Bad Alternator?
08-17-2006, 11:46 AM
#1
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Vehicle: 2000 Hyundai Elantra
Over the past few days I have been having some problems with my car starting. It first happened Tuesday morning. I jumped it, drove it to work, and charged it while I was at work. It's been sitting in the garage for the past two days, until I just pulled it out. It didn't sound right when it started, I attempted to start it again, and it died. I checked the battery, and it has a full charge, can the alternator cause a car to not start, but yet the battery still have a full charge?
08-17-2006, 02:13 PM
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if ure alt were bad your car would run down the battery but if ure car didnt start and you have a full batt it may be a starter prob, what did you hear when you cranked it and it wouldnt start (clicking/ticking or nothing)
08-17-2006, 10:12 PM
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Just had this problem with my 91 corolla.
The first problem was a loose alternator belt that was preventing the recharge of the battery from occuring since all the ICE in the car while running was draining the battery.
I thought the alternator was bad then since tighting the belt didn't help but it wasn't that the alternator went bad, if the alternator was bad your battery would not be able to read around 12.8-13.9 volts while the car is running. Or with the car off, the battery would read well below 12 volts, or even the 6-8 volts it takes to start the car depending on how much ICE you have running the minute you turn the key to 'ON'. If your battery is getting recharged your alternator isn't bad. My battery was still being recharged.
Then was it because the battery was not holding the charge through the night. It wasn't. So I tested the battery at the local Autozone and turns out it the battery was good.
So if your belts are tightened properly, your alternator is charging your battery and your battery is still considered in good shape; then you have a problem with wiring in your car. The first place I would look is the connections between Sub/Amp setups, Alarm systems, and any other things that have been added to the vehicals original electrical system.
My happy ending was found when the power wire to my sub was found to be loose in its connection under the dash and was rubbing against a metal plate. It was causing the drain of the battery and with it fixed no more problems
The first problem was a loose alternator belt that was preventing the recharge of the battery from occuring since all the ICE in the car while running was draining the battery.
I thought the alternator was bad then since tighting the belt didn't help but it wasn't that the alternator went bad, if the alternator was bad your battery would not be able to read around 12.8-13.9 volts while the car is running. Or with the car off, the battery would read well below 12 volts, or even the 6-8 volts it takes to start the car depending on how much ICE you have running the minute you turn the key to 'ON'. If your battery is getting recharged your alternator isn't bad. My battery was still being recharged.
Then was it because the battery was not holding the charge through the night. It wasn't. So I tested the battery at the local Autozone and turns out it the battery was good.
So if your belts are tightened properly, your alternator is charging your battery and your battery is still considered in good shape; then you have a problem with wiring in your car. The first place I would look is the connections between Sub/Amp setups, Alarm systems, and any other things that have been added to the vehicals original electrical system.
My happy ending was found when the power wire to my sub was found to be loose in its connection under the dash and was rubbing against a metal plate. It was causing the drain of the battery and with it fixed no more problems