power drain and not the alternator

[gundogg13b]

ok this has me stumped, my alternator went bad, replaced it, after aabout a month battery warning light came on and I lost all power, was told that my alternator was dead, went and got another one, installed it today, after about 30 minutes my warning light comes on again, does anyone have any idea where this power drain is coming from

[Lucas1]

did you test the fusible link? thats the wire that goes from the alternator to the starter. should be blue or orange, depending on the year

[gundogg13b]

no i haven't tried that yet, what seems to be happening is that the alternator is not charging the battery, but its a new alternator and battery, and have complete power drain

[binnemg]

I'd suspect an internal short in the battery. Have you had the battery tested?

[gundogg13b]

ok update on the situation, I checked all wires and the battery all are good but somewhere is still pulling power, I've disconnected my stereo and amps, I've changed alternators 3 times switched belts and still getting nowhere fast, I'm at a total loss, pun intended. So any help or ideas is helpful, cuz the saturn dealership was no help over the phone.

[sierrap615]

are you leaking oil? if oil runs down the back of the block an hits the alternator it will kill it real fast.

where are you? is the saturn in germany? if its near chicago, i see what i can do

[gundogg13b]

unfortunately I am in Germany which makes owning a saturn with issues that much more of a headache over hear, because the germans don't know where to start, if i had a ford, honda or some other car no prob, but a saturn is like having a porsche in the middle of the desert.

[sierrap615]

ok this isn't something i would normally recomend but seeing as you are in a "bend over, dig deep" situation. have you ever heard a parasidic current draw test? if not i'll send you detailed instuctions, seeing as it real easy to mess it up. really, i have a "16 minute quick test" laying around here somewhere, it takes about an hour and a half, i don't know where the name came from. i'll send it to you as soon as i find it.

in the meantime, i would consider checking/replace the battery and wires. and go over to saturnfans.com, they can help you a lot better than i can.

[gundogg13b]

Hey thanks for all the help and the web site, to let you know I think I have narrowed the problem down, after changing plugs and wires and re checking wiring and connectors, I'm gonna try a newer belt, if that doesn't fix the prob then I have to recheck the fuisible link, if I still have the prob next week I'll let you know.

[WhiteMuscleZ28]

what exactly does it take to replace the alternator? i have a camaro and its liek 35 seconds to remove but i dont know on the saturn, its my girlfriendsand i dont want to look likea dipsiht when i tell heri can do it.

[kyle_purviance]

I have the same exact problem in my 93 saturn sl2. In the last two years ive changed my battery, alternator, starter seems like about the same time of year i run into a similar problem.

Anyway, the battery is good i had a geo metro charge it by hooking jumper cables to it, it charged it up pretty quick. I can disconnect the negative battery cable and turn everything on (headlights, stereo heater etc.. etc..) and the car doesnt die or even act like it wants to. So i guess my question is, in a saturns charging system where should i look to find something that would allow the alternator to work, but not charge a good battery. Can something tell the alternator that the battery is charged?

Thanks for any help?

[saturnspeed_12]

ok im confused. you can disconnect the negative cable and you can turn on things? if so, then its just not possible. ok but anyways a typical problem with a saturn when it gets older or a bunch of miles is a bad tensioner. the tensioner becomes loose and doesnt keep the tension on the belt so the alternator doesnt get a full charge. you should get a battery light sometimes when driving. also you could have a drain in the system. its not such a simple thing to find. there could be somehting stuck on and you dont know it. now like on fords a typical battery drain problem is the ignition switch. check to see how tight the belt is and how much tension the tnesioner gives when you pull it off the belt. other then that you either got a bad battery, alternator, starter, or a some kind of drain elsewhere. and even if your battery, alternator, starter are new they can still be bad parts, but if bought from the dealer then they will normally always work.

[kyle_purviance]

Yeah, i went and purchased a voltmeter the battery when its connected to the car with everything off (car included) puts out about 12.5v, when i start the car it puts out anywhere from 12-12.4v if i disconnect both pos and neg cables while car is running i get 11.5 from the alternator with everything off.

The alternator is probably just on its last limb, im gonna replace that today in the rain fun fun Nothing like taking a tire off, the crap around the wheel to get to a piece that has nothing to do with the tire LOL

thx

[saturnspeed_12]

well the 12.5 with nothing on sounds fine but when the car is running it should range from like 12 something to 14 something. so probably the alternator is bad.