alternator question????

[pinkley]

yesterday morning on my way home from work it was pouring down rain and all of a sudden my wipers started slowly dying then headlights started to dim. radio kicking off and on. when i finally made it home i figured it was the alternator so i got it off and took it to the local autozone for them to test. tested good not once but SIX times. put it back on and took my battery to get it tested and it had a low charge. charged then tested it and it tested good. WTF! put the battery back in the car and it started running like nothing was wrong. then again this morning the same damn thing. but i think i have it narrowed down just need someone to help me confirm. im thinking its my sub and amp drawling too much power and the alternator isnt keeping up. its the factory (not sure if its the original) not a high amp alternator. the amp is a 1600 watt legacy pushing a 12'' 2000w memphis d2. i know i should probably be running a power cap or extra battery. i never had this problem before when i had a 1000w kenwood amp which was a week or so ago. any suggestions??????

 

[jdmjim]

are they putting a load on it when there testing it? make shure you have everything on,a/c on high and check charging voltagr, needs to be over 13v

 

[pinkley]

are they putting a load on it when there testing it? make shure you have everything on,a/c on high and check charging voltagr, needs to be over 13v

i had to take it off the car to get it tested so i couldnt do that and i dont have a voltage meter in my car

 

[jdmjim]

that way usually dosent work that well, get a voltmeter and dom it yourself

 

[pinkley]

that way usually dosent work that well, get a voltmeter and dom it yourself

i guess ill go buy a volt meter

 

[mirrorimg]

I doubt the audio equipment is the problem. I would check out the alternator fuse,and test continuity (with a multimeter)between the alternator and the fuse box,there maybe an issue with that power wire.

 

[BeatBox]

hard to say what the problem might be, take off the amp wire and run your car with out any of the audio equipment if its good with out it then the problem MIGHT be the system, make sure the amp is grounded right and double check the wires to the system make sure thats all good, IMO i would upgrade to a better battery upfront or add a second one, IMO an HO alternator would be a good option but the battery upgrade would be cheaper and might do the trick

 

[pinkley]

hard to say what the problem might be, take off the amp wire and run your car with out any of the audio equipment if its good with out it then the problem MIGHT be the system, make sure the amp is grounded right and double check the wires to the system make sure thats all good, IMO i would upgrade to a better battery upfront or add a second one, IMO an HO alternator would be a good option but the battery upgrade would be cheaper and might do the trick

im pretty sure i have it narrowed down to the altrernator. i actually sold the system yesterday and on my way home this morning i had the same problem. battery runs dead and lights radio ect slowly dies. when i got home i hooked jumper cables up with my other car and kept them hooked up for about 30 minutes. i unhooked the positive side of the battery and it went from a smooth idle to kinda sluggish. as soon at i turned the headlights on it died.. i just going to buy a new alternator. i am going to test it first with a amp meter before i decide to pull it off. i dont know if you guys have ever changed out one or not but its a pain in the ass.

 

[BeatBox]

im pretty sure i have it narrowed down to the altrernator. i actually sold the system yesterday and on my way home this morning i had the same problem. battery runs dead and lights radio ect slowly dies. when i got home i hooked jumper cables up with my other car and kept them hooked up for about 30 minutes. i unhooked the positive side of the battery and it went from a smooth idle to kinda sluggish. as soon at i turned the headlights on it died.. i just going to buy a new alternator. i am going to test it first with a amp meter before i decide to pull it off. i dont know if you guys have ever changed out one or not but its a pain in the ass.

well hopefully its the alt, i ordered one for mine too its just alittle bigger (320A )
i havent changed one before but i think you have to get under the car to take it out

 

[pinkley]

well hopefully its the alt, i ordered one for mine too its just alittle bigger (320A )
i havent changed one before but i think you have to get under the car to take it out

its the alternator for sure. i tested it with a amp meter today and itr was only at 11 amps without a load on it and 5 amps with my headlights and a/c on. when i bought the car a got a haynes manuali says to drop the spindle and pull out the cv axel. i said F#%K that. i pulled the brake booster off and it came right out the top. it took me awhile to figure it out though. i guess i get to do it again tomorrow.

 

[mirrorimg]

its the alternator for sure. i tested it with a amp meter today and itr was only at 11 amps without a load on it and 5 amps with my headlights and a/c on. when i bought the car a got a haynes manuali says to drop the spindle and pull out the cv axel. i said F#%K that. i pulled the brake booster off and it came right out the top. it took me awhile to figure it out though. i guess i get to do it again tomorrow.

I squeezed mine out between the strut tower and the intake manifold. I had to slide the fuel rail over a little bit to give me some clearance though.