Battery? Alternator? Something Else?

[skadakia15]

OK guys, thanks for all the tips. I spent the better part of this weekend troubleshooting.
I think all signs point to the alternator being the culprit.

Battery is brand new as stated. I took the battery down to AutoZone, they tested it and said it was OK and recharged it for me.

Got an Ammeter set up to show me the draw and I found out that my draw was +3 Amps (not 3 hundreths or 3 tents, 3 full amps) with the car off (no key even in the ignition).

I pulled every single fuse to no avail. Only 1 fuse gave me some hint of a response. There is a 25 Amp fuse labeled "Engine Electronics" (Block C, Row 1). When I pull it, nothing happens however when I reinstall it the amps temporarily dip down (to like 500 mA) then immediately right back up to about 3 Amps.

I then removed the +12V hookups from the Starter and still had a 3 Amp draw.

Finally I removed the Alternator and my draw fell down to 10-20 mA.

Now the only glitch in all of this is that I took the Alternator to AutoZone and on their test it "passed" all 3 categories (regulator, rectifier, and something else). I can't explain this. My thought is that either their test is not looking at how much current the alternator draws but only that it's output is correct. Or that with the alternator connected, it completes a circuit to something else that is shorted.

I have ordered a new Alternator and will receive and install it tomorrow. I'll update everyone with what I find. Thanks again for the help.

[skadakia15]

It has to be the alternator.
I connected the alternator to a charged battery with jumper cables and placed my ammeter in this circuit. The current is 3 amps. This is external to the vehicle without any other circuits involved and without the alternator connected to anything else.
I get the remanufactured Bosch alternator tomorrow from local auto parts store. Will install and give the final updates. Thanks again.

[Viper5]

Why can't you just go to an autozone or advanced auto and have them check it on their machines? They are able to determine if you have a good battery, alternator, etc...

FYI make sure they enter in the correct cranking amps for your battery when they test it.

[mptoledo]

I took my alt to oreily's (sp) autoparts store($214) and they couldn't even get it to read. I had them check the new/reman before I took it home as it is more of a pain to install the new one. New Battery and new alt solved all my problems. Hopefully you should be good to go. check the "DIY" section on here and Pedro's garage for help, if you need it.

[Viper5]

Originally Posted by mptoledo

I took my alt to oreily's (sp) autoparts store($214) and they couldn't even get it to read. I had them check the new/reman before I took it home as it is more of a pain to install the new one. New Battery and new alt solved all my problems. Hopefully you should be good to go. check the "DIY" section on here and Pedro's garage for help, if you need it.

I don't know where you are talking about, but advanced auto and autozone check your battery and alternator for free. Walmart will check your battery for free too, but I don't know about the alternator. Just tip them a couple bucks.

[skadakia15]

OK, new (reman) alternator installed tonight. Everything seems to be working OK so far and the Volts are measuring appropriately. I can't check the amp draw because I did something stupid and blew the fuse on the ammeter. So I'll have to wait till I can buy a new fuse for it, or I'll know if everything is OK if the battery is still holding Volts over the next day or two.

Thank you very much to everybody on this board for all your help. Now off to drive until the computer re-learns everything like the RPMs.....(anyone know how long it takes for the computer to readjust to everything by the way?)

Thanks....