so my 94 LS has 184k on her and I put a optima yellow top in her like 6 months ago b/c I thought the battery was dead, turned out it was a loose connection with the starter.

anywho. I have a lil system in it, alpine h/u, 150w amp, etc.....
so my car wouldn't start the other day, and I jumped it, it ran fine. went to wendys, came back, ate and was gonna go out again, but it wouldn't crank, so I jumped in again. talked to my buddy, and we ended up putting in a new alternater, and we jumped it, ran it for like 10-15 min, shut it down and it wouldn't crank again!...

I'm thinking, it's gotta be the battery, but a LESS than 6 month old yellow top, couldn't go bad, could it? what do ya'll think???

thanks, bob

 

Unless it's your battery leads???? they could be oxidised? give em a clean up and see how ya go.

 

If thats not the case, maybe something to do with your starter motor or ignition?

 

check the grounds on the engine as well

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Palmy Blue &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Also to check if its the Alternator have your car running and take off your negitive cable on your battery if it keeps running then your good but if it stops then you arent good you need a new alternator.</TD></TR></TABLE>

whatever you do, please dont listen to this idiot! NEVER disconnect the cable while your car is running....this test is only good to do on older vehicles that dont have a computer....if you do it on our cars, it will send a voltage spike thru the system and may even fry a couple things....im not saying this will happen, but there is a chance that it could and its not good for your car.....to properly test the alt, take it off and get it bench tested!............i would start with getting the battery tested first though, and then go from there!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


whatever you do, please dont listen to this idiot! NEVER disconnect the cable while your car is running....this test is only good to do on older vehicles that dont have a computer....if you do it on our cars, it will send a voltage spike thru the system and may even fry a couple things....im not saying this will happen, but there is a chance that it could and its not good for your car.....to properly test the alt, take it off and get it bench tested!............i would start with getting the battery tested first though, and then go from there! </TD></TR></TABLE>

who you callin idiot?
i also have a system and pull the positive cable off occasionally (once a week) to make sure my alternator is charging my battery and maintaining its 13.4 volts.

my car runs PERFECT

moron

 

oh and i think its your positive cable going to your starter or your starter.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hans stoner &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">talked to my buddy, and we ended up putting in a new alternater, and we jumped it, ran it for like 10-15 min, shut it down and it wouldn't crank again!...

I'm thinking, it's gotta be the battery, but a LESS than 6 month old yellow top, couldn't go bad, could it? what do ya'll think???
thanks, bob</TD></TR></TABLE>

It sounds like those 10-15 minutes were not enough time to charge your stone dead battery. I would make sure your battery is fully charged before you try starting/using your car.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2thousandcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

who you callin idiot?
i also have a system and pull the positive cable off occasionally (once a week) to make sure my alternator is charging my battery and maintaining its 13.4 volts.

my car runs PERFECT

moron</TD></TR></TABLE>

i wasnt calling you an idiot....but now i am! ....did you actually read what i said? i dont know why the hell youd do that once, let alone once a week....thats just retarded..... if you dont know what you're talking about, please dont misinform people....after you've taken a couple automotive courses like i have, one of which was a charging system course and after youve managed a parts store like i have, then you can talk with the adults!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

i wasnt calling you an idiot....but now i am! ....did you actually read what i said? i dont know why the hell youd do that once, let alone once a week....thats just retarded..... if you dont know what you're talking about, please dont misinform people....after you've taken a couple automotive courses like i have, one of which was a charging system course and after youve managed a parts store like i have, then you can talk with the adults!</TD></TR></TABLE>

whatever "adult"

dont call my brother an idiot btw.

you took one class on this, my brother and i have been around electronics since we were little im not sure about him, but i have a very good understanding of almost everything under the hood of a car (electronic-wise) what it does, why, and jeez just dont talk to me.



Modified by 2thousandcivic at 9:53 PM 10/26/2004

 

buy yourself a Sun VAT-40 (its a battery/load tester) and a helms, and follow instructions for troubleshooting charging system.

 

hmm....interesting.....in my manual, if you look under "Engine electrical systems" and in the first section, "General information", it says "Don't disconnect the battery cables while the engine is running.".....but i guess you should already know that since you and your brother have been around electronics since you were little!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">whatever you do, please dont listen to this idiot! NEVER disconnect the cable while your car is running....this test is only good to do on older vehicles that dont have a computer....if you do it on our cars, it will send a voltage spike thru the system and may even fry a couple things....im not saying this will happen, but there is a chance that it could and its not good for your car.....to properly test the alt, take it off and get it bench tested!............i would start with getting the battery tested first though, and then go from there! </TD></TR></TABLE>

Sorry 2thousandcivic but im gonna have 2 agree with sabotage7 on this 1

 

I had this same problem when my starter was crapping out. I ran and bought a new battery and it was ok for about 3 days. Then i started getting the symptoms again. I replaced the starter and all was well

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 2thousandcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

who you callin idiot?
i also have a system and pull the positive cable off occasionally (once a week) to make sure my alternator is charging my battery and maintaining its 13.4 volts.

my car runs PERFECT

moron</TD></TR></TABLE>
Not only have you been owned, but you have been owned by a girl that has about 100x more car knowledge than you.

You proved your an idiot when you said you disconnect your battery cable once a week to make sure your alternator charges your battery.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sabotage7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm....interesting.....in my manual, if you look under "Engine electrical systems" and in the first section, "General information", it says "Don't disconnect the battery cables while the engine is running.".....but i guess you should already know that since you and your brother have been around electronics since you were little!</TD></TR></TABLE>

funny

 

well, I got a new battery, and all seems to be well

 

I'm not stepping into this arguement. But either way I have found a common volt meter gives me a damn good idea of whats going on. Thats just the first step I take into diagnosing a problem.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Palmy Blue &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I still would like to know how disconecting the battery does anything to the computer, it doesn't go directly their are fuses in between, wouldn't it blow the fuse first?...</TD></TR></TABLE>Voltage spikes. The voltage regulation is designed to work with the battery in place, acting kinda like a really big capacitor. Without it the VR can't hold such a nice constant voltage.

With high-impedance components in the ECU, it doesn't necessarily draw enough current to blow a fuse, & sometimes the ECU can be damaged faster than a fuse can blow. Before most of you guys were born, most cars didn't have any components that were easily damaged by voltage spikes. So disconnecting the battery became kind of a ghetto way of testing the alternator.

'Most of the time' the ECU won't be damaged. Kinda like unplugging your monitor while the computer is running - most of the time it'll be ok. Once in a while it'll do some damage.

But for the alternator, there's far better ways to test it vs. just disconnecting the battery. You can buy a cheap multi-meter for about $15. You can even get a simple load-tester for less than $25. Would you let someone adjust your valve lash if the only tools they owned were pliers & a hammer?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Voltage spikes. The voltage regulation is designed to work with the battery in place, acting kinda like a really big capacitor. Without it the VR can't hold such a nice constant voltage.

With high-impedance components in the ECU, it doesn't necessarily draw enough current to blow a fuse, & sometimes the ECU can be damaged faster than a fuse can blow. Before most of you guys were born, most cars didn't have any components that were easily damaged by voltage spikes. So disconnecting the battery became kind of a ghetto way of testing the alternator.

'Most of the time' the ECU won't be damaged. Kinda like unplugging your monitor while the computer is running - most of the time it'll be ok. Once in a while it'll do some damage.

But for the alternator, there's far better ways to test it vs. just disconnecting the battery. You can buy a cheap multi-meter for about $15. You can even get a simple load-tester for less than $25. Would you let someone adjust your valve lash if the only tools they owned were pliers & a hammer?
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly!.....in case you haven't noticed, technology has changed a lot....back in the day, taking off the neg cable while the vehicle was running on your grandpa's 66 ford was an accurate way to test the alt.......now, this is not an effective way and it can harm some of your vehicles electrical components...people need to come to this realization....c'mon, how hard is it to get a freaking multi-meter and test your electrical system that way? or how hard is it to get the free test at the auto parts store if you dont have a multi-meter!?.....its FREE, and its testing it properly and safely!....you do whatever you want to w/your car, but i care about my car and i'd rather do things the right way and anyone that knows me and knows my car knows that i know what i'm talking about and they can tell by how perfect my car runs and they trust me with thier car......if i didnt know what i was talking about, i wouldnt say **** bc thats just how i am....i wouldnt want to misinform anyone!

 

The following is taken from http://www.uuhome.de/william.d...#test titled, "14. WHAT ARE THE MYTHS ABOUT BATTERIES?"

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">14.6. Test the alternator by disconnecting the battery with the engine running.

A battery acts like a voltage stabilizer or filter to the pulsating DC produced by the alternator. Disconnecting a battery while the engine is running could destroy the sensitive electronic components connected to the electrical system such as the emission computer, radio, audio system, cell phone, alarm system, etc., or the charging system, especially with internal voltage regulators, because the peak voltage can rise to 40 volts or more. In the 1970s, removing a battery terminal was an accepted practice to test charging systems of that era. That is not the case today. Static electricity and spikes from connecting and disconnecting batteries or test equipment could also damage sensitive electronic components. </TD></TR></TABLE>
hope that helps!

 

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