[EWOK363]

Ok, ive had this problem for awhile now and cant seem to figure out what it is. Ive had several things installed in my car and since that last upgrade, it was running fine for about 2 weeks, then the car just died. I can jump it, but when i go to turn on my compressors the car dies out. Everytime i go to turn up my system, the stereo turns off on its own like it dosent have enough power to hit the hard notes!! so i got a optima gel cell battery and put in a chrome 200 amp alternator and it started right up till the battery completely drained out again!!! I jumped it again and it stays started, but i cant turn on any accesories, and as soon as i turn the car off, it wont start back up!! So the alternator is not keeping the battery charged!! Does anyone know what else it could be? Is there something shorting out my battery so it wont charge properly? could it be a bad alternator? how can i check? any help please would be greatly appreciated!! :lol:

 

[Canucklehead]

Was your last "upgrade" the alternaor?

I just read your chrome alternator post, are you sure the belt isn't slipping? This would kind of explain your battery not charging. Although I'm not familiar with 4 cyl. Amigos, I assume it has a voltmeter on the instrument cluster. If/when you can get the engine started what voltage does it read? It should read around 14V normally. If it is reading low your alternator either isn't spinning fast enough for the voltage reg to maintain voltage, or the voltage reg is bad.

 

[EWOK363]

Thanx for the input!! Unforunately, it does not have a volt meter!! I used the same belt from stock, and it was a tight fit because the tensioner is pretty much as tight as it can get, so I'm thinking pretty sure the belt isnt slipping! Whats another way i can find out if its not spinning fast enough? and if this is the problem, how can i fix it? the latest thing i did was the alternator and the new battery, but the problem didnt start happening till I installed my air suspension (this was before the alternator and the battery) and this is the reason I had to upgrade my battery and alternator! But when I upgraded them, I was still having the same problem! So now I think it may be a faulty alternator or the regulator because they both came together and from the same company? Know of any easy way i can test everything out that would possibly the source to this problem?

 

[Canucklehead]

If you have a voltmeter you can check the voltage at the battery while the truck is running. As I said before it should be ~14V when running and ~12V when the engine isn't running. Also, you should be able to take the alternator into an Autozone or PepBoys and have them test it for you.

 

[wrenchmonster]

Howdy. You need to be concerned about amps. I'm guessing that the regulator and alternator are working properly. You many simply not have enough amps (electrical pressure) to operate all your gizmos. In short, your alternator may be so busy keeping everything else going that it cannot supply any juice back to your battery. You many also want to look into parasitic draws. This can be done by simply checking your battery voltage after your engine is turned off. Wait for a few hours and check it again. If it dropped, you may have a parasitic draw or a component still using juice when the engine is off. Process by elimination here. Also, check your battery cables and alternator wiring. Do you have a poor ground? High resistance in the cables? Is the cable the correct gauge and length? Any corrosion on anything?