Be warned: you will burn through alternators and batteries if you're placing too much draw on the system. It's usually the alternator that will burn out and take the battery with it. I went through roughly an alt a year with my sentra (lifetime warrenty after the first replacement) because I was placing too much draw on it. I plan on turning down the gain when I install the amp in my tib and I'm running a cap now, so mine shouldn't be an issue, but if you're draining enough to notice it's very likely you'll burn out your alt.

 

so question...

if my car runs perfectly fine after its started, could i still have a bad alternator? could it be perfectly capable of providing my car with enough operating power, yet not be charging my battery correctly? maybe the regulator is bad and its overcharging my battery, but im sure that would cause noticeable problems elsewhere in the car.

and im moving this, no clue why i initially put it in interior.

 

Mmm, possible, but I'd say your draw is just too high on it. If the alternator were bad it would just stop charging the battery and one day your lights would get dim, then you're radio would turn off, then you're speedo would stop working and you're car would die. smile.gif It can happen on the highway, on a back road, or in a driveway, trust me. laugh.gif

 

T01 you may just not be giving it enough time to charge. You said you almost always run it for less than 5 minutes, and say your jumping it, and then shutting it off after 5 minutes, and then trying to restart it; not a good idea lol

When you do get it started again, drive it for 20 minutes or so, then try and start it again. If it fires up like a champ, you may have found your problem;

You.

lol wink1.gif

 

yep, did that tonight. the battery actually got low enough to set off my alarm. jumped it and then went driving for a good while. also didnt set my alarm and unhooked my backup battery, thinking that might for some reason be affecting it.

also unhooked my carpc. having software problems and i think its been causing my computer to not shut down correctly. lol, that would explain things. i turned the car off for about a minute and it didnt shut down, when its set for like 10 seconds until shutdown.

hoping it starts up tomorrow.

 

hmm, use a multimeter to see the voltage at idle?

get the battery and alternator tested, since its free, then try and see if somethings draining too much power when the cars off.

 

im sure its just the way ive been driving lately. i just fish for answers on here when im not able to fix them myself. im going home soon where i can devote some time to it with some actual tools. like a multimeter. hehe.

 

lol, multimeters own.


oh and pick up a 20-30 dollar jumper too, theyre life savers...

 

the only ones ive seen are like 100+

youre talking about the portable ones right? linky?

 

walmart is your friend, unless you work there, ugh dont get me going lol.

but they have ones in between that range from like 30-120, cheapo does the job well.

i remember i was at work (walmart) and my battery died, and i didnt have my trusty jumper (in selinas car) so i just went in and bought one for 35 bucks, used it, and returned it.

But if you can wait for it to be shipped to you, or if you just really want a link lol, heres a good deal

Ebay Jumper