Help! Electrical Problem

[The Wave]

Hey guys. I recently got my car back from the dealership. They were changing the clutch, flywheel and transfercase. When I got it back, I drove it home and it was parked for about 2 hours. When I came back the car was dead, so I figured I left the headlights on or something, so I took the battery out and charged it. The next morning I drove the car in to work and noticed that alot of stuff was messed up. First of all the alarm was not even remotely working. The power doors were not working if the car was off, with the alarm. The car would not remote start, and if you opened the door with the alarm armed, it would imply chirp then do nothing. The radio would turn off whenever I pressed the breaks, and if the car was off, it would reset. Also, after driving it for a bit, the ECU would start to make a funny noise like a peizzo buzzer. When I went to leave from work, the battery was dead again. I tried jumping it but the car would not start. I had to get a ride home with a friend, at which point I recharged the battery and put it in the next day. If you drive the car for about an hour it will die. Right before it dies it kinda sputters, like the spark plugs are not firing right. If you leave the car alone for about 4 hours the battery will also be completely drained. If anyone has any idea what could have caused this, and what is wrong please help. The dealership is saying that it wasn't doing it when it was there. I said it wasn't doing it when I gave it to them. Im not sure if I can get them to cover the repair. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[paranoidTSi]

I think its the alternator.

 

[The Wave]

I don't think it is, as the car still drains power while it is off.

 

[Defiant]

Which it would do with an internal short in the alternator. Still our prime suspect.

 

[crankbender]

More likely it is the voltage regulator (in the alternator). The zeners in the regulator can begin "leaking" and cause the car to drain when not running. Also if it is malfunctioning it will cause allllllll sorts of problems when the car is running.

However with a fully charged battery and the car off your alarm should be working just fine....This said check your battery cables if they took them off like they are suppose to and don't put it back on tightly you will get all sorts of weird problems. Additionally make sure all the wires got put back on the battery.

An alternator problem will not cause the car to not start when you are jumping it! For that matter neither will a voltage regulator (inside the alternator).

Check the battery connections. Then check the main fuses (fusable links).

 

[The Wave]

I have a gold plated negative battery lead, and I noticed today that it looked like there was a gold flake on the positive battery terminal. If they had tried to put the leads on the wrong terminals and start the car, what sort of damage would I be looking at?

 

[LifIsPeachy02]

lets see if i still remember how to do this. If u have a Voltmeter put one of the leads on the battery post and one on the cable with the car turned ALL the way off...NOt even key on. This will tell u if u have a parasitic draw. Which is a draw of power when the car is off, the reading should e VERY VERY tiny...like .50 volts MAX i think...Maybe its .050 volts. i will look in my book in a little bit.

 

[The Wave]

Thank you, will do.

 

[The Wave]

Does anyone know what the symptoms would be though if someone put the terminals on the battery on the wrong way, and then tried to start the car? My friend said that the wiring harness on the ECU would be fried, but I haven't got a chance to look yet, as the car is at the dealership now and they haven't looked at it yet.