alternator problems?
 

Ok - so - about a week and a half ago - i drive the car to the airport and leave it a few days.... the cars engine had been replaced in feb, and had been running just fine, but hadnt been driven regularly.

so i get back to the car after it sitting at the airport a few days and the battery is dead - i charge it - no problems... i drive home ( about 40 - 50 miles mostly highway) and when i get in my driveway its starts flickering its lights and dies - thankfully in the driveway.... i try to charge it the next day and the same things happens... but the flickering and dying happens immediatelly..... i read online some and decide its the alternator - so i order one...... i got it today and put it in.....

obviously the batter is dead so i charge it and the only thing that happens is the clicking sound that sounds like a dead battery?


this is my moms car - so i am new to all of the "unique rotary problems" but im not new to cars.... im 98% sure all the connections are back on....

any ideas would be appreciated... shouldnt the car start even if the battery is dead? or should i try that.... the car sat in the garage w/ the hood popped for a week and a half... i read that can drain the battery??

thanks for any help...

No... if the battery is dead, it won't start.
The starter is wired straight to the battery and uses the electricity from the battery to spin the drive gear in the starter (which spins the flywheel and eventually spins the pulleys/belts and the alternator).
So the battery is the only source of electricity at the beginning.
Have you tried to jump-start it?

BTW... if the lights were flickering when you pulled into the drive, check the connections to the battery and make sure they didn't come loose.

replace the battery. If its been totaly discharged/recharged that many times its probably toast.

Jon - it tried jump starting it - many times..... but it just clicks like the battery is dead...

cam - i guess thats my only option before i have it towed to the dealer... i just want to make sure thats it...

when i have it charging or hooked up to the other car - all the electrical stuff on board seems fine.... it just acts like there is no juice when i crank it - just click click click....

thanks for your help guys.... im open to ideas before buy a new battery.

oh yeah - and before i replaces the alternator i brushed and the battery terminals so they would charge better.

What lights were flickering? Was the battery light on while you were driving?

the flickering first happened when i was driving - well when i was parking after driving back from the airport.

then agian when i jumped the car and it worked - and i tried to move the car...

now i cant even jump the car.........


im not positive if the battery light was on or not when i was driving. i do however remember thinking the dsc light was on the 2nd time around...

but - just to make sure if my battery was dead - and my alternator was shot - shouldnt i still be able to jump start the car???

any ideas on avoiding towing it to the dealership today?

You still didn't say what lights were flickering. Is the battery charged?

samething happened to me. when your alt died it killed the battery with it. when that happened your power everthing starts going crazy. when you changed out the alt you also need a new battery. now because your 8 was running with no alt and battery the system needs to recover. reset the ECU, start it up, its going to turn but wont kick right away. keep turning till it kicks, when it kicks hold the idle at 3 to 4k till all that flooded gas is gone. let idle for 5 to 10 mins and your good to go.

You could jump start it from another vehicle/battery, but as soon as you disconnected that external source your '8 would die as your present battery is [presumed] drained. The power has to come from somewhere to maintain the spark and thereby combustion cycle.

When you do get a new charged battery then also check your Alternator output with a Voltmeter. It should be around 14 volts DC.

when you jumped it the engine flooded cuz the electric system was down, and i bet when you jumped it your lights and gauges were going crazy huh? it took me 30 mins to get it started cuz it was super flooded. with that new battery keep a charger on it to keep the charge strong.

thanks guys -

9krpm - i think all the lights were flashing...when it was loosing power or trying to start w/out being hooked up to another car.


but now i cant start it at all while its hooked up to another car.... it just clicks.

ill check out the flooding problem - the manual info didnt help when i tried that - i guess i need to take out the plugs?

thanks for your advice.

If it just clicks then your starter motor solenoid is not getting enough power to engage the flywheel.

You need to properly charge the battery and then start it figure out if the alternator is putting out any voltage. Or you could just take the the alternator out, take the battery out, and take them to a place where they could bench test them. This way you don't do any damage to the car by jumping it, etc.