I need some help for my garage queen. 03 x50 with 16k miles. I was out yesterday doing a good clip of about 30 minutes to keep my battery charged and about 20 miles from home - warning light -battery light and generator failure light.

I had the radio and the air cranked when it happened.

I limped back home because it actually didnt run as good and with everything off I made it back to the house.

Durametric shows 9133 and 9130 only codes. I charged the battery all night to get a full charge and it runs without faults or warning light. If I turn on the air, the lights come on within 30 seconds. voltmeter is below 12 and actually fluxuates like its working.

Is this a chip shot alternator / regulator swap or can it be something hidden?

thanks

 

I forgot to mention, battery is about 2 years old and seems to be holding at least some charge (no short)

 

Easiest and least expensive is simply put a new battery in. Get one from Costco for 50-60 bucks. Clean the terminals really good too.

 

you need to keep the battery on a maintainer...all of the time...charging a battery after it has lost charge won't work...you can't revive a bad battery...quite possibly one or two cells have gone bad.

 

Personally, the symptoms sound like alternator or charging system.

To test alternator: get a multimeter and, while the car is running, measure the voltage at the battery. If it reads 12.6v or below, then your charging system not charging the battery. Test w/ accessories off and on.

To test battery: measure voltage at the battery while somebody starts the car w/ all accessories off. If voltage drops below 10v, then your battery is weak.

Good luck.

///Michael

 

Yes, this is possible, but it could be the alt is having trouble due to a bad battery....

 

I have just returned from advance and autozone. They both tested the battery as good with no problems.

Before I took it out I started the car. With in 5 seconds warning light for battery/generator with only engine running, no accessories. Voltage at rest on the battery 12.74 running 11.8, all accessories on 10.5

Sounds like an alternator/regulator issue to me but do you guys agree?

 

Sounds more like alternator/regulator issue now, but you want to be sure the battery's not at fault. Alternator R&R not cheap.

Can you try another known good battery?

Disconnect the old one, connect the other one and start the engine and see if the same symptoms appear? That the voltage at the battery terminals with engine running at idle is still low?

If you do the above and get the same results... Alternator is my only suspect.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Will autozone pay the cost of Alternator R&R if it turns out they were wrong about the battery?

When I got my car the battery was a 1.5 yr old Porsche dealer battery. Same issues. I was convinced it was alt or V regualtor.... took it to the dealer under warranty. Nope, battery bad.

I guess the key is how they tested the battery...

A

 

Yea I agree,

$80 battery cheaper than something I may break taking it down if it doesnt need it. I will pick up a battery before ordering a new unit.

thanks for your help

 

Starting a vehicle will put a load on the battery. If battery voltage drops below 10v while starting, then the battery no longer has the cold cranking amps available for the starter to start the vehicle.

Please follow my logic:

You charged the battery overnight and was able to start the car this morning, but as soon as you turn on any accessories, the voltage fluctuates. At this point, the vehicle's electrical system should be running off the strongest source of power, which should be the charging system (primarily alternator).

If your charging system is producing less voltage than the battery, then it is not charging the battery, but more importantly, your vehicle's electrical system is now running off battery. This is consistent w/ what you say:

If you have completely drained the battery from running like this for a while, then it is possible that you may have also killed your battery to the point of no return (or, in this case, recharge).

///Michael

 

Nope. All Autozone on hook for is if battery fails before its time. If the alternator proves to be the problem and assuming the battery didn't damage the alternator -- and this is hard to prove and even if you prove it battery maker's warranty probably excludes any subsequent damage -- you'll have to pay for alternator R&R.

Sincerely,

Macster.

 

Of course.... I was being facetious.

Unless Autozone did one hell of a diagnostic, I suspect the battery .. still.

 

Follow up.

New battery, nice shine but... generator failure light within 10 seconds and voltmeter at about 10-11

New bosch alternator $399. 2 hours and all my skin intact, no broken vacuum lines. -fixed

I was a little worried when I was getting started but now she again runs like a champ. I will invest in a trickle charger if you guys think a week is to long between runs

A couple of notes. that alternator weighs probably 12-15 pounds. cast iron. In a vehicle we are trying to cut weight on this would look like a great place to start.-- 2 cents

And to my suprise I looked over a couple of bolts away and saw my power steering pump resorvior and I couldn't believe it - its not made out of gold!!!

I spent 1500 not a month ago from the dealer for that nice piece of engineering and installation. I will probably be a lot more selective with what jobs I am able to do at home

thanks for all your help. this forum is the greatest.

steve

 

Good to hear that it's all fixed up.!

For a trickle charger, I use the Deltran Battery Tender Jr with the cigarette port adapter.

///Michael