Battery Light Came On After A Hard Night Of Racing?

[bo0st]

Hey guys,

After a hard day at the track, my battery light came on while I was racing. Then my airbag light came on and also the CEL.

I think the CEL just came on due to me having no "cat."

But why would my battery light come on?

I think this may be why so please let me know if I'm close:

I just installed a new cool air intake and I had to move the battery a little bit, so is it just possible that it got a little "loose" and I just need to re-align it?

It still sits in the "battery bay" or what ever it's called, but it just got moved slightly a little bit because my pipes for the cold air were a little too big.

So it was on for about 10 - 20 mins (the battery light, only) then I decided to call it a night & head home.. So I get like a quarter mile away my house and it like boggs down like really bad when I give it gas and all of a sudden my stereo stops working too.. I give it full throttle and it bogs down soo bad and I give it a lil bit of gas and I'm barely moving

I really think it's a battery problem because everything went out all at once like my gauges/ my stereo etc...

What do you guys think? My battery connection just got a little house??

Also here's the mods that I have just incase it helps:

cold air intake
megan racing headers 4-1 to straight pipes (no cat)
billet racing underdrive pulley

Thanks for any help

 

[TurboDSM90]

your alternator took a dump on you. As you drove on with the battery light on, and the battery not charging all you had to power all your electronics was whatever juice was left in the battery. So little by little things stopped working such as the things you mentioned when voltage dropped really low.

That, or the alternator belt came off some how. Check the obvious then take the alternator to get tested at your local auto parts store.

 

[tpaynter]

Yeah it definitely sounds like your alternator is going bad, or the alternator belt could have broke. Did you have the belt on too tight?

 

[Derock2gspyder]

definitly sounds like a alternator problem or possibly the wiring from the alternator to charge the battery! check that out and see!

 

[rlacasse1]

Check the alternator belt and the alternator fuse before you change it out just to make sure.

 

[bo0st]

Thanks guys for the advice. I popped my hood today and found out that my alternator belt came OFF.

Here's a screenshot for you guys. It was brand new and the mechanic put it in and I think he put the pulley in wrong as it's wearing only on the "left" side and it came off.

Here's some screenshots for you guys. It is still fully together so please let me know what you guys think:

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[nothingfiction]

yeah it looks like the belt is doing some serious walking. most likely from improper pulley installation. was the belt actually off when you tried starting it? or did you pull it off? id look at your other belts and check the torque on the other pulleys too. if its walking that much the pulley is probably lopsided or its wobbling, if its wobbling it could create enough torque to loosen other bolts out of the other pulleys.

 

[bo0st]

yeah it looks like the belt is doing some serious walking. most likely from improper pulley installation. was the belt actually off when you tried starting it? or did you pull it off? id look at your other belts and check the torque on the other pulleys too. if its walking that much the pulley is probably lopsided or its wobbling, if its wobbling it could create enough torque to loosen other bolts out of the other pulleys.

Yes my buddy noticed a very slight wobble on the pulley. Could this have done it?

Also the belt was actually off and it was in a "weird" position to where I noticed it and I said WTF?

I didn't pull it off by any means, it was already off and I just pulled it from underneath the hood. Should I hold the shop responsible for this?

I mean, they just installed it 3 - 4 days ago. My buddy said there's no way in hell no matter how hard I was on my car that this should have occured.

Thanks again for all the replies.

 

[nothingfiction]

Yes, if they installed it i would def contact them about it. a wobbly pulley can do so much damage. imagine if you will a wobbly screw walking out of your transmission. you could and probobly would have damaged your tranny. same thing for the pulley. sure were not talking jumping timing but you could have caused some major damage there too. id have it towed to a shop and have them take your oil pan off and check it just to make sure..

definitely check the other belts associated with that pulley too.

 

[tpaynter]

I would ask the shop for a refund and find a new mechanic.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

Why would you run a billet underdrive pulley in the first place? If you're lucky it's just a poorly machined pulley causing the wobble, if you're unlucky, your crankshaft is broken from not having a harmonic dampener at all.

Furthermore, who the hell drives all the way home from the track with the battery light on, and starts a thread, BEFORE looking at the obvious such as the alternator belt falling off? I had this diagnosed after reading this: Battery Light Came On After A Hard Night Of Racing?

I would find a new mechanic if he didn't warn you about the dangers of using that pulley.

Fixed!

 

[fun kart kid]

he got a 420a and it common practice for us to run underdrive pulleys most people say it one of the first mods you do to the 420a engine because it doesn't have harmonic dampener to start with.

 

[Colt4G63 also]

he got a 420a and it common practice for us to run underdrive pulleys most people say it one of the first mods you do to the 420a engine because it doesn't have harmonic dampener to start with.

That's bullshit! Just type in 420A crank pulley into google, and there's a picture of a harmonic balancer right there:

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Ever see the memorex commercial where they use a certain sound pitch to shatter a wine glass? That's what you guys are trying to do to your crankshaft by eliminating your harmonic dampeners. Have fun with that ...

 

[fun kart kid]

I knew it had one but for some reason people say they don't check out this thread.
http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/420a-bolt-tech/369516-these-n-t-underdrive-pulleys-really-good.html

 

[bo0st]

I would ask the shop for a refund and find a new mechanic.

I'm going back there tomorrow morning I'll let you guys know what happened.

 

[EclipticalGS]

Ive got money on your alternator bracket being slightly tweaked. I shredded 5 belts a summer because of the alternator sitting a little cockeyed

 

[bo0st]

Ive got money on your alternator bracket being slightly tweaked. I shredded 5 belts a summer because of the alternator sitting a little cockeyed

What would cause my bracket to be tweaked? A bad install job?