So this high mileage '93 850 started beautifully each time. All of a sudden, I get nothing. No lights, zilch, nada, niet. Not even a turn.

I have a friend jump start me, it struggles, but starts up, runs great as usual. I get home, I turn it off (after a 20 minute drive) and go to start it up to test it, absolutely dead again.

Damn.. Any suggestions?

 

Battery is brand new..

 

Your alternator couldhavedied andis no longercharging the battery. If it was a 20 minute drive home, you might have had just enough juice from the jump to make it. On the drive home, were all of your dash lights at their normal brightness, and were your headlights normal as well? If everything was dimmer than usual, I would start with getting the alternator tested.


Of course, I could be way off, and I'm sure others will chime in with more input.

 

a couple times after starting, the car did seem to want to die again.

more repairs for the $500 car.. life lesson learned.

 

$500? How much have you put into it? How many miles?

 

278k miles. the damn engine runs perfect and doesn't burn any oil. Every winter I buy a beater and sell it in the spring and i've always made money off the car, even if its $50; still, I just buy junkers for the winter to keep miles off the Evo.

This one I put $600 into already, which is OK because I usually spend $1500 on a winter car, but the heat still doesn't work and now it wont start.

end rant

 

So everyone else thinks I should just pull the alternator? The 'battery' light never came on; the car just died. wth?

 

Could you take it to a shop to have them look at it (the car)?

 

I guess that is going to be the course of action.

 

You could jump it again and put a voltmeter across the battery terminals - it should be around 14V if the alternator is doing it's job. If it's around 12V it might be the alternator.

 

Definetely sounds like an alternator since the battery isn't charging.

10 minutes of driving is more than sufficient to charge the battery and you're at 20.

 

The Alt. light never comes on when the Alt. goes.
You should have atleast 13.8 to 14 volts.

 

Wow, once again, great help on the boards! I'll get a volt meter and jump this Swedish senior. I'll post updates tomorrow.

 

I am repeating this because my previous post has been deleted.

In case if it turns out the alt is faulty, I would get a rebuilt/new Bosch, preferably with a lifetime warranty. My alt failed at 14-year/140,000 plus miles and got a rebuilt Bosch at PepBoys.

When you install the new alt, make sure that the battery is fully charged, or internal electronic device may get damaged.


JPN

 

well, as an update, I bought an alternator testor, and it showed 14 volts ?? The car runs perfect when jumped. Turn it off, and nothing at all.. like the battery is 100% dead. the battery is brand new.

 

Maybe the new battery bad. I see it all the time.

 

Ditto, especially the franchise batteries. I once bought one from xxxxx and it was already low on electrolyte and failed after a few months[8D].

In the U.S market, I would stick to the Interstate Batteries for quality, warranty & free jump-service.

At this point, a test with hydrometer may not reveal possible faults, but you can still visually check the electrolyte level. Please make sure to wear eye protection; I've seen many people acting macho and ended up getting the acid in their eyes. People think it's no big deal just remove the cap but it could become a major deal if handled carelessly. If the fluid level is low, the battery should be trashed. You can top up with distilled water but it willhelp only a little, as the internals have already been damaged.

If the alt is still out of the car, I would take it to AutoZone and have them diagnose it; free of charge (in terms of money I mean[8D]). I'm not sure what kind of tester you've used (made in xxxxx?), but the alt may not be performing under load.

Tech, what'd you think?


JPN

 

I agree.

 

.... I'm an idiot. Battery terminals were not making good contact.

 

As long as you found the cause of the problem, every bit of learning counts.

I myself dab some petroleum jelly on the posts to prevent corrosion.

Now, the ECU has to re-learn idle. Let us know in case if you come across unusual idle/drivability behaviour.


JPN