Formrobots

So...As I was driving on the interstate the other night I noticed that my D driving symbol on the dash was getting faint. So...I got off the next exit to check things out.
Well...My headlight were off.
I tried turning off and restarting the car and...nothing.
The car was completely dead.

A few people tried to jump start the car, but it would not hold a charge for more than a few seconds.
Even after letting it charge for an extended(5 minutes)amount of time it died while in the middle of driving shortly afterwords.

Since AAA rescued me...Ive had the battery checked(its fine), and the alternator checked(its fine as well).

Any suggestions?

uuuuu

when you say the battery checked out fine, does that include the terminals / battery posts?

deanshark

It sounds to me more of an alternater problem then battery. Is your power steering pump leaking? (into the alt.) You can check the wiring to the starter and the alternater, clean the battery terminals. Make sure you have good ground.

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

make sure your grounds are solid. Batt to chassis, and chassis to engine block... also check the power wire that runs from batt or the fuse block to the back of the alternator...

willhickey

iTrader: (1)

sounds like the alternator..........

Formrobots

Ok...Well...after checking the alt and battery again everything came back fine.
Reinstalled everything and placed a new belt(just in case). And...it started up fine.
I found it odd that a jump start was not required...but...didnt question it.
Drove around for a few days...and...it happened again.
Left the car on the road,took the battery with me. and went home to charge it so I could take it back and reinstall and hopefully at least make it home.
I checked the battery before I charged it and...its fully charged...so...

If the alternator is working...and charging up the battery while iam driving...does that mean the there is a problem with a wire somewhere distributing the batteries power to the rest of the car?

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

GROUNDS! Check you grounds and the main wire feeding the fuse box... You should have batt to chassis and chassis to block for grounds. If you can find the grounds on the harness you can always add them. Use 6 or 4 ga

Formrobots

Is the possibility of something that runs from the battery to the fuel pump being loose sound plausible?

Formrobots

OH..sorry Acidic...I will check that.

Formrobots

Actually...could you explain "If you can find the grounds on the harness you can always add them. Use 6 or 4 ga" a little more detailed.

Formrobots

I forgot to mention one more thing that was weird.

After everything else was checked and replaced.
I took it to advance and had the battery connectors replaced...
I have the car amp disconnected..and the security lock on the radio has been on for months.
After the connectors were replaced....the radio is on(on...but no sound).

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

surprised you havent checked the hinge harness yet?
http://www.lexls.com/tutorials/lighting/bulbout.html

Formrobots

Well...Just from reading the link...
If it was just that specific wire would the symptoms mimic that of a draining battery?
Plus...the moments when the car is running the lights are fine.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

wiring shorts on the LS cause crazy weird problems.
check the hinge.

Acidic

iTrader: (1)

What I mean on the grounds is that if you can't follow the ground wires through the harness from say the battery to the chassis you can always just run your own set of ground wires. Guys do it all the time in car audio applications. You can google "the big three" and audio and find writeups on it. I'm thinking that if your batt is charged but the car is dying that the alt is fine and the batt is fine that the main set of grounds could be loose or not making good connections. You can solve this by running your own with 4 gauge or 6 gauge wire. The connections your car needs to run properly are one from the batt's neg term to somewhere on the car's chassis and one from the engine block to the chassis. If any are weak or broken you won't have a good electrical circuit in the car...