help! car keeps losing power
08-29-2007, 07:04 AM
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help! car keeps losing power Hey guys,
so 3 weeks ago I installed my system (2 kenwood amps, 12" MC sub, and HU)..everything worked fine until last night. My HU started flickering, turning off, then back on, continuously. So, we parked at the grocery store, and came out and the car wouldn't start. I got a boost and let it charge for a minute, and didn't bother turning on the cd player, any way I'm driving and my lights shut off, then there is no power on the dash, until the car shuts off. I parked it at my uncles and charged it for about 2 - 3 hours, started up fine, battery meter was roughly at half way mark, then i started driving again. After 10 minutes of driving, then car started dying again!
The alternator looks new...and the battery date was Nov 06. Could it be that there is a problem in the wiring between the alt and bat? I didn't bother putting in my capacitor when I installed my system, could it be drawing too much power the alt? After the car died the first time, I unplugged the amps.
Also, I noticed my amp wire was coming loose on the battery, could it have been arching?
Thanks
so 3 weeks ago I installed my system (2 kenwood amps, 12" MC sub, and HU)..everything worked fine until last night. My HU started flickering, turning off, then back on, continuously. So, we parked at the grocery store, and came out and the car wouldn't start. I got a boost and let it charge for a minute, and didn't bother turning on the cd player, any way I'm driving and my lights shut off, then there is no power on the dash, until the car shuts off. I parked it at my uncles and charged it for about 2 - 3 hours, started up fine, battery meter was roughly at half way mark, then i started driving again. After 10 minutes of driving, then car started dying again!
The alternator looks new...and the battery date was Nov 06. Could it be that there is a problem in the wiring between the alt and bat? I didn't bother putting in my capacitor when I installed my system, could it be drawing too much power the alt? After the car died the first time, I unplugged the amps.
Also, I noticed my amp wire was coming loose on the battery, could it have been arching?
Thanks
08-29-2007, 07:09 AM
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https://ls1tech.com/forums/showthrea...ght=alternator
Just found that link, if anyone else can provide other tests I can run let me know. I'm going to try and figure it out tonight
Just found that link, if anyone else can provide other tests I can run let me know. I'm going to try and figure it out tonight
08-29-2007, 09:13 AM
#3
What your describing is a bad alternator. You can't tell by looking at it if it's good or not. You need to get a multimeter, put it on 12V and touch the leads to your battery..pos and neg. it should read around high 13's to 14volts minimum. If it's less than 12-13 you have an alternator problem. Rebuilt alternators can be had on ebay from reputable companies for about $80.00. Higher performance ones can be had for $150.00-$250.00. New OEM ones are $280.00 on ebay.