DoBro Jesus Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Long story long, missus came home and complained that indicators were being weird and staying on, I went out and went to start the car, dead as a doorknob, this is literally 5 minutes after she drove it into the driveway. Said it started fine when she went to start it. So I jump started it, just as she said indicators were staying on, headlights were dim as hell as were dash lights, idled fine and lights didn't get any brighter as I revved it, turned it off and there was a fuck load of that bluey green corrosion on positive terminal so got some baking soda and cleaned all that off, refitted cables and retried starting, no such luck. Nicked one of the batteries and hooked it up, started no problem but stereo would cut out if you turned it up too much and rev counter would fluctuate with indicators, there's 2 wires going to the positive terminal, the main big battery cable and a smaller one which was very hot, I'm pretty stumped as to what it could be as I don't have my multimeter on me and I was doing all these checks outside in the dark haha, to me it seems like there's some massive current draw coming from somewhere, its only happened tonight and has been sweet for the past year or so, its an 89 mirage wagon if that helps. Any suggestions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTERUS Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Smells like an alternator issue. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickrock Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 I would guess the alternator is stuffed some times when they go they cause a big current drain un plug the alternator charge the battery up come back in the morning and see if the battery is still charged up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SOHC Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Bad earth 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nickrock Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 If you haven't got a multimeter take the positive lead off the battery hook alight up between positive terminal and the lead then unplug the alternator if it is quite bright then you got a current draw ,it its the alternator when its unplugged the light should go out or very dim with every thing off ( car stereo has small current draw when off) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoBro Jesus Posted May 8, 2015 Author Share Posted May 8, 2015 I would've thought the alternator as i've had an alternator go on me before and the car would just die as it's getting no charge but it seems weird that she started it sweet after a 5 hour shift and then drives it home which is a 20 minute odd drive and then it's just dead, then when i jump started it, it seemed to idle fine rather than slowly die haha, knew i should've brought my multimeter home from work dammit! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piazzanoob Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Yup sounds like it's your alternator Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAMUCK Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Sounds like this one time at band camp when my alternator fucked out. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RUNAMUCK Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Actually, more than one time............... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingbrick Posted May 8, 2015 Share Posted May 8, 2015 Our Stagea did something similar kinda after it got wet. A weekend in garage with heater and dehumidifier fixed it. Worth a try if all else fails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoKer Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 this one time my eath lead was loose & next best route for the negatives was thru the kick-down cable thru the gearbox.... fused it solid also alternator sounds like culprit here, car was running on the motor's 12v & draining batt trying to run the lights too hence it was flat when she got hm im not an expert but could be that Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Charge the battery or put a good one in it. Start the car, remove the negative battery cable - if car stalls, alternator issue. Just swap a new one out vs. changing brushes. Just cheap enough for a new one and you know it's gonna be good for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mof Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Don't remove any battery terminals with the engine running Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
igor Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Why ever not mof? I've done that with my EN Civic once and got away with it. I needed the battery for the tail lights on the Austin I was towing on a dolly trailer so I started the Civic then swapped the battery into the Austin, put a knackered battery into the Civic, and drove 50 miles with the Civic running off the alternator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UTERUS Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Quickest way to kill the rectifier is remove the battery with it running. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steelies Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 i had similar electromagical issues when my starlet alternator went bung inside and was over charging like crazy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MTM Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 Yea I got away with it but mine's just a pussy little escort hahaha. Don't listen to me, listen to the pros! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ta63-1uzze Posted May 14, 2015 Share Posted May 14, 2015 how much corrosion went up the wires? sometimes cleaning just the terminals alone isn't enough as its tracked up the wire its self where you cant see it . if there is to high a resistance in the terminals still it will look just like a bung alt . put a good charged battery in it and flick your mm onto volts and start testing for voltage across too parts of the same circuit, ie the battery + post to the cable itself , this is testing the terminal for lost voltage this is called a volt drop test and is the most effective why to quickly isolate a fault, you can test the negative post to the engine block,earth strap mount , the positive to the back of the alt and fuse box feed wire . its very fast and will give you a quick indicator where the power is being lost . then you have something to look for on a known faulty circuit have a google or you tube "volt drop test" , the reason its the best way to find a fault is because the system is under load, so you get real time tangible information that directly relates to the fault, so if you find voltage and its a few volts you can unplug connectors and fuses and see if the volt drop diminishes thus leading you to the faulty circuit. by the sounds of this fault i would be looking at the earth and positive feeds , sounds like they will be dirty as fuck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoBro Jesus Posted May 15, 2015 Author Share Posted May 15, 2015 Oh, haha whoops forgot about this thread, ripped alt out, thankfully was on block course at tech this week so jammed it on alt tester, no charge, opened it up, brushes worn as faaaark, replaced brushes, chucked it back in, good as new! And didnt cost me a cent! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.