo and that will solve a ton of your problems.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice. I'm suspecting the alternator because i ave replaced the battery a few times; the last time was ~18 -24 months ago. Replacing it again seems a premature life to me. esp with the extra electrical load I have since installing new stereo equipment in the past year.

Another reason I suspect there may be something with my alternator & charging system is because I typically keep my battery connected to a battery charger while its parked at home. I started doing this ~ 1 year ago because of the problems I was having keeping it fully charged.

I don't know how installling a cap will improve my charging system tho? Won't that just ensure that my amp/stereo gets enuff juice?

RiceKiller_TSi said:

Yes, there "are" higher amperage alternators than the stock 75amps. There is a 90amp alternator that is made by Mitsubishi no less.

Why not just connect your volt meter to the back of the alternator to see what kind of voltage its putting out? That will tell you if its the alternator. OR just go to Autozone and have them test your battery and or alternator for you. It's free so what do you have to lose?


90amp alternator

Click to expand...

Good point about having Autozone or Pep boys test it (or both). I'll do this this week sometime if I'm in town.

daren_p said:

A multimeter won't tell you what you need to know & voltage isn't what your looking for. To find the source of the problem you need to get the battery & alternator load tested. If you don't have a load tester your local parts store should be able to test them for you. Checking for voltage is pointless to find out the condition of the battery or alternator.

Click to expand...

Thanks Daren. I'm not sure I agree that voltage testing is pointless tho. In the Haynes manual it indicates that if the voltage (while car is running) is above or at 13-14 volts, then the alternator is doing its job. if not, then i suspect it could be bad.

I'm prertty sure i'm gonna replace the alternator anyway. I read a "rule of thumb" calculation somewhere that gives an approximate amperage requirement for your alternator based on added electrical loads (e.g. aftermarket stereo , amps, etc..). The 65 amp stocker in mine was below that calculated estimate.

I will probably take both to get tested as you have suggested tho.

THANKS FOLKS!!

kahlilj said:

Thanks Daren. I'm not sure I agree that voltage testing is pointless tho. In the Haynes manual it indicates that if the voltage (while car is running) is above or at 13-14 volts, then the alternator is doing its job. if not, then i suspect it could be bad.

I'm prertty sure i'm gonna replace the alternator anyway. I read a "rule of thumb" calculation somewhere that gives an approximate amperage requirement for your alternator based on added electrical loads (e.g. aftermarket stereo , amps, etc..). The 65 amp stocker in mine was below that calculated estimate.

I will probably take both to get tested as you have suggested tho.

THANKS FOLKS!!

Click to expand...

While testing voltage isn't completely useless (as you stated you can test battery & alternator voltage to get a general idea of what the culprit is or where to start looking) I guess I should have used other words, as far as telling the "loaded condition" of either, voltage is useless.

daren_p said:

A multimeter won't tell you what you need to know & voltage isn't what your looking for. To find the source of the problem you need to get the battery & alternator load tested. If you don't have a load tester your local parts store should be able to test them for you. Checking for voltage is pointless to find out the condition of the battery or alternator.

Click to expand...

Not to contradict what you are saying but my DMM will tell me everything I need to know. For $35 I got an inductive lead that when wrapped around the power wire will tell me amps, volts, starter amp draw. Anything I need to know. I can put it around the alternator wire and turn all the loads on the vehicle on and it will tell me how many amps are being put out. Now not everyone on here needs one but since I work on cars for a living it is a VERY handy tool. But as far as a normal voltmeter. It will basically just tell you if your voltage is low or high and if your battery is dead. A lot of time's a battery is so dead it won't take a charged and people mistake that for a bad alternator.

I dont believe your optima died after 4 months. If it did then it's under warantee.

I think the yellow top is a deep cycle battery. Any short period of time with the starter drawing current could ruin it. The red-top is the auto battery made for large current draws. Deep cycle batteries are great because you can charge them and discharge them a million times without ruining the battery, but you can't draw large sustained amounts of current through them.

OK threadjackers , here's what's up:

Removed alternator (finally!) & took both it & battery to car parts store to be tested. (Actually went to both Pep Boys & Autozone.. long story). Alternator failed all tests @ AZ (regulator, rectifier, load, ...). Alternator also failed at Pep Boys. They had some analog gauge setup. The guy said it was overcharging & shot.

However, my battery was in excellent shape believe it or not. They measured voltage (12.9) & CCA (800+). The CCA value was odd to me. The battery is rated at 700 CCA, but tested higher?? wonder if it's a combination of me (nervously) connecting it to a battery charger almost nightly for a slow trickle auto charge & the alternator over charging? or one of the other or both??

New 90 amp alternator on order. I hope it arrives early next week.

Good to hear you got your problem resolved.

RiceKiller_TSi said:

Good to hear you got your problem resolved.

Click to expand...

Thanks Ricekiller, but that's only half the problem. Now I have to fix this oil leak near the alternator. From researching on here, apparently hundreds of ppl have had with this problem too! (Alternator getting oil-soaked.) It still is not clear to me if it's from the PS fluid or engine oil.

So the repair continues ....

Well I finally replaced my alternator recently. I installed a 90 amp unit because of my sounds (3 amps: 1 for front stage, 1 for rear speakers & a sub amp.)

I had already replaced the alternator once ~8 years ago, but my electrical system has still seemed kinda faulty. I have replaced my battery a couple of times most recently ~2 years ago. In the past year, I have usually kept it hooked to a battery charger when parked at home just to make sure the battery would stay charged.

Install story:
1) Turns out the old alternator was shot, but the battery was actually good as new. Old alternator was probably prematurely killed for 2 reasons: large electrical load (amps & new stereo were all installed in the past 18 mos.) & especially the oil leak.

2) I ordered the higher amp alternator off eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...TRK:MEWN:IT
paid $60 for a brand new one.

3) Decided that I better locate & repair the oil leak. After reading several threads about oil leaking onto & damaging alternators, it seemed the leak could either be engine oil or steering pump fluid. It was hard for me to determine which source it was. It's not like I could start my car & let it run at this point.

4) I decided based on proximity that it had to be the steering pump. I read in one of these threads that there is a repair kit for these. I figured I'd open it up first to see if there were any obvious signs of leakage before trying to get a kit. I saw nothing unusual so I decided to just fasten things back together, but tighter. This is where the trouble (& solution began). See pics

5) I tried to tighten the bolts that hold the pressure hose to the pump - the bolt head snapped off ... ok, i'll find another one lying around. I then tightened the 2nd one, SNAP! same thing!! It snapped off "smooth in two" as well! oil is starting to slowly leak of course. i removed the hose from that fitting & placed it upwards so there was not gravity feed.

6) I eventually found new screws (thanks "pull-a-part! ), but this time decided to bond things a lil better with some RTV ultra black sealant: http://store.summitracing.com/egnse...44&autoview=sku
it worked great!

7) Next, had to reinstall the hose with banjo fitting to the pump & decided to check out my haynes manual just to make sure I was not missing anything. The manual states that when connecting the hose "be sure that both copper washers are in place". Wait a sec, both?? as in TWO?!!? Why was I only seeing ONE on mine! a-HA! This was the source of my leak right?... umm no. Methinks that Haynes manual is wrong. I verified this by dismantling a few (3) similar Eclipses at pull-a-part. None of them had 2 copper washers - just one, like mine.

8) Soooo back home I go to apply the sealant to this banjo fitting & get my car running - Finally! after applying the sealant at the base of the fitting (not over the holes!... duh!), I tried setting the banjo fitted hose on top of the bolt, but it would not seat properly. I had to bend the metal end tab of the pressure hose fitting to get enough space for it to seat firmly. (if you look at the 2nd pic it shows the black metal tab from the botton fitting which omes up near the banjo bolt & hose. that tab part is what i had to bend slightly).

9) Finally got everything connected & car runs fine... been over a weak & absolutely no leaks sounds are bumping & oil is staying where it's supposed to

lessons learned:
* still not sure about the 2 copper washers on the hose with the banjo bolt, but the RTV sealant (which is rated for oil & hi-temp service) works like a charm so far.

* easiest way to remove the alternator is to remove the radiator fan in front of it & pull it from the bottom. HOWEVER if u are going to repair/refurbish the steering pump, then remove the pump instead & remove the alternator from the top.

* Use the RTV sealant (oil & hi temp service rated, the black kind is) in addition to the washers. I left my washers intact, but used the sealant for added leakage prevention.

hope this helps.
kahlil

autotozne or pep boys only test for about 11 volts, the car needs at least 12.5 to operate properly. I'v etaken a few alternators which "tested good" and had my dashlights light up like a christmas tree. YOure best bet is that one from ebay, which is basically what canadian dsms come with them as standard equippment. THat 135 amp looks so sexy though.

The alterstart is nice, but does not take too well to cams. Power output is nothing special at idle at all.

The alterstart company does stand up to the lifetime warranty, you only pay for shipping. I think oil out the dipstick killed the first one so I made a sheetmetal panel and all has been well.

After driving it for a while the idle volts are pretty lame, around 12 volts. As soon as you get into it around 2k rpm back to 13.8.