charging system problem

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » July 27th, 2007, 11:30 am

My brother just bought a 1995 mx-3 1.6l dohc. We just put in a new altenator and battery and the battery isn't charging. The car will run but after a while the gauges will all go to zero but car still runs as if it were running off of just the alternator. can anyone please help?

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » July 27th, 2007, 11:51 am

I know you dont want to have to do this after you just put it in.. but really.. you are gonna have to get that alternator checked. Wouldnt be the first time a bad one was sold. Take it back to where you bought it and have them test it or replace it.

Tunes67

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » July 27th, 2007, 11:58 am

the clutch was replaced in the car right before my brother bought it. Could the mechanic have forgotten some kind of ground wire or something of that sort that would be causing this problem.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » July 27th, 2007, 12:12 pm

Unlikely.. you can search around for loose or disconnected wires.. make sure everything is snug, etc.. But there is a main wire that comes from the alternator to the + terminal of the battery.. if that is tight and the cable is in good condition.. well.. if there is no charge getting to the battery.. then its gotta be a bad alternator.

Have you checked voltage at the battery with the car off and also with the car running?

Tunes67

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » July 27th, 2007, 12:45 pm

my bro just charged the battery up so he should make it here and we are going to test the alternator and battery again.

PATDIESEL · Post by **PATDIESEL** » July 27th, 2007, 2:12 pm

There is a large ground from the frame to the transaxle. Should be just under the battery tray. Take a look and make sure it is rust free and tight. The car shouldn't start if it is not connected, but a poor connection could mess with the charging system. However, it does sound like you have a bad alt.

umcamara · Post by **umcamara** » July 27th, 2007, 3:35 pm

I had the exact same problem last Friday. My charge light was coming on at low rpm's and would shut off a higher rpm's. At low rpm's I would lose my tach and speedo. I knew my alt. was hooped because I had bought one from an auto-wrecker about 3 months ago and it seemed in rough shape.

Luckily it had a 3-month warranty and the place gave me a new (old) one. I put it in and all the problems stopped. (It makes it a lot easier to remove through the top of the engine if you remove the charcoal canister on the passenger side firewall.)

I think you'll know for sure it's your alternator if after a couple more days your car won't even idle without dying. And when you do rev it up it feels like there's a huge drag on the engine.

Good luck.

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » July 27th, 2007, 5:11 pm

thats what its doing right now. I tested the alternator with a volt meter and only got 9.43 volts. He just paid 106 bucks for it. when we took the alternator out we took it out the bottom around the exhaust.

Tunes67 · Post by **Tunes67** » July 27th, 2007, 6:08 pm

You got a bum alternator.. you shouldnt have any issues swapping it for a good one

Tunes67

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » August 5th, 2007, 8:23 pm

ok we installed a new alternator and battery car ran fine for 50 or so and then it strarted doing the same thing. there is no charge light on and the alternator is working we pulled the negative better terminal while it was running and it kept on running. What can i do?

umcamara · Post by **umcamara** » August 5th, 2007, 11:41 pm

Only thing I can think of is your "new" alternator isn't so new, but your charge light should come on if that's the case.

I would think that if there were any grounding related issues, your charge light would come on. But maybe check the resistance between the engine block and the negative battery terminal with an ohmeter.

Perhaps an engine fuse inside the engine bay fuse block.

Tunes???

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » August 6th, 2007, 1:35 am

there is no tunes there isn't even an a head unit in the car yet

umcamara · Post by **umcamara** » August 6th, 2007, 2:22 am

No...I was passing the floor to Tunes67, who usually seems to have the answers.

jbarrick80 · Post by **jbarrick80** » August 6th, 2007, 10:15 am

oh ok i see i'm sorry

booya · Post by **booya** » August 25th, 2007, 2:05 pm

Terrible short somewhere? Stereo consuming too much joice?