I Hate My Car

eb91xr6 · 02-03-2006, 12:20 AM

tonight i went out to my car put the keys in her and the battery was as flat as a tac. when i got jumper leads onto her she started. driving her for a good 20mins with out anything on not even headlights but the acc dosnt work, pulled in my drive way and turned it off seeing is it has any power to start again and there was no power at all, what could be doing this, the battery is 2 years old, what dose my car need to be fixed, jump started my car before and was driving for a while turned on the head lights and the whole thing just stoped turned off must have died is this the altinator (spelling) thats screwed. need help coz i need to get my baby on the street asap

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Psycho Chicken · 02-03-2006, 12:27 AM

What's the voltage across the terminals with the car running?

tufLTD · 02-03-2006, 12:29 AM

Sounds like the alternator has died. Have you got a volt-meter? It should have around 14 volts with the engine running.

eb91xr6 · 02-03-2006, 12:34 AM

so i have been told my Alternator is stuffed, i think its time to get the one out of an ef 108amp Alternator so looks like its off to the reakers on sataday i'll tell you how i go unless some one else has any ideas

XRated · 02-03-2006, 01:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by eb91xr6

so i have been told my Alternator is stuffed, i think its time to get the one out of an ef 108amp Alternator so looks like its off to the reakers on sataday i'll tell you how i go unless some one else has any ideas

You'll have difficulty trying to get this to work/fit properly.

GMACK24 · 02-03-2006, 01:36 PM

I am not great with cars in Australia but does the car have a solenoid?
u can try tapping that with a screwdriver.
sometimes that works... but again I am not sure if u folks have that on ur cars over there.
Pardon my ignorance I am a Yank : )

GMACK24 · 02-03-2006, 01:38 PM

pic here.
sorry but this is the best I could find

gozza · 02-03-2006, 01:39 PM

wouldn't hurt checking the fluid levels in the battery either

klawsterfobik · 02-03-2006, 01:40 PM

if the car was running and then died then the headlights were switched on, it isnt charging the battery and providing enough electricity to run the fuel injection and headlights.

grab yourself a multimeter and put it across the terminals. then check all the wiring to the alternator and make sure its all ok, if its not that, the alternator is stuff

02-03-2006, 01:56 PM

Alternator is probably dead. Not unusual for a car travelled over 250k. Probably all you need to do is replace the brushes on the reg. Plenty of places on the net tell you how to do this but basically:

Youll need
Socket set
Screw drivers
Alternator brushes to suit your car (around 5-10bucks)
Half hour to an hour
Solering iron or a brutane lighter, the one with a solid jet (not recommended)

1. Rip out the alternator (remove negative from the batt first)
2. Unscrew the reg
3. You'll see the 2 small brushes, with pigtails coming out the back, with springs if i remember correctly, soldered onto contacts. Either cut the old ones or de-solder
4. Replace with new ones and resolder on
5. refit Regulator
6. Refit alternator
7. Test

Optional
While your at it get some steel wool/wet and dry or a tool that looks like a artbrush with metal bristles and clean off all the carbon on the contacts and around the regulator ground areas, petrolium jelly so it doesn't rust.

moody · 02-03-2006, 08:06 PM

ive had a similar prob with mine....check the regulator on the back of the altenator...mine was worn and the magnets werent making contact so my lights and dash wash flickerin and going chaotic...
cost 55 bux to replace.

Psycho Chicken · 02-03-2006, 08:19 PM

Brushes, not magnets.

Damo · 02-03-2006, 11:20 PM

alternater fo shizzle mah diddy dazzle nizzos!

AmmoJammo · 02-03-2006, 11:27 PM

if it was the alternator, the car wouldn't have run once the jumper leads were removed... SHEESH!!! can't you people work that out?

it has to be the battery... if the alternator was rooted, there would be NO power for the car to run the ECU, fans, etc...

however, if the battery was rooted, the car would run, while it was running... the alternator was supply the current needed to run these items, and the car would be alright, unless you put more of a load on the alternator, than it could supply, and then the voltage would drop, and the car would die...

moody · 02-03-2006, 11:38 PM

car still runs with a rooted reg on the alt...just crap power delivery to elctrics....geesh.

sorry psycho...they are brushes lol...cheers.

AmmoJammo · 02-03-2006, 11:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moody

car still runs with a rooted reg on the alt...just crap power delivery to elctrics....geesh.

sorry psycho...they are brushes lol...cheers.

if the brushes in the alt were screwed, it would only sometimes deliver power... therefore, seeing as your battery was already flat when you got the car running, there would be no power for the electrical system, as the alternator would be cutting in and out anyway...

Damo · 02-03-2006, 11:59 PM

ammo jamo, alternater charges the battery which runs the car. With a dead alternater and battery fully charged the car will run for a fair while off just battery power. Now think about what you just posted. You can start a car without the alternater, ИИИИing retard!

AmmoJammo · 03-03-2006, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Damo

ammo jamo, alternater charges the battery which runs the car. With a dead alternater and battery fully charged the car will run for a fair while off just battery power. Now think about what you just posted. You can start a car without the alternater, ИИИИing retard!

he said his battery was dead... you cannot run a car, with a dead battery, and non working alternator!!!!

klawsterfobik · 03-03-2006, 12:07 AM

AmmoJammo; i once drove from Lorne to Anglesea along the Great Ocean Road with a stuffed Alternator, i got a jump start at Lorne (Falls Festival '02), and then another about half way to Anglesea... very boring trip though, no headlights, radio, or windscreen wipers.

And ive had a stuffed Alternator in my LTD, everything worked except the central locking....

EDIT: AmmoJammo, he said he got a jump start, which would have provided enough power to get the car running... they dont take much to keep running once they're going.

snypereb · 03-03-2006, 12:34 AM

Looks like your battery has had it, check your terminals and voltage. Maybe check the alternator also!

daz82 · 03-03-2006, 12:44 AM

just check both, then u will know. sometimes it might be the alternator thats gone, cuz it wont charge the battery so there is power for u to start it. sometimes the alternator is fine and the battery is rooted, either way any sane and normal person woule check both or get someone to do it, then find the problem and fix it. easy
hehehe, cant help but be a smart ***!

eav8 · 03-03-2006, 08:43 AM

Replace your alternator ( if you don't want to repair it yourself) upgrading to a larger current device is always handy. Also have your battery recharged (after checking electrolyte levels are above the plates in each cell)...if your battery is still holding charge then all will be good. If you have totally drained your battery (a deep discharge) it is possible that you have actually killed your battery from discharging it too far. Hopefully you haven't collapsed any of the cells or the battery will not have the load carrying capacity left to start your car even if it reads a 12v charge.

in short I would say replace both parts and keep old battery as spare..just in case.

MotherNatureVer2 · 03-03-2006, 09:59 AM

It could be as easy as dirty terminals .......... I had this problem in the wagon a while ago .... the battery was fooparrrrrr but it was still working enough to start .........

Boiling water & Bi-Carb Soda over the terminals, then hit them with a wire (light one) brush & see how you go ;)

damo03 · 03-03-2006, 06:16 PM

How to check battery and alternator.

Jump start the car.
Put all accessories on (headlights fan stereo etc), if car will run with them, then check reading on battery and if the lights brighten and volts go up to at least 12.5 when you gunn the engine at about 2500rpm alternator should be ok.

With the car jump started also loosen the positive terminal of the battery and while car is running pull off the positive lead. If car continues to run then turn acccessories on and if all continues to work you know the alternator is working, just make sure it can supply above 12V underload when you rev it at 2500rpm.

If your car dies then alternator is stuffed, either reg, bushes or windings or other wiring fault. If you suspect wiring check voltage at the output terminal of the alternator.

Good luck mate.

rebornafordman · 03-03-2006, 09:37 PM

Check the battery when the cars not running with a multimeter. Sounds to me like a stuffed or flat battery. if the battery is flat charge it up and try again. Just remember the battery might only hold charge for a short time if its knackered.

If the battery is dead flat there is no way in hell the alternator will charge it enough to start it again.

Checking terminals is a good idea, been caught by that before... Boss was gonna buy a new battery for the tractor at work. I wiggled the terminals and off she went just like new!

When my alternator went in my ea the charge light used to come up periodicaly on the dash.

falconkid · 04-03-2006, 01:13 AM

its prolly the battery cos the car will run with the alternator. if the battery has a dead cell it want hold a load.

JIM

fmc351 · 04-03-2006, 01:36 AM

Post, dont read damn it.

Somewhere about post 5, he said its the alternator.

Check the radiator cap dude, it might be flooding the tail-lights. yeah that could be it.

Marhleet · 08-05-2006, 06:39 PM

my old one had a problem where the wire that takes the charge from the alternator to the battery was only a crappy thin wire.
about half the size of any 'normal' type wire in an electrical setup.
this setup was changed with a nice phat wire added in, and the lack of charging problem went away.

if the alt is not putting out a charge, this won't help any, but if some decent charge is not getting through, it maybe an idea...