Hey Guys,

I am having an electrical problem that some you may be able to help me figure out. Here are the facts some may be revelant or completely non-related.

First I have had a surge at Idle for a couple months now. Doesnt seem to effect anything although recently I noticed that my headlights and dashlights dim with it.

Second, About a month ago I left my dome lamp on overnight and drained my battery. I took the battery to Autozone and had it recharged and have been driving on it for a while now.

Third My MPG is down about 2 MPG and I have noticed occassionally ( Once a week or so) My car will feel like some one turned on a hidden power reserve???? I dont know if that is part of the surge or non-related.

So here is the deal. When I got in my car tonight and turned the key to accessory like I normally do, The Voltage guage(cant remember name) was at about 9 or 10 volts really low. I noticed that my shift plate light seemed dim as well as inside lights and thought great!!! I turned the car over and it kinda slow cranked and fired up. I noticed that my stereo was causing everything to pulse. So I detached it . Then I noticed when I rolled down the window the Voltage dropped again. I drove home thinking it would charge since it is a 40 minute drive???? Got home turned car off and back to accessory and no difference. Hit my window switch and it dipd lower again?

Is this a bad battery or a bad alternator or something completely different???

I need your suggestions cause I work tommorrow and I am not sure it will fire up.

 

If your battery is very old, it could be a problem. If not, I would get the alternator checked out. Sorry I'm not much help!

 

i'd be willing to bet that either your battery has a bad cell and your altornator is about to die or.........

one or the other!!!!!!

 

Yeah I figured it is one or the other. Does anyone know how to tell which one without alot of tools?? Anything I can do to check?? Could this be the cause of my surging? Keep it coming guys.

Thanks
Shawn

 

Well i had the same problem and it was a slow crank then it turned over..but everytime i turned it off it wouldn't want to start and it needed a jump......i was out cruisin and everytime i shut it off i needed it and i replaced the battery next day, and it was the battery i replaced it with the acdelco one and it was fine ever since. I would replace the battery or have the alternator checked. If the battery is less than a year old i'm betting alternator. I know that my friend let his die then charged it up and it was shot and he needed a new one. I would replace the battery first and if it continues then it's the alternator. But then again i had a 88 iroc that surged all the time and would die out occassionally. Turned out the new alternator that the guy put in before i bought it put out less amps then required.....i dunno that's what my mechanic told me and i believe him because the alternator was fine but then i went out and bought a new one for my car and then i replaced it and problem gone.

 

Well thats helpful... thanks. My battery has been in the car since I bought it which is 2 1/2 years ago. When Autozone charged it they said they could tell whether or not the battery was good or not and they said it was good. Obviously, there are plenty of people that work at parts places that dont know crap. As far as the surging I wish it was altenator but since it just started I am not so sure. How can I find out if it is the altenator??

Shawn

 

Most any place that sells batteries will hook your car up to the machine that checks your battery and charging system for no charge (no pun intended). It's simple and takes a couple of minutes.

Rich Krause

 

When you check the battery, do a load test and check the cells with a hydrometer. Both can be done at auto parts store.
But more important!
Be sure to check the condition of the cables at the end opposite the battery. I have seen your problem many times with corroded ground connections at the block or frame and changing the bat only delayed the problem coming back. Don't forget to check the block for all the + connections too.

 

Well I took it to parts plus and they said the altenator appears fine but the battery is questionable. He said they recommend replacing the battery if it goes below 10.5 volts while testing and mine dipped to 10.17 . Would a bad battery caus my lights to flicker and dim when using accessories if the altenator was fine??

Shawn

 

Well my battery was bad in my car and it wouldn't even start until it cranked like 4 or 5 times. I would replace the battery if you have checked all the terminals and grounds and it's fine then i would def. replace the battery.

 

Ok, first of all, if your guage read 9 or 10 volts, that means your alternator is bad, or you have a bad connection. Alternators, when burning up, can work sometimes, and not others. If yours has this problem, your lights will dim, and the car will surge. This is also not good for the battery. But, I have more faith in batteries than most people. Ive taken a dead battery with a bad cell, and charged the hell out of it, and brought it back to life and used it. If the alternator is not fully charging the battery, it will give you the same problems as a bad battery. I had the same problem on a car of mine. I drove it for months trying to figure it out, and one day, the lights instead of flickering, went dim, and the battery light went on. The rotor in the alternator was slowly burning up, and causing all kinds of strange problems like surging and flickering lights. I'm betting that you have a alternator problem. Good luck.

 

When you turn the key to accessory what should the guage read? When driving it reads at or abive the middle mark. Which is like 13 or 14 volts.

Shawn@66

 

I thought you ment it read that when driving. My bad. If it reads around 14 volts, the alternator should be good, but look at it when the car is surging, or the lights are diming. If the voltage drops, you probably have a bad alternator. I wouldnt observe the guage when the key is in the acc. position, that just tells you you have a low battery. We alreaty know that, we just need to figure out why.

 

Well does it make since that while driving I can see a voltage drop when using the power windows and accessories???? If I roll down my window while driving I will see the guage slightly drop and my dashlights dim a tiny bit. I dont remember this happen before. Would that be just a by-product of the bad battery? And why would my cars lights kinda flicker after the car is fired up and I am driving? I am off the next couple of days so I am gonna check all my wires and grounds.

Shawn

 

Lights flickering and dimming can be caused by the battery and by the alternator. When you get the car started and drive it for a little bit; does it start right up with no problems just shortly after turning it off? If so, chances are your alternator is doing what it is supposed to do. My first guess would be get the battery replaced. You've had the car 2 1/2 years, God only knows when that current battery was put in, it just might be time to bury that battery.