Battery is dying..

[deputy865]

I think its my Alternator. The battery does NOT last long. Not even a day.. I just want to make sure it is the alternator though. I do have an exhaust leak at the o2 housing/downpipe connection.. How can i do an easy check to see if my alternator is bad? If it is a bad alternator, anyone know where i can get a cheap one? Estimate of what its going to cost to have it put in?

Thanks,

Shane

 

[djmixerx]

your 02 housing might be over heating the alternator. Heat kills the alternator. If you have a voltmeter plug it to the battery and see if it holds above 13.5-14volts. Get a alternator at like a kragen or Oreily's. They have lifetime warrenty on there alternators.

 

[deputy865]

I have an SAFCII... When the car is on.. It will go to 13.5-14v .. But thats it.. When its off.. It sits at like 12-13.2v.

Whats going to be the cost to have this thing put in? Doesnt exactly look like something i can do myself..

Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

you can change an alternator yourself and as far as cost goes did you want to get a brand new one or a used one

 

[deputy865]

Is it fairly easy to put in yourself? Like.. No tricks to it? Because my tools are limited.. VERY limited..

Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

if you have never done it before it might take like an hour or so give or take a few minutes and if you have a metric socket set and a 10 or 12mm box wrench im not sure which one you might need you might just be able to get away with just the sockets thats about all you would need and might want to jack your car up to do it so if you have a jack and a metric socket set then your good to go and time of course

 

[deputy865]

Perfect. I should be able to do it myself then for sure.. Any tricks to it or is it just basic bolt-on?

Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

if i remeber right when i had to do it on my 2g when i had it it was just take the old one off put the new one on its just getting to all the bolts and such i have it down to where i can change one out in 20 25 min =)

AutoZone.com | Vehicle Selection - Year

there is a link to the auto zone repair guide go about 3/4 of the way down and you will find the removal and install instructions for the turbo model

 

[sLiCRiC911]

while the car is running disconect the + battery terminal.. if the alternator is good it will still keep the car running off its own charge.... if the car dies out.. time to get another alternator...OR.. test the voltage on the alternator.. you want to be as colse as it can to 14Volts

 

[djmixerx]

if the alternator hits up to 14v I would check both battery and alternator. Bring it to the autoparts shop and have them test them both.

 

[sandiballs287]

does your battery die while your driving it? or just when you leave it parked? and do you have a stereo system? because i had a problem where if dont run my car for at least 2 days my battery would dead when i get to it. come to find out i had subs and set up wrong so it drained my battery somehow.

 

[datrip]

I too had a stereo that was wired up wrong years ago. It would drain my battery in a few days and I was having to carry a jumper box with me to work each day.

 

[jumpfroggy]

Sometimes if there's been other problems with the electrical system, it can kill batteries. I've had it happen to me a few times where something goes wrong (like an alternator dying), I fix it, and the battery keeps dying. Turns out the previous problems have killed the battery and I needed a new one.

If you're holding 14v+ while running, seems like the alternator is ok. I'd take out the battery and get it tested at a local autozone or similar (if they do that where you are). My guess is it's a old/dead battery.

It also could be something to do with the charging system, if it turns out not to be the alternator. I'd check the battery and alternator first, though.

Alternator is easy to do. Takes a while just because it's wedged in there, but you loosen things up, take it out, put the new one in, tighten things up. The time consuming parts are things like figuring out how to loosen the belt, and how to physically remove it (may have to remove power steering bracket a little). Get a manual and follow the steps, it's not bad. Budget about 4 hours (I could probably do it in 1 hr now, but took a while the first time) and have a way to go to the store to buy tools if you need (or borrow if you can). Not bad, you can probably do it.

 

[deputy865]

Well as soon as i get it jumped and started ill try unplugging the battery. I hope its just the battery..

Before it was doing this but it was just a bad terminal. I fixed it and everything was good. Now its dieing again.. Ive had the same stereo in there for awhile and no problems. I just think my exhaust leak is taking its toll on the alternator now..

Off topic.. But i want to get my exhaust rehung (at a shop).. My car has a full exhaust, but no Cat.. Will they even touch it to rehang it for me or no?

Thanks.

Shane

 

[92_talon_awd]

In my experience when my alternator goes bad, my car won't crank and I can't even get it to crank while hooked up with jumper cables. Put in a new alternator and BAM, the battery that wouldn't even turn over the motor 20 minutes ago starts the car no problem. As far as your exhaust, if you don't have safety or emissions inspections in your state, a local shop probably won't care about no cat, but then the only way you will know for sure is to ask, it's not like they'll call the EPA on you or anything .

 

[deputy865]

Ok went out there to check it today. There is NOTHING. Usually the door ajar alarm would go off and my SAFCII would turn on when i put the key into the "ON" position. Now the dash lights are extremely dim and nothing comes on.. Im leaking power someplace. Battery problem?

Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

sounds like your battery is dead and wont hold a charge anymore same thing happened to my 2g right before i sold it my serpintine belt came off and i had it off for a day or two and when i put a new one on the battery wouldnt charge anymore so it was toast so after i put the new belt on and a new battery in it started right up

 

[deputy865]

Well i hope none of my belts are off.

I jumped my car.. It holds at 14v-14.1v at idle.. I unplugged the battery while it was on.. NOTHING happened. When im driving the car runs from 13.5v-13.7v

So is it safe to say its my battery? I did have some battery clamp problems. Could have did something to the battery.. I fixed those though. The battery isnt even a year old. My last one had the same problem.. Thank god for 1 year warranties

Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

what kind of battery was it like a cheapy from pepboys or auto zone or like an optima casue i had an optima and those things last forever

 

[deputy865]

Some $60 one from Autozone....

First mistake hahaha


Shane

 

[90redtalontsi]

haha when i got my optima i got a used one from auto zone and it lasted for a year and i sold it and i still talk to the owner and he said its still going so it was good i would take it back since its under warrenty and try and see if they have any used optimas if you dont want to spend like 150$ but if they dont have any i would try and get a decent like interstate battery or something like that with a good name

 

[deputy865]

Yea im not even sure what kind mine is.. Off brand for sure.. My belts squeak now when i start it.... Annoying squeak.. A DSM shouldnt sound like some PoS!.. Any way to lube up the belts? It goes away after a minute or 2.. But i hate it..

Shane

 

[jumpfroggy]

Did you post the voltage of the battery when the car's off yet? That's a good indicator of a bad battery.

 

[92_talon_awd]

Lube the belts? Just check the tension on them, they probably need tightened. If not, it's most likely one of your components squeaking like alternator or water pump And it's 100% possible to get a good voltage reading off of a battery that is junk, the true way to test it is to test the amperage output. Just take it down to a parts store so they can load test it. +1 for Optima batteries

 

[90redtalontsi]

check to make sure one of your belts isnt bad it might squeak before it goes bad or becasue its loose so tighten it up and i agree take your battery to like pep boys auto zone whatever is near you and they can do a load test to determain if your batt is shot or not