charging problem

[Colin]

I have a gremlin. Not the car, but an actual problem. I've been through 2 alternators and a battery and still have the same problem. When I get in my car in the morning, I start it up and the battery gauge reads about 14-16 volts. I drive it for a few miles and when I hit the brakes to slow down, the gauge dips about 1 full volt. What's worse is the more I stop and go and the more I sit at idle speeds in "drive", the lower it goes, until it dies. Here's the kicker: while I'm at the stoplight with a dead car, I put it in "park" and turn the key and it fires right up! WTH? I know it takes more amps to crank the engine than it does to run it. Explanations?

[Jerriko]

9 out of 10 times, intermittent problems are wiring problems. I would check all of the major hot wires like the 2 gauge battery wire, the charging wire from the alternator and larger grounds. Also check for loose connections.

[Colin]

Well, I have noticed there's quite a bit of rust and corrosion on my battery cables (where they plug into the battery). Would that really cause that type of problem?

[3.4 slow to go]

yes

[Jerriko]

Originally posted by 3.4 slow to go:
yes

Just an example for you. My father-in-law is an idiot. He knows it, its all good. Anyways, bought a John Deere riding mower a couple of years ago. Last summer, it just stopped running. So you bought a larger Cub Cadet to replace it. He gave me the John Deere. He said he didn't want to mess with it. It was all messed up. It was running really crappy before it died. So I popped the hood and I see the battery. Both connectors are covered with white piles of gunk. I cleaned them up and the tractor ran like knew. He got his a$$ chewed for a week and I had a new tractor, which I sold on ebay. ;) The morale of the story, regular maintenance goes a long way.

[Colin]

Well, as simple as it was, I just went out and took a wire brush to the cable connectors (wasn't as much corrosion as I thought) and hooked 'em back up. That was Monday and here it is Wednesday and my battery voltage never drops below 14 volts. No more wavering, bouncing, nothing. I've used my stereo, A/C and power windows at the same time with no problems. It almost seems too easy to be true, but it's workin' for now. Thanks!

[Jerriko]

I swear, this thread should be made a sticky.

[3.4 slow to go]

another example: The 95 Firebird I picked up for Nachius, $1000. Owner said it started running eratic, then one day just stopped. he went & bought a used truck & let the bird sit. Whe I went to pick it up, it needed to be driven on the dolley. I pulld the birds battery. MUCH corrosion on the neg terminal. I cleaned it, put in the blazers battery & the bird started right up. What a steal for a 95 Bird that just needed a clean battery terminal.

[Jerriko]

Originally posted by 3.4 slow to go:
another example: The 95 Firebird I picked up for Nachius, $1000. Owner said it started running eratic, then one day just stopped. he went & bought a used truck & let the bird sit. Whe I went to pick it up, it needed to be driven on the dolley. I pulld the birds battery. MUCH corrosion on the neg terminal. I cleaned it, put in the blazers battery & the bird started right up. What a steal for a 95 Bird that just needed a clean battery terminal.

You're lucky you found that steal. Who knows what would have happened had I found that one. :rolleyes:

[3.4 slow to go]

it'd be in a billion pieces on e-bay ;)

[Jerriko]

Where is that whistling graelim when you need it?

[Colin]

I swear, this thread should be made a sticky

That wouldn't be a half bad idea, 'cuz there's people like me all over the place that tend to "over-think" problems and miss the obvious. Yes, it's painfully embarassing :rolleyes: , but I don't really care. All I care about is that I got it running like normal again, and I have you guys to thank for pointing out the obvious.