baterry wont charge

[gurinski]

I bought a 88 CV about 2 years ago with 75000 miles. Itnow has about 106k the engine runs great but i recently had some problems first the tranny started toleak badly about 1 qt a week. But i could deal with it till I fix it the major problem started with the electrical. TH eclassical dead baterry go get an alternator. So i did with a new battery. Then the starter went i replaced that but now the battery wont hold charge, funny becouse it worked fine at first when i replaced the alternator. I think i have a short becouse now I have to dissconnect the battery to keep a charge and recently that doesnt help so far i replaced the starter alternator starter relay battery and voltage regulator but the car still doesnt hold charge.........stumped

[peppermrj]

Start with having the battery charged and tested. Even a new battery can go bad.

[gurinski]

Originally Posted by peppermrj

Start with having the battery charged and tested. Even a new battery can go bad.

thank you for youre reply. I had the battery tested prior, sorry i failed to mention that and also i failed to mention that when the car is started and i remove a battery cable the car shuts off

[peppermrj]

Originally Posted by gurinski

thank you for youre reply. I had the battery tested prior, sorry i failed to mention that and also i failed to mention that when the car is started and i remove a battery cable the car shuts off

That would lead me to believe the alternator is not in the loop. Double check the connections, the belt, the belt tension, and the alternator mounting bolts. The wire from the alt to the battery might be a fusible link. Check it for continuity.

[ModMech]

To properly find out what is REALY happening you NEED to use some sort of volt meter.

Measure the battery voltage (12.6Vdc of more) with the KEY OFF and cable removed. Now connect the cable and start the engine. The voltage should now read 13.6Vdc to 14.2Vdc, if under check the voltage AT the Alternaotr's +12V (BATT) connection and ground, if that is 13.6Vdc or more, check for a bad connection at the starter relay and solenoid. If any measurement is OVER 14.2Vdc, the regulator is bad.

If that all checks out (13.6 - 14.2Vdc at battery, engine running), then you have a "draw" like a dome, trunk, or glove box light that is staying on.

[Madman762]

One method of helping track down a draw that is draining your battery:

Disconnect the negative battery cable. Hook one end of a test light to the negative terminal of the battery and the other end of the test light to the negative battery cable. Make sure everything is turned off and the doors are closed so that there should be nothing that is on. (If there is an underhood light that comes on automatically when the hood is open, remove the bulb or unplug it.) If the test light lights up when connected between the battery and the negative cable, there is something drawing energy from the battery. Now, pull fuses one at a time until the light goes out, putting them back as you go, of course. When you pull a fuse and the light goes out, you know that the draw is somewhere in that circuit. That may help narrow down your search quite a bit.

[gurinski]

Originally Posted by Madman762

One method of helping track down a draw that is draining your battery:

Disconnect the negative battery cable. Hook one end of a test light to the negative terminal of the battery and the other end of the test light to the negative battery cable. Make sure everything is turned off and the doors are closed so that there should be nothing that is on. (If there is an underhood light that comes on automatically when the hood is open, remove the bulb or unplug it.) If the test light lights up when connected between the battery and the negative cable, there is something drawing energy from the battery. Now, pull fuses one at a time until the light goes out, putting them back as you go, of course. When you pull a fuse and the light goes out, you know that the draw is somewhere in that circuit. That may help narrow down your search quite a bit.

thanks everyone for youre help. I tried everything I could from youre suggestions but Since Im not to good with car electrical problems I havent figured it out. Im going to take it to a freinds garage so he can look at and use better equipment wich i dont have thanks again and I will give an update once this problem is resolved. :

[fleettech]

NEVER unhook the battery while a car is running. it may have worked years ago but with todays computer controlled cars its a great way to let the factory smoke out of some expensive components. chances are if you had the battery checked (did they check it with a toaster or real battery tester?)and it checked ok something is staying on or your alternator has a diode bad and draining your battery

[Habariv8]

Originally Posted by gurinski

I bought a 88 CV about 2 years ago with 75000 miles. Itnow has about 106k the engine runs great but i recently had some problems first the tranny started toleak badly about 1 qt a week. But i could deal with it till I fix it the major problem started with the electrical. TH eclassical dead baterry go get an alternator. So i did with a new battery. Then the starter went i replaced that but now the battery wont hold charge, funny becouse it worked fine at first when i replaced the alternator. I think i have a short becouse now I have to dissconnect the battery to keep a charge and recently that doesnt help so far i replaced the starter alternator starter relay battery and voltage regulator but the car still doesnt hold charge.........stumped

I had a problem like that on a Ford van. There was corrosion inside the plus battery cable between the clamp and the cable. The only way I found the problem was to slit the cable insulation next to the clamp. I had 14.4 volts from the altenator to ground with the car running but only 12.6 from the battery post to ground. I replaced the red cable and that solved the problem. The corrosion created a bad connection between the alternator and the battery.