89Cutlass Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Ive never had this problem but i installed a new battery the old one was just too old, anyways the battery has been fine for about 2months and now it will all of a sudden be totally dead in 3hours or so. then i jump it and it seems to be fine again. its done it 3 times in about 2 weeks now. What else could be wrong if say the battery was good. Im still going to take it to the auto store and test it. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfewtrail Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 could be the alternator? also wouldn't hurt to check the belt tensioner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 I would say most definitely, alternator. Take the alternator off and get like Advance Autoparts to test it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Cutlass Posted February 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 no the alternator is fine. Im positive. the battery seems to charge fine. then it will be fine for a few days. then all of a sudden ill park it and ill go to start it and totally dead and i jump it and its fine for a few days. the first time it was fine for a week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robby1870 Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 in that case, maybe you have a bad connection somewhere, or a wire grounding out, something like that. Or, you may just have a bad battery, I would get it tested first before you do anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godofthunder Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Yeah, I agree check wires all over the place. My bros car does this. If it rains, the next day it wont start. If it ws humid, it wouldnt start. Chrysler put the AC soleniod on the side of the fende,r and the cover was broke. So it would short out all the time. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toastemcutlass Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 in the old days some times the regulator(inside the new ones) would be mest up and basically draw amps until it was dead. but will charge ok when running. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crc Posted February 3, 2003 Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 If the Alternator is ok than it sounds like a current leak. I've come across this problem on more than one 1st gen w-body. The older cars tend to leak current through faulty solinoid switches, semi-shorted connections, etc.. Always a good sign of a current leak is the car refusing to start after you have left it parked for a few hours or overnight (and you know there's nothing wrong with alternator or charging system) How often your battery dies depends on how big the current leak is. No matter, you still need to get rid of the leak otherwise your nice new battery will one day just refuse to get charged back up, plus meantime you're working the hell out of your alternator which can cause premature failure. Many battery warrenties don't cover permenant damage caused by constant discharging thru current leaks so the sooner you get rid of the problem the cheaper for you. Get an industrial multimeter and put in series between the battery and the car's main terminal. Makre sure everything is off inside and outside the car (i.e. Hood light, interior lights, glovebox light, I mean everything) The current shouldn't get anywhere near the signal digit Amp range, it should be in the milliamps (ECM usage, also aftermarket alarm,etc) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Cutlass Posted February 3, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 3, 2003 Well it was the alternator over charging the battery pumping 175 peak amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crc Posted February 4, 2003 Report Share Posted February 4, 2003 That can do it too.. Overcharging Undercharging and Current Leaks = Dead Battery Simple enuf Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NeverSayDie Posted February 6, 2003 Report Share Posted February 6, 2003 I had this problem with a new battery. I got a 72 month battery from Wal-Mart and within about 8 months it was dead. I even chenged the starter since it was on the car since '88. I finally took it back to wally world and they changed it for a new one. In the process though, they blew up the old battery while it was still in the car! It sprayed my car with acid and covered me and the dude working on it. The repair guy also scratched the shit out of my fender with a pair of vice-grips, and all they offered to do was hose my car down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Cutlass Posted February 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2003 Is there any other part that could be gone. Cause the alternator is not that old but they tested the charging system and said it was the alternator. the battery was tested and they said it was good. The battery is 2months old. So i dont wana buy a new alternator if its not the alternator thats gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chinski Posted February 7, 2003 Report Share Posted February 7, 2003 How does a battery get overcharged? A bad regulator in the alternator or what? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
89Cutlass Posted February 8, 2003 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2003 I bought a new alternator and installed it and everything is fine now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrandPrix34 Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 this is an old ass subject but im having the same prob... i took off the alt and took it to like 4 diff places and they all say the ALT is good...grrr the battery is completely deat thgouh but wat i dont get is why does the car die when i jump start it...technically the car could run witout a btatery so why do the VOLTS just dip WAY LOW and then die" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bolt_Crank Posted September 26, 2003 Report Share Posted September 26, 2003 175 AMPS on an alternator will not do ANY damage to ANYTHING. it's the VOLTS that burn electricals out, not AMPS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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