Help dead battery

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

I just installed used halos headlights and when i turned them on to see if they worked; I lost power very quickley. tried to jump the battery. I made it down he street hit a stop sign died.. pushed it all the way back.. ideas? did i not hook those lights up right or something?

 

[dsmpat95]

Are the lights plug and play. Also if you can, start your car to check if your alternator is charging your system.

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

Make sure the alternator is working like ready mentioned. Also clean the battery terminals and make sure they are tight. If all that checks out make sure your battery has a good ground. How did you hook up your halos? I have them on my car and I wired them into my side markers. I have yet to have an issue.

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

You need to check your voltage at the battery with the car running. Get it started with a jump again and see what you've got. You should be seeing somewhere between 13.5-14.7 volts at idle on a good charging system. If your not getting at least 13.5 volts your alternator is most likely junk.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

not sure what you mean by plug and play, but they wired exactly like my stock headlights, except the halo lights which i wired to the reflector lights. it could be the battery since it sat for a year, but we used the alternator to charge the battery when i bought it a couple weeks ago, so i just didnt think it would be either of those, but i will do a few more checks

 

[2G-GS-T]

Do you know how to check a battery? There are caps on top of it, Take them off be very careful. If there is a liquid its still good. But if you charge it and it says its charge is complete and it jumps back down to charging, 100% chance it has a short in the battery, if your car died when you stop its your alternator. And what he ment was did you splice them into the reflector lamps.

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

thanks all, 99% sure its a bad alternator. i started with my other cars battery this morning, and was hoping to pull the battery off while running and put my old one back on (hence have my alternator charge the battery) bbut as soon as i removed the ground wire the car died. im trying to take the alternator off right now so i can take it in to autozone and have them check the voltage for me. i hope thats the only problem because a new alternator is only like 130 bucks. but i must say trying to remove the alternator is one of the most painful things i have ever done.. especially when the manifold is still hot. anyway, everyone pray/ wish me luck that its a simple fix, ill keep everyone updated (still open to suggestions, im a 4g63t awd noob. had a 420a, but i hated that motor, thanks to everyone haha)

 

[TWOpointFORliter]

If your alternator is bad I would personally get a new one from mitsu. I know they are pricey but well worth it. If you decide to go with a rebuilt parts store alternator make sure it comes with a warranty because there is a good chance you will be replacing it again. Another option is to do the Saturn alternator swap.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/articles-electrical-wiring/272646-saturn-alternator-swap.html

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

okay so i got the autozone alternator with a lifetime warranty, for 130 bucks hell yes! i am trying to install it as we speak, having a little bit of trouble matching the tensioner to the bolt hole on the alternator.. more work, ill report back in a few haha

okay, so my car always had a little sqeal from the power steering/ alternator belts and/or pulleys. but after the car warmed up it went away. i put on that new alternator, but i couldnt line the tensioner throught the plate from the water pump that links the alternator to the tensioner. i decided to lossen the bolt holding in the plate on the waterpump so i could move it to maatch more closeley to the alternator. tightened everything back up, and notcied the alternator belt is a tiny bit more lose than the other belts.. not too significant. tried to fire it up, and it kiked over, but the sqeal that was emmited from those belts and/or pulleys couldbreak ear drums. it ran in idle, but the squeal was unbareable. suggestions? is the belt not tight enough? i feel it should make that loud of a sound from a loose belt.. not sure kinda at a loss. any help is appreciated

 

[GRAVEDIGGER]

Put new alternator and power steering belts on it and call it a day. It's as simple as that. You might want to clean off your pulleys real quick before you put on the new belts though as they might have some grease/oil on them.

 

[Black'95]

Put new alternator and power steering belts on it and call it a day. It's as simple as that. You might want to clean off your pulleys real quick before you put on the new belts though as they might have some grease/oil on them.

+1 on the new belts. Also, run some sandpaper over those pulleys before you install the new belts. Something like 220 grit will work fine. The slipping belts glaze the pulleys over time, just like a slipping clutch will glaze your flywheel and pressure plate. A new belt will work ok for a while, then start slipping again because of the glazed pulley. Once that happens, you need a new belt, cause all that slipping is no good for the belt and ruins it. I saw this solution on some forum a while back when I was having the same problem. Worked like a charm for me!

 

[Ethans 1997 GSX]

thanks for everyones help, most info was helpful. p.s. i already bought the new belts when i purchased my alternator, but i noticed the my retainer bolt on my alternator's tensioner wasnt locked in place. I lossened the tensioner, popped that bolt in and tightened her back up. drove into work and sprayed some belt lubricant on her works like a charm no squeals anylonger!