Please help, power problem.

[SwaintaN]

I know its been a while since ive posted, but i need some help, im to the end of my ropes ive checked everything... I have a red top optima and HO Alternator. Alternator was bought last year and Redtop was just checked, they said holding a charge. Also took the new alternator in and had it tested, came back ok. Upgraded the power wire that came off the alternator with a 4ga inline fuse (fuse is good).

Problem, if it sits for more then a week, dead, will not restart has to be jumped. Not a long jump either, i can connect the jumpers to both explorer and whatever and less then a min mine will start.

Also if i run the heater at anything over half powered the volts drop, if i turn on lights and heater and god forbid the wipers... really drop to the point ill have to turn off the heater.

Been jumped twice this week! Please help.

 

[Blee1099]

Check the resistance on the cables that run to the starter.. Also check the resistance on the negative cable. If you have any bit of high resistance in any of the power cables it'll cause issues.

 

[SwaintaN]

ok so im a dummy.. how do i check that and what would be considered high

 

[FIND]

You test resistance using a multimeter set to ohms.... You don't want more than a couple milliohms per foot. You also want to test for shorts. Pull both battery cables off the battery, put positive from your multimeter to positive and negative to negative. For this test, you want ~no continuity.... If you have low resistance for this test, you have a dead short.

Then using your multimeter, test at your battery for anything drawing current. Do this on the amps setting, the negative battery cable attached and the positive disconnected. Hook the negative probe to the positive post on the battery and the positive probe on the positive battery cable, unless you have a fancy one like me, then you just put the clamp around the positive battery cable and ground the multimeter. With the key in the off position and the doors closed, it shouldn't be drawing more than 400 or 500 milliamps for radio memory and the ECU.

 

[SwaintaN]

Ok ill find out tomorrow if a buddy of mine has those tools and then ill go from there will post what i get... thanks guys.

 

[Flip4ford]

Is there green fuzzy stuff on you cables or on your wires running to your alternator? Just wondering

 

[SwaintaN]

lol no, first thing came to mind is gremlins, but no green fuzzy stuff at either place

 

[Riceburner247]

Then using your multimeter, test at your battery for anything drawing current. Do this on the amps setting, the negative battery cable attached and the positive disconnected. Hook the negative probe to the positive post on the battery and the positive probe on the positive battery cable, unless you have a fancy one like me, then you just put the clamp around the positive battery cable and ground the multimeter. With the key in the off position and the doors closed, it shouldn't be drawing more than 400 or 500 milliamps for radio memory and the ECU.

I second this.

If that isn't it, then it almost sounds like you're missing a ground somewhere.

I just started working as a maintenance mechanic for a company that never had one before. Everyone would fix the equipment however they liked (I.E. - Not the right way). One of the service trucks would drop voltage with use of turn signals, lights, radio, anything.

Turns out whoever replaced the battery cables years ago never hooked up the ground wire from the negative terminal to the core support. One 10 gauge wire 1 foot long solved the entire issue. Check for grounds and make sure they are all clean, AFTER doing what FIND suggested above.

 

[SwaintaN]

Yeah, im hoping this weekend i can grab the meter tester and test it this weekend, when it comes the the ground issues, I used a 4ga wire i had laying around year or so back, about 18" long and added extra ground from body to battery. ill test it and probably if not sell it this summer ill replace all the wires with 4 ga wires

 

[SwaintaN]

ok so i havent gotten the meter (to snowy and floody) yet.. soooo i got a new ? for yall who are reading... This is gonna sound REALLY dumb and if it is im sorry!

If the Ground is messed up.. like not a full connection but the positive is.. can that drain a battery?

 

[Flip4ford]

A bad battery cable might not have a drain but it might not let the battery charge fully.

Harbor freight sells a little tester kit you put in the fuse hole of any fuse. It tells you power consumption and amperage. It's about $6-$7. You pop out a fuse and put this in its place-- if there is no current draw-- move onto the next fuse. Shouldn't take more the a 1/2 hour to check every fuse to find the drain. Mine was made by Centech.

Hope that helps.

 

[tweakedlogic]

Do you have any aftermarket accessories? Stereo, Nav, amps, neon... Something like that may not be turning off correctly and drawing down the battery. Also, I've seen the A/C clutch relay not disengage and draw the battery.

But to me is sounds like you have a bad battery. If you have a spare that you know is good. Swap it in there just to see what happens. If the problem goes away then it's the battery.

there is another test. fully charge your battery overnight. Take it to get tested. It might pass. then install it back in your truck and turn on the headlights and highg beams for about 7 minutes. Do not start the truck. Then take it back to get tested and see if it fails. We have to do this sometimes at Acura if a warranty battery test is inconclusive. This will usually cause it to fail. It never registers a low charge on the second test. It will either pass or fail.

 

[SwaintaN]

i think its the not full charging thing. ive taken it twice to get tested always passes plus put the battery in my wifes van for a week, had no problems with it, but her battery in my ex would die after a day or so, just jumped the explorer today to move it to my shop area so i can start working on it, the negative terminal wont tighten down, wouldnt start, i beat the hell out of the terminal and it started.... so i got new terminal and wires ready to go onto the ex, sooooooo i have a few more questions (with pics)...

If i wanted to split this wire what type of fuse do I need to put in place of the fusible link

this is the positive wire and negative wire that come from the terminals where do they go to and how long are they?

Also random... while i was under the hood in this area... what is this plug for?

I plan on redoing the wires and adding a 0 gauge ground to the negative attached where another ground is on the inner fender

also in this pic you can see the type of fuse im using for the 4 ga wire going to the alternator. now the wire that comes out and connects to the "dehicky" wheres suppose to... well that short wire gets really warm between that and the fuse... also i have a HO alternator, no after market crap, do have a cd player but face plate is off

 

[jd4242]

for the first pic that is not your f usable link,you can just split it and replace the whole wire going to the alt.
second pic the ground goes to the frame right under there ,then to the engine bloc.the red goes to the starter
last pic the is a octane shorting bar for you ignition,pull the plug out and it retards your timing

 

[nicholasjj]

What was the reading on the alternator? I had one checked before they said was Ok when it wasn't working well enough to charge the battery properly. If the vehicle would sit, it'd die like yours. It wouldn't typically though drain the battery when running till the end. I ended up virtually replacing the entire electrical system before realizing what was going on. This is just my past experience. It does sound like you have another problem.

 

[SwaintaN]

well i know when we jumped it all i did was lift up on the neg terminal and it started... but let it go and turn it off n on it wont start... so im guessing terminal and wires..

 

[SwaintaN]

ok so the two little black wires that attach to the ground had some issues so i snipped to a good part butt connected in some new wires (same gauge and color) that were a tad longer so it would be less stress on the wires. Added a 0 gauge to the body for an extra ground i wanna replace the ground that runs to the frame but cant figure out the best way to get to it. also debating on upgrading that little tiny wire that was ran, to an 8 gauge wire, where i asked if it was a fusible link, i split it and found out it was all sorts of frayed and snipped from previous owner (ive been finding more and more wires that are like that) i also upgraded the wire from that terminal to the battery to a 4 gauge, should i replace that thick red wire that runs from terminal to down below or just leave it alone?

0 gauge grounded out

 

[jd4242]

Upgrade the wire you split to the alt.it has the link in it,just run abigger wire than you have going to that fuse

 

[SwaintaN]

i have a 4 GA coming from the Alternator to the round thing (wish i knew the name for it) then a 4 GA coming from it to the battery. Only wires that are left are the 16 gauge that I need to put a ring terminal on if it doesnt need upgraded and the 4 GA wire that runs below the motor.

 

[jd4242]

but you still have the wire that was in the block of plastic,that you just separated?the wire your pointing to in the 1st pic?