brother pig Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Alright, I'll apologize in advance for what's going to be a long post. I'll include everything I can to help diagnose this problem. Alright, my friend's car is a '95 GP w/3.1 One day his battery was dead, so I jumped it. A couple days later it was dead again, so I told him he should have his battery checked at Wal-Mart. He did, and they replaced it. (It was original equipment!) We thought the problem was solved. The next day, the battery was dead again. It is quite a long trip to a Wal-Mart with a service station from here (~45min), so I thought the alternator might be bad as well. We took it out of the car and had it tested. It was good. Then, through testing the car, we noticed that the battery was not dead, just acting like it was. If you turned the key and it acted dead, the next time you turned the key it would start right up. Starter, right? We just got done taking the starter out of the car in the parking lot and had it tested. It's good. Also, while taking the starter out tonight, we noticed that the battery was dead. Dome lights even dim. My question now is, does this sound like an intermittent problem with either the starter or the alternator? Or is it a bad brand new battery? Or where else should we look? You don't know much we wanted the guy to say "yup, the starters bad" !!! Anyway, thanks in advance for any input. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redfox340 Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Sounds like a serious grounding problem. Yeesh... that's nasty. You're obvious leaking power from a noticable source. And wiring with stereo amps, accessories, etc.? I would check those and all major battery connections; it's something big. You don't have lights left on anywhere? Just checking all ends. - Erik Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brother pig Posted November 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Ahh! I hate those words...."grounding problem." That's what I was afraid of.....we'll start looking I guess. Still, any other suggestions? Thanks (no, there are no lights left on......though I did look for that after the alternator ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brother pig Posted November 6, 2003 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Hey, someone told me that it might be the ignition switch. What do you guys think? I can see it making it seem like the battery is dead, but would it drain a battery? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slade901 Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 Get a 12 volt test light. Disconect the positive terminal cable from the battery and connect the 12 volts test light between the positive cable and the positive terminal on the battery. If the test light comes ON, then there is a short. First, disconnect the alternator connector tab and see if the test light goes OFF. If the test light turns OFF, then along the alternator wiring has some short in it and trace it. If the test light stays ON, then start on removing one fuse at a time in the fuse box (the fuse box inside the car). If the test light turns OFF then that specific fuse and all wiring connected to it has some short and you need to trace it. BTW, if the car has a remote positive terminal then make sure the nut is tight and not loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1uvakind Posted November 6, 2003 Report Share Posted November 6, 2003 it might be a fuseable link Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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