iTaLiAn_vIrUs

First off,, Happy New years boys, i wish you and your families nothing but the best!.

MY incident occurred on new years eve ..

My car was running fine.. no issues.. other than my alternator belt slipping here an there.. (i need to change it).

SO i took my car out ran some last min errands before the night of the big count down.. and i pull up in my drive way turn the car off.. then realize i have one more stop to go to.. i try and turn the car on.. and nothing.. the gauges light up and they dim right out... the engine doesnt even crank over..

so i have a voltage stabilizer on car which keeps a constant voltage so my battery voltage does not drop..

I boost the car.. the car runs.. everything is fine i can drive it.. soon as i turn it off.. same thing again wont turn over.. and the lights stay dim. it only turns on when i boost the car..

so i notice that as soon as my car is off, my voltage stabilizer tells me the voltage is LOW on the battery...

so i put my multimeter across the terminals and i notice it voltage on the battery has dropped.

i then take my yellow top optima deep cycle batter out and charge it at 15A outside of the vehicle..


Today, before i put the battery inside the car i measure the voltage it is 12.7V

i connect everything back up.. i DO NOT connect the voltage stabilizer just to see if that was causing it any issues.. and nothing.. it wont crank over.. the lights on the gauges turn on them dim out..


I check the voltage across the battery and it is still 12.7V so i know the battery is good.

Now at this point ive checked all my grounds....
1) battery to chassis
2) tranny to chassis (i noticed this was a bit loose so i relocated it to a better contacting point)
3) and motor to chassis

all the connections are firm and solid.

i check my power wires;
a) alternator to battery
b) starter to battery
c) & fuse box to battery

all those connections are fine firm and snug.


i try and boost it today with my car booster 100A.. i get the car to turn over once but it still wont start.. i let it charge up a bit then try and turn it over and nothing..

im guessing either;

A) A bad/loose connection
B) could the loose alternator belt affect the motor from not fully turning over?

i have a feeling one of those connections are faulty
but which one
ahhhh


anyone?? any help would be appreciated!! thanks boys!

Projectshocker

Sounds like your alt is just about pooched. You sure it's the belt slipping not bearings? From my past lessons in life I would check the alt.

Projectshocker

It's not volts that crank over the motor it's the amps cca. If you don't have enough amps the battery won't be able to turn that motor over. Get a load test done on the battery if that's good check the alt

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

well in the summer i changed the alternator to a 160A High Output

and the CCA on my deep cycle is 400 or 440 i believe




oh man if its my alternator ill be fuking pissed

Projectshocker

That's what your battery is brand new. It's probably less then that now. After being boosted a few times. I believe crappy tire does a load test for nothin or next to nothin. If its your alt and you just replaced it not to long ago it should be under warranty I would think. Get your battery looked at first

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

i got it from the states bro

its called load boss its an american company.

D.T.P

Charge your battery up and get it load tested at ctire or part source, or any shop really. you can do it with the battery in the car so at a shop you wouldn't even have to remove it.

MPR

The alternator has nothing to do with starting the engine. It doesn't do anything until the engine is running. The battery alone starts the engine.

How old is the battery?

nsxvtec

The starter motor and the battery are the 2 main players in cranking over the engine.

The starter or starter solenoid could also be damaged and be the cause of your problem.

MPR

Italian Virus, do the gauge cluster lights dim with justthe key on or only when you're trying to crank the engine over?

Projectshocker

Which is why I mentioned getting a load test.

MPR

^Indeed.

I was more commenting on the OP's question if the alt belt was slipping while he was trying to start it would affect it...

Though if the belt is slipping badly, he should adjust the tension properly and or replace the belt if need-be...

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

alright well the battery is an optima yellow top deep cycle battery.. ive had it for about 4-5 years.


MPR:
the lights only dim & fade out when i try and crank the motor over. other than that they stay lit.


now heres one thing im gonna mention to you boys.


when i changed this alternator this summer.. the pully on it was too large so i had slack on my belt even when adjusting the tensioner.. so the alternator could not charge the battery and i was getting a serious voltage drop across the battery at idle and full load.. to the point where my HID's starting flickering cause there wasnt enough voltage.

so what i did was change the pully on the alternator so it could spin faster & get rid of that extra slack i had.

Now from what i can remember.. my alternator belt size was 31" i believe .. i got a smaller belt 30.5" to see if i could get rid of that excess slack and still have some play on the tensioner. now the belt sequels so i know its a little loose, so ill have to change the belt to an even smaller size then the one thats on there now.


Now im gonna go to crappy tire tomorow to get a load test done on the battery.. should i have the battery fully charged? or should i leave it as is and see what comes of it?

Projectshocker

I would charge it to get accurate results. 4-5 years isn't that old IMO. But if it's been dead multiple times it would wear it out I would think. Can you get your hands on another battery right now that would fit? If so see if it will start it up for ya

MPR

^Read the red.

Yes, charge the battery before having it tested.

ol Dusty

iTrader: (2)

4-5 years isn't that old for a battery but I've seen tons of batteries that have never been boosted go from running fine to dead randomly after 2-3 years. Including my Optima red top.

As for the pulley being to big, how does that make too much slack in the belt? do you mean is was wider? Sorry, I'm just confused on how a bigger diameter pulley would take up less space inside the belt. I would take the belt off, then try spinning the alternator by hand, slowly and also feel for play in the shaft, maybe you damaged the bearings in it swapping the pulley, also if you changed to a smaller pulley, now the alternator is spinning faster then the designers intended, so maybe that overheated the bearings and/or other components, the stabilizer may have helped to keep the battery level correct, but may have been part of the issue as well. I don't know much about how a voltage stabilizer works but maybe it was even keeping the volts good but the alternator may have been sending high output volts and amps that the stabilizer was only able to control the voltage, and the high amps have pooched the battery. Usually if it'll hold 12.6v its a good battery, but for obvious reasons check it out too.

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

K gents heres an update:
I charged the battery last night and brought it in for a load test at crappy tire. The guy tells me its gonna take 15 min and to come back, i leave. Less than 2 min he calls me over and tells me that my battery cannot hold charge and its pootched.

I go home and take a battery out of my moms car and put it in mine, and bingo the car starts runs fine. I turn it off and on again to make sure and it still works.

So it looks like my battery was causing the issue, thx for the help with that boys.

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

Now with regards to my battery and alternator.
Like i said it is an optima yellow top battery, ive had it for 4-5 years.. Its been boosted twice and died once. Im pissed that already its dead but i guess my system and other accessories were killing it slowly...



When i first had that alternator the pulley was bigger and the regulator was for an american model of vehicle, so i got it changed froma 4pin to a 3pin. Also so the stock belt i had wouldnt fit it was too small, so i changed the pulley. I noticed with a smaller pulley the stock belt would fit again. I am aware that by changing the pulley i am putting more stress on the bearings, but that solution worked

iTaLiAn_vIrUs

Now i have to decide if its worth investing money into a other yellow top battery or get a regular battery from caa with a 3 year warranty.

Dusty how did u find ur red top?? Worth the investment??

Projectshocker

Jus buy a normal battery unless your pounding a huge system. For a dd get a normal battery