car died over night please help

[mistagst]

the day before car was running normally no problems. i wake up the next morning and put the key and turned it. i did not hear the normal beeping it makes i tried to turn it on and all it did was tick the lights left of the rpm meter all went dim and the stock boost gauge would go down. so i jumped it and it turned on no problem let it run for 3 min then turned it off and back on again and eveything seemed fine. i turned it off and looked under the hood and everything seemed fine but i weird kind of burn smell was around the engine bay. i went to turn it on again and it would just tick again. anyone no what could be the problem? did a fuse or alternator fry out? please help this is my DD

 

[Gasolinebaptism]

Sounds like the alternator..
But in that case I don't know why you were able to start it back up after turning it off.. there must have been a leftover charge from the jump??

 

[firefighter]

Check your battery connections.Make sure there are no dirty connections. It takes about two min. to recharge your battery, after starting the car.When the battery is low and needs a jump the battery has bearly enough charge to start the car, you start the car than dissconect the jump ,let the car run for two min.Now you turn the car off wait a little while start the car to make sure it runs and than turn it back off , then you leave the car for several hours than come back and try starting the car. The engine doesn't start because the battery has not been fully charged.Now you think you have a bad battery.

 

[vzeoh6om]

Sounds like the alternator..
But in that case I don't know why you were able to start it back up after turning it off.. there must have been a leftover charge from the jump??

i would sugest to start the car(w or w/o jump, dont mater) and measure the voltage at the battery while the car is runnig.. it shuld read bout 12.9-14v(imo the more the better).. if it does then that means the alt output to charge the battery is good and its just your bat thats not holding charge or you may have a high amount of parasitic draw when the car is off.

 

[gusu]

Did you check to see if your belts broke?

If your alternator belt broke it connects to your water pump. If your batter was old then it probably died. The burning smell could be because of the belt burning or simply because your water pump isn't pushing any coolant and though everyone argues that it would not make the burning smell I had my car do that literally last week and it made a horrible burning smell after running for about 10-15 seconds.

If the belt did break make sure your alternator is tensioned correctly that little fork thing the tensioner goes into HAS to be put behind it or the bolt will flop up and down and dig into the power steering belt causing you to need to replace that. Which by the way if you don't have power steering its all connected.

 

[vzeoh6om]

Did you check to see if your belts broke?
though everyone argues that it would not make the burning smell I had my car do that literally last week and it made a horrible burning smell after running for about 10-15 seconds.

i can second that... my fan wasnt wired up correctly and motor overheated and smelled that nasty smell....thankgod i did because i wasnt paying attn. to the temp gauge....

 

[mistagst]

guess it was just a bad battery guys it completely dead...90 bucks for new one =(

 

[timmy]

guess it was just a bad battery guys it completely dead...90 bucks for new one =(

So it is all better now?

 

[mistagst]

its not better now the same thing happened to me this morning i put in the new battery and was fine that day i wake up this morning and its dead again. no beeping when i turn the key, everything on dash is dim interior lights dim and not even i tick when i try to turn it on. why is my car draining the battery like this?

 

[bradcurtis15]

i dont know how your wiring is but something might be hooked up like a stereo amp that always stays on and is draining it, if not something stupid like that i would check your voltage on your alternater, when mine was going out it was pushing like 11v and then droping to like 8 and i just relaced it and works great now

 

[timmy]

its not better now the same thing happened to me this morning i put in the new battery and was fine that day i wake up this morning and its dead again. no beeping when i turn the key, everything on dash is dim interior lights dim and not even i tick when i try to turn it on. why is my car draining the battery like this?

Did you chek for the basic's? Bat cable broken/frayed? Ground issues on chassis?

 

[mistagst]

the stock amp is still in the car i doubt that is the cause here is a pic of the battery it looks fine to me

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

 

[timmy]

Is that a metal bracket that the battery is held in by? Looks like the pos terminal is touching it. Anyrate, something is drawing the current from it.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

Have you tested the alternator like stated above?

 

[yepes281]

Replace the battery terminal connections, this same exact thing happened to me.

 

[vzeoh6om]

Is that a metal bracket that the battery is held in by? Looks like the pos terminal is touching it. Anyrate, something is drawing the current from it.

try installing the battery w/o that bracket thats touching your leads.... den if the alt is pushing out the amount of voltage(as i stated above) den its time to whip out yor trusty multimeter(if you dont have one then this would be the perfect time to get one) and do a parasitic draw test(like i stated above). with the car off conect the meter in series between the neg cable terminal n da battery post. so for example you would have your cable attched to one of the meters leads n the other lead is conected to the neg bat post...and check the amperage thats being drawn.... your problem most like will lie there... let me know the results

 

[mistagst]

the two wires attached to the positive side is for the fuse box

i took the battery back and they said it was shot again so i go a brand new one. I am going 2 check if any light stay one when its off. such as glove box and truck

 

[97ECliPSeDSM]

I had the same problem...It ended up being the Alternator, but you should get a jump and get your alternator checked by a mechanic

 

[dan catalyst]

its your alternator.your car ran fine with the new battery only untill it discharged.take it off and have autozone test it for free.save that new battery as it may be ok regardless of what the parts shop said.

 

[GSXSixteenG]

the two wires attached to the positive side is for the fuse box

i took the battery back and they said it was shot again so i go a brand new one. I am going 2 check if any light stay one when its off. such as glove box and truck

Alternator is a easy removal and install. Just take it off and bring it to Advance Auto or drive it there and they can check to make sure it is charging the battery.

 

[mistagst]

wake up this morning and same thing so im thinking the alternator is the problem. it seem kind of hard to get to. would i have to uninstall it from under the car?

 

[GUTSI]

Sometimes a bad alternator diode can cause a battery to run down. A good diode should only pass current in one direction. If it leaks current in the opposite direction, it may keep the charging circuit on when the engine is not running, causing the battery to run down. This kind of problem can be diagnosed several ways. If your voltmeter has an AC (alternating current) scale, switch to that scale and observe the charging voltage with the engine running. If the meter shows any AC voltage, one or more diodes are leaking and the alternator needs to be replaced. The alternator's output can also be observed as a waveform on a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) or an alternator tester that measures ripple voltage to detect this kind of problem. Or, just disconnect the alternator overnight and see if the battery stills run down. If the battery drain stops, you have found the problem. Replace the alternator.

....And yeah, alternator's replaced from the top (move the power steering pump for acces w/o disconnecting the hose, and then its just 2 bolts and 1 pivot bolt to remove alternator)

Good luck....let us kno how goes

 

[mistagst]

Sometimes a bad alternator diode can cause a battery to run down. A good diode should only pass current in one direction. If it leaks current in the opposite direction, it may keep the charging circuit on when the engine is not running, causing the battery to run down. This kind of problem can be diagnosed several ways. If your voltmeter has an AC (alternating current) scale, switch to that scale and observe the charging voltage with the engine running. If the meter shows any AC voltage, one or more diodes are leaking and the alternator needs to be replaced. The alternator's output can also be observed as a waveform on a digital storage oscilloscope (DSO) or an alternator tester that measures ripple voltage to detect this kind of problem. Or, just disconnect the alternator overnight and see if the battery stills run down. If the battery drain stops, you have found the problem. Replace the alternator.

....And yeah, alternator's replaced from the top (move the power steering pump for acces w/o disconnecting the hose, and then its just 2 bolts and 1 pivot bolt to remove alternator)

Good luck....let us kno how goes

WOW awsome info bro. im pretty sure you nailed what the problem is im having. two more questions. i have heard to never buy alternators from autozone and advanced autos because there crap where should i get one? and the other question is can i get to the alternator from the driver side front wheel? taking the wheel off of course and taking off the guard so i dont have to remove anything else?

 

[vzeoh6om]

WOW awsome info bro. im pretty sure you nailed what the problem is im having. two more questions. i have heard to never buy alternators from autozone and advanced autos because there crap where should i get one? and the other question is can i get to the alternator from the driver side front wheel? taking the wheel off of course and taking off the guard so i dont have to remove anything else?

it would be much easier from the top like stated and for the autozone and advanced store alternators being bad...i dont know

 

[GUTSI]

WOW awsome info bro. im pretty sure you nailed what the problem is im having. two more questions. i have heard to never buy alternators from autozone and advanced autos because there crap where should i get one? and the other question is can i get to the alternator from the driver side front wheel? taking the wheel off of course and taking off the guard so i dont have to remove anything else?

To be honest I accessed mine just from the top. It does take a little 'finagling' to get to the bolts but certainly do-able. As for removing the wheel and splash guard, umm never tried that...but hey if it gives you easier access, by all means...

I think it comes down to "brand" (and more importantly, amperage) when choosing an alternator (rather than "where" you buy it) I have no idea what kind of alternators Autozone and Advanced sell...however, just having the alternator rebuilt is a favorable option...you'll save big $$$'s