Quote:
Originally Posted by Matts94Z28
Last week I noticed my car wasnt charging as much as it normally does and it progressively got worse. It finally got to the point to where my voltage needle was dipping into the red on the stock gauge.
I had the same place rebuild my alternator and put it back on the car today. I went out in the car tonight and had no isseues until I went to leave SSS... CLICK CLICK CLICK... I originally thought the battery had died. Brandon and I figured that the battery had plenty of juice and the connections were tight so we moved on to the starter after he though he saw an arch.
It turns out that I had to jiggle the connections at the starter to get it to crank... it fired right up. Well on the way home I noticed the volts were low again... WTF?!!!?
Do you guys think there could be a short in the positive cable that runs from the battery to the alternator/starter and COULD this possible cause an issue with the low voltage if it were truely arching off of something while running?
Thoughts?
|
The issue is less likely due to "arching" as it would be voltage drop. If you had to "jiggle" the wire to get it to start, then that tells me you have a loose connection. A loose connection causes unwanted resistance to build up at the site of the connection. As time goes on, the resistance causes heat in the connection and the wire which causes more resitance! Its a cascade effect. Old wires can also build up internal resistance.
Your alternator may be putting out 13.5 V when measured at the alt. post, but 12.5 at the other end of that wire. If you have multiple loose or poor connections (positive and grounds), the voltage drops can add up. Check and replace or repair the charging wire from the alt., as well as, the main battery wire to the starter; to include all main engine grounds.
If you have greater than stock drains on the system from custom stereos, large fans and fuel pumps, you may need to upgrade the size of the charging wire, as the factory uses the smallest wire that will work with the stock power demands.
DO NOT USE
CHEAP, PARTS STORE, CRIMP CONNECTORS TO REPAIR ANY OF THESE WIRES!
Make sure the connectors are good quality and crimped with the proper crimping tools.