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my alternator took a dump..i think...
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Posted by: ad5mustangvert

broke down AGAIN...this damn alternator went again. i smelled a burning scent in my car commin home from school today and i noticed my temp guage went up to 210....i though it was coolant i was smelling, but then my stereo started to cut out a bit and the more i pressed n the gas, the more it cut out. and my car sounded funny...like it was strugling to go. i got home and poped the hood...added some coolant cuz it was alittle low and i could smell something burning, but couldnt pinpoint its location. i went inside for about 3 hours and the went to work..car started and drove fine as it did while i was out tonight...then while out with my friends and all their stangs, my car wont start..dead battery. i got a jump from my friends GT and he fallowd me home....now its reallllly dark out by now and i had NO headlights taillights signals or guage lights. im like WTF!? as sooon as i pulled into my drive way it shut off. im guessing its my alt. i have a 520 watt stereo system right to the battery,and fog lights, one interior neon light under my dash, and my air fuel ratio guage run off the same switch. i think thats my prob..too many accessories not enough power to handle them all. what should i get? where can i find a good higher amp alt for my 85 6 banger?

Posted by: ad5mustangvert

ok i come home from work today and tried to start my car...and it started right up! i let it run for about 15-20 min and it was fine...then the lights were gettin dim slowly, so i shut it off and turned the key to restart it and ther was nothing...not even the buzz sound. why is this happening? all the connections on the alternator are hooked up correctly...nothing it frayed, toughing something else, broken or melted. its all new stuff. however...my alternator is making a funny noise when i rev the engine. like a hissing type sound..its hard to describe. please someone help me...lol i need it. Nick

Posted by: kissajew86

take the car to autozone and they can check your elctrical system....to me it almost sounds like a short somwhere

Posted by: ad5mustangvert

i cant get the car there..it about 10 min away, but it wont make it there on a jump. i duno what to do. ohh and by the way...whats this google gal thing at the end of every post on here?

Posted by: ad5mustangvert

ohh and autozone said that my car isnt obd2 or someting like that..i duno they never wana help you out...atlease the ones here dont...they are dumb and dont know ne thing.

Posted by: kissajew86

obd 2 wont matter, pull the alternator and battery out and take it to them they can test it

Posted by: ad5mustangvert

i did the test where you start the engine and dis conect the negative battery cable. if they car shuts off right away, its the alt..if it stays running its not. it shut right off when i did it. im going to advanced auto right after i type this actually so im gona have them bench test the new one just to be sure.

Posted by: stang kid

yea its most likely ur alternator. if i was u i would buy a new more powerful alternator and change the battery.

Posted by: 94gtstang50

So autozone said they couldn't test your alt/electrical system because its not obd2? Wow, I'd say never go there again if they are that retarded, and if you do tell them its obd3 and has a 3.0l 8 cylinder, see what they say and then insist they are wrong.

Posted by: Aussie XAXB

OBD II is only for connecting to the diagnostic system. It has a standardized connector and standardized trouble codes.

As for testing the charging system, this is done by hooking directly to the battery. If you have a volt/ohm meter you can get a reading at the battery while the engine is at idle, then rev the engine some and hold it and take another reading. At idle you should have about 11.5-12.5 volts. At RPM you should have around 13-13.5 volts.

Even before doing this put a load tester on your battery to see if it is at full charge first to get an accurate test reading on the voltage readings from the charging system.

You can do these things yourself, at home, in 3 minutes and don't have to worry about taking anything apart to cart anywhere.

BTW, sounds like a serious alternator problem with it making noise and all. Yes, I higher output one should be purchased due to your stereo system.

Steve

Posted by: Mustang5L5

this thread is over a year old btw....

Posted by: badass98svt

Where the hell is Scotty? LOl...He must be an expert by now

Posted by: Aussie XAXB

LOL, I didn't even look at the date of the original posts. It must have been too difficult an issue for him to handle.

Steve

Posted by: 94gtstang50

Bahaha, I love it when that happens. Someone digs up an old post and revives it.

Posted by: RRRAAAYYY2

Quote:

Originally Posted by siXXXd7coupe

i did the test where you start the engine and dis conect the negative battery cable. if they car shuts off right away, its the alt..if it stays running its not. it shut right off when i did it. im going to advanced auto right after i type this actually so im gona have them bench test the new one just to be sure.

Actually kind of good that it was brought up. The idea that you can disconnect your battery cables while the engine is running as a valid test of anything other than a generator equipped vehicle is wrong. Most alternators will not charge when there is no battery present. Further when you disconnect the battery the alternator will load dump all of its output to ground through its own diodes. This will damage forsure, and sometimes explode the diodes, depending on how hard the alternator is charging at the time of disconnnect. Even further it is possible for you to damage your computer by doing this. So it is considered a really big no no.

This can also happen when boosting cars as well. So it is not recommended to boost any car with a computer in it. If you have to: turn both cars off. Make the jumper connection, and then start the good car. Rev it to about 2000rpm for 10 to 15 minutes. Shut it off, disconnect the batteries, and try to start the dead vehicle. Pain in the butt but you do not want to connect jumper cables to a running vehicle. The little spark you see can either go directly to the battery (most often does) or go through your elelctrical system to your battery (does this and stuff gets fried). It doesnt happen often but when it does it is really expensive.

Posted by: Prafopi

Actually, it's kinda cool reviving old posts... Beside the date is not that important, its the information on the thread which make it great... Specially, in my case that I had the same problem on my Jeep alternator just like the situation on the first post.... Now I can I use the essential imformation on how to fix it... Thanks guys...