alternator/battery/electrical

alright, from the beginning: one day i jump my friend's car and the next mine won't start. i get it towed to a mechanic who puts in a new battery and alternator and those work fine for 3 months. then my alternator starts putting out too much voltage (lights flicker, dash lights are real bright, voltometer in dash reads above 14 and goes higher with the rpms) i take it to a different mechanic and they test the alternator, say its putting out too much voltage and get a new one put it. the new one doesn't charge (direct quote, not sure exactly what that means.) so they get another and put that in but that doesn't charge either. then they pull it out and take all 3 alternators to be tested, the first puts out too much voltage but the other two or normal. so its gotta be something wrong in the car then..? i looked at the fuze box and there are two fuzes labelled ALT. and ALT. 120A. are these alternator fuzes and could these be the reason its not charging the battery? i turned on the car and drove it home and the voltometer in the dash read a little over 13 volts, which must mean the alternator was producing current correct? because its only a 12v system the batter runs on. taking it to the electrical place soon but anyone have any advise?

:iceslolan :grinyes: its your steering wheel that is bad:grinyes: :iceslolan

huh?

its a yoke, dont you get it?

How do you know it doesn't charge?

The system is technically a 13.6 volt system and not 12... The 12 volt the minimum voltage that the electronics require to operate.

If the battery is flat you might see the charging system hit 14 volts for about 10-15 minutes while the system charges the battery (it does not go up with RPM)... I am guessing if the mechanics said the alternator is not charging they are not used to our electrical systems because I have not seen the charging system kick in until the voltage is below 13 volts (on the dash at least... i have not taken a voltmeter to it).

I am willing to bet that the system is actually working because the battery would not be able to support the car electronics for long if the alternator was actually dead (and I really doubt you battery would produce 13 volts with a constant drain).

^^Nerd!!! lol.......

2old ru a tech?

Nerds rule the world!

And no... I am not a tech... I'm an engineer (mining specialization if you were wondering how I knew what Bauxite was in a different thread).

I also happen to have a father that was an electrician (for trains, he's retired now) and helped tutor my cousin to get his Automotive Technician Certificate. I have had a 92 N/A Dodge Stealth for about 7 years so I know my way around it (and why you don't see me answer questions specific to the turbo).

My turbo timer shows voltage and it is not unusual to see up to 14.5V if the car is idling and I don't have any electronics on. If I turn on the stereo and junk, it will go down to 12V, so anything in that range I wouldn't worry about. If you are seeing lower or higher, than you have a problem. But to go through 3 or 4 alternators....it could be the mechanic.


3kvr4, I constantly notice you posting absolutely worthless stuff. The guy is asking for help with his car, he doesn't want a joke. You post 5 worthless jokes for every 1 worthwhile post. Please quit post-whoring and hijacking people's threads. Next time it's a ban.

igovert500, thanks for the info. I just got a multimeter to test voltage and saw the same numbers u did: a little above 14 with nothing on and below with the stereo and lights. unfortunetly i took it to a different mechanic first and he charged me about $150 to go through a ton of wires, do a little polishing and spraying of some anti-corrosion gunk, fix a tiny bad connection somewhere and tell me he didn't really see anything wrong. so i guess my usual mechanic just doesn't know what he's talking about when it comes to electrical.

anyway just a little off topic, my friend owns a 4-dr saturn and is having transmission problems with it. when she first got the car the shifting was fine, but for the past 2 years the thing has really headed downhill. when the car is cold or not driven too far the shifting is just like it was, but now as soon as she takes it over a couple miles she can't shift into any gears. she can push real hard and it'll push back until kinda sinking its way into gear every once in a while without making any grinding noises. i would guess transmission fluid but i really have no idea. any insight would be greatly appreciated.

ask in the saturn section. And be more detailed, is it auto or manual, I'd assume manual. If it is manual, it's called gear oil not tranny fluid. And if it hasn't been changed in the last 40k, change it. Also make sure your linkage is properly aligned, etc. But yeah, ask in the saturn section.