Bad Battery or Bad Connection or Altenator?

sniz55 · 01-26-2005, 08:05 PM

Im currently driving a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta, and I have to literally jump my car everytime I have to start it. I had an OPUS 90w and a 200 Watt amp hooked up to my car and after I started having trouble I disconnected both, but the wires are still present just unconnected. On top of the car not starting, it does wierd stuff, my car alarm led with stay solid instead of blinking, and my dashboard time and trip miles flicker...and reset... and my Xenarc turns on and off, or sometimes stays on and wont let me turn it off. When I hookup a battery and jump my car, even if I roll down the windows, my dash lights flicker and my headlights... The battery is about 3 years old...

Any expertise would be appreciated...

Thanks

DaRacerz · 01-26-2005, 11:21 PM

I would venture the alternator route. The best way to check is to jump start your vehicle and then read the Voltage. If its not near 14V (+/- 0.5V) then its your alternator. But you might as well throw out your battery as well (after you pinpoint the problem and fix it) because after a few deep discharges they turn to crap.

RedGTiVR6 · 01-27-2005, 12:46 AM

3 year old battery could be partially to blame....but I'm with DaRacerz.....break out a trust Fluke - or the like and test the voltage coming out of the alternator while the car is running and tell us what it says

=]

sniz55 · 01-28-2005, 01:05 AM

Its reading about 9 V just sitting, and about 13.8 V running...

FyreDaug · 01-28-2005, 02:25 AM

9V just sitting? Ouch, no draw at all? It should be around 12.2 without any load just sitting. And the 13.8 sounds about right running.

I'd be willing to be its the battery. (Assuming the alternator isnt being stupid intermittently)

sniz55 · 01-28-2005, 02:30 AM

Someone told me today that my Serpentine belt looks like ****, and they said it might be sliding and not making my altenator get fully going... I bought a new belt but the people at the auto store gave me the wrong belt, my belts ribbed on both sides and the one they gave me isnt... I think im gonna replace the battery and go that route cause i would have to replace it anyway...

RedGTiVR6 · 01-28-2005, 09:40 AM

if your belt is going out then you need to replace that BEFORE you replace your battery if you can only afford to do one.

Use common sense here...if that belt goes.....it doesn't matter how good your alternator, etc is......you won't have ANY accessories....much less an alternator.....

9v does sound low.....could be the battery not getting enough of a charge from the alternator and it could also be that your battery is just dead, they don't last forever you know...just like the regular little AA rechargable batteries....you can only discharge and recharge them so many times before they give out

Skipjacks · 01-28-2005, 09:48 AM

Replace the belt first. I'd venture to say you'll see a complete restoration of the electrical flickering problem. But I'd bet you'll find the battery has been overworked to the point of being drained at this point because of it. You might try checking the water level of the battery and topping it off before byuing a new one. But at 3 years old with an ongoing electrical problem....eh...it's better days are probably behind it.

DaRacerz · 01-28-2005, 10:20 PM

Yea, without a dought change the belt first and battery after that is taken care of cause it is shot at 9V. That is by the most important part for you. And what Skipjacks said is a good pointer. May not solve the problem, but someties can help temporary solve an issue. Except, when you add water, it must be sterilized water and NOT from the tap.

Chris31 · 01-28-2005, 10:57 PM

If the alternator belt is at fault then you should see it loose and making some sqeeking noise. It doenst matter if the belt look crap as long as it can turn the alternator, thats all that matter here at the moment. Except of course that the belt will need replacing soon.

Why not charge the battery indoor overnite. If you still need to jumpstart or feel the starter dont turn as it should after overnite charging then your battery is 100% gone. If everything runs ok then check your alternator output, it cant be the belt if the alternator is pumping out the correct voltage into the battery.

While the engine is running check the voltage across the battery terminal posts (the lead +/- post) and at the clamps (where the wires are connected to). If there is a difference then you know you have a bad connection between the battery posts and the clamps.

This way you can easily narrow down the fault finding.

If everything is still ok then something is draining your battery. Check how much current is being drawn with everything off (as parked up) in the car.

Skipjacks · 01-28-2005, 11:03 PM

Quote: Originally Posted by DaRacerz

Yea, without a dought change the belt first and battery after that is taken care of cause it is shot at 9V. That is by the most important part for you. And what Skipjacks said is a good pointer. May not solve the problem, but someties can help temporary solve an issue. Except, when you add water, it must be sterilized water and NOT from the tap.

You can get purified sterilized pasturize and petrofide water at any grocery store. Or if you have a moral problem with buying water at a store, you can just boil the hell out of tap water and it should do you just fine.

Technically if you're going to purify your own water you should boil it off and collect the vapor in a funnel that let's it condense and drip into a new, clean container. But for those of you who haven't made your own stills....just boiling it will get the job moslty done. At least temporarily until you feel like buying a new battery.

BassBinDevil · 01-30-2005, 06:40 PM

distilled water is what you want... should be able to find it in a drug store or supermarket; it doesn't cost much.