Alternator - Battery ?

[reggae5]

I've run into a problem with my 03 Protege, ( 60k miles on it ) a few weeks back I had the battery light come on so I took it into a shop they said I had to replace the alternator so I did and things ran smoothly until today when as they say everything hit the fan at the same time. Walking my dog and suddenly he yelps, limps a few feet then just lays down. I check for something stuck in his paw cant see a thing but he is crying in pain so off to the car to run him to the vet. The car doesn't want to crank over. Almost like a dead battery only this time the battery light on the dash never came on. Finally it catches I rush the dog to the vet and have the wife stay in the running car because I don't want to take the chance it wont start again. So afterwards we drive the car back home where it is parked now. Tomorrow I will see if it starts. What should I be looking for here ? ( besides a second job to pay for all this )

 

[Jasonjames]

Can you borrow a battery to see if its that? With electrical faults, a multimeter to check charge volts, battery volts is very handy. Also a high amperage charge meter to measure current going into the battery would be helpful. In the absence of these, you can only try another battery, check that the alternator is making a whistling sound. This means its outputting current. Another check is to sit in the car while its running, then pull your high-beam light-switch. If the alternator [and its wiring] is OK,..the engine revs will drop slightly as the alt is forced to supply more current.

The fact that the battery light didnt come on the last time it played up, may well indicate either the alt is faulty [which you'd imagine wouldn't be the case being new]or there is a wiring fault. I'd be looking at the crimp connectors on the alt and the battery to make sure the wire(s) haven't broken at the crimp.

This type of fault is bread and butter work for an automotive electrician with all the testing gear. Either go back to the shop which recommended the new alt, or ring around friends/family to find a good electo.

JJ

 

[Jasonjames]

Forgot to add,..check fuses related to the charging system,.remove them and reseat them. Might be worth unplugging relays and re-inserting them as well....JJ

 

[reggae5]

Thank's for the quick response. I'll try the light switch test in the morning. Reading on line about the problem I see a few have mentioned new alt's being faulty, I wonder how frequently that happens?

 

[reggae5]

Thanks Jasonjames I will try that also. I just had a friend suggest it might be a starter. I didn't think that sounded like a starter. I also wouldn't think with these fine cars all these electrical things would be going bad so soon.

 

[concept]

Sometimes a weak battery or one that had been completely discharged and simply jumped without being fully charged via a battery charger, can kill an alternator. It could be that the battery is not good, so consider having it charged and load-tested. If you can get ahold of a multimeter, test voltage at the two battery terminals after the car is jump-started. You should see 13.5-14.2 volts. If lower than 13.5, the alternator may not be good.

However, since it is relatively new, I'd start with the battery check.