electrical nightmare... of course.

[BrokenPOS]

i'll try to keep this short...

car was running awesome for most of the day. then, the car started sputtering, and the lights (brake, low coolant level, battery, & cel) on my dash became dimly lit. drove it less than a mile to my house and parked it. tried to start it the next day, and nothing. the brake, low coolant level, and battery remain lit even after clearing the cel. tore out the alternator and took it to be tested, they say it passes. battery is reading 12v, coolant is full, and my parking brake is definitely off . tested the CAS and CPS, both are working fine but i have no spark. fuel gauge is reading a steady 47 lbs. compression is 150 across the board.

basically, i'm beyond frustrated at this point and i'm posting this here because this car is making me feel like a SUPER NOOB. am i missing something?

 

[eclipsalon]

my car does this too for some reason, let me know if you find a solution

 

[95SleeperDSM]

I did the SAME exact stuff and mine passed as well but it was still a bad voltage regulator in mine which ended up blowing the caps on the batter and every light my car has .

So in my honest opinion you just need an alt...

When mine was going I had battery light, low coolant, and brake light same as you.

Hope that helps

 

[BrokenPOS]

i know you can test the alternator with the car on, but is there any way to test my alternator without the car running?

p.s. either that, or is there a way to break my alternator without it being obvious. it's brand new, and unless it fails, they won't replace it.

 

[dented_coffee]

Try checking your ALT fuse and make sure that the wires on your alt and battery are clean an corrosion free and tight. My talon when I first got it had some corrosion on the fuse's prongs under the hood because the car sat for a really long time and the lid was off of the fuse box and in the back seat of the car . I had a bad connection with some fuses. I just cleaned them all up really good and tightend all the wires again after cleaning.

The lights beeing on is common for a dead or going dead battery. It's most likely a connection with the ALT problem or possibly a spuratic regulator in the ALT it's self.

You bought the new ALT then there is no reson why they wont exchange it. THE CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT. If you intenchonly break the ALT not only is it wrong to do it that way but in some cases the warentee will not be granted. Just tell them whats going on. Say it's not charging your system and you wanna pull warentee for a new one to get your car fixed.

 

[95SleeperDSM]

Only good way to test the ALT is with a midtronics while it's in the car anyways so you can see what its actually doing in there...

Are your dash lights dimly flickering??? or is it just veryy dim??

Do you hear your fuel pump whine bad? When my Alt went it made my pump loud but it was pumping in 21V

P.S. But if its brand new you may wanna check your connections/fuses as stated in the gentleman aboves post

 

[Absit]

This screams of alternator problems, have it tested.

 

[BrokenPOS]

alt fuse has continuity and connections are solid. and the lights were only dim when it was running. as i would rev, they would almost go out. but they are bright as hell now and i immediately thought alternator, but when Checkers tested it, it passed every time. which means, they won't give me a new one. which makes me wonder if i'm just an idiot.

 

[dented_coffee]

When you replaced the ALT did you fully charge your battery?

 

[BrokenPOS]

When you replaced the ALT did you fully charge your battery?

bought a brand new one. and i'm pretty sure it's charged. i.e. i can turn on my brights and every light in the car, crank it, and they hardly dim. if at all.

 

[eclipsalon]

i just ended up pulling my bulbs out and leaving the important ones on. tranny, oil, cel, etc

 

[BrokenPOS]

at this point, i'd probably do that if the car started.

 

[eclipsalon]

whats wrong with it?

 

[BrokenPOS]

*update* went through and tested for shorts. found two: IOD Alimentation and Ignition Switch Moteur. would my alternator being bad have anything to do with that? i can't imagine developing two shorts in the same day after just driving around

 

[BrokenPOS]

*update* after much convincing i got them to give me a new alternator. after install, all three dummy lights went off! BUT still no spark did my voltage regulator burn anything up before i got it fixed?

p.s. checked fuses, all are good. mpi relay clicks on and off when i turn the key respectively. cas and cps are still reading good.

ideas?!?