WightBoy

Heya, guys. I've been working on this problem for a bit, and it's driving me nuts. I hate to ask for help, but sometimes we gotta suck it up.

My battery is not being charged consistently. Alternator replaced 3 mos ago, second time in 3 years. According to Advanced, battery and alternator are fine (battery will hold a charge, alt was cranking out 14 volts with max load when they tested.) If I trickle the battery, I can run the car for hours, but charge steadily declines. Watching the battery with a multimeter attached, I lose a tenth of a volt every minute or so when car is running.

There is no parasitic drain that I can detect, just no charging. I have an oil leak that does get into the alt and even into the connector, but I'm not sure where to hook the multimeter up to test any of that. I don't have a good diagram or manual, and can't afford them, so I was hoping someone would have a decent idea. Trying to trace the route from the alt to the battery, but the space is so tight, it's tough to do with no lift or manual.

ANY ideas would be helpful, esp since I will be without backup transport in a matter of hours.

Thanks for reading, and for any thoughts!

jorgeL

Do you have any aftermarket stereo, audio amplifiers, anything aftermarket electrical..double check those..I work at a audio shop and u will be surprised when an amp comes in and is not turning off.. (from other store installs) there was a guy who bought a car that the previous owner installed a gps. That was sucking power but it was hiddin..had to dissect the car to find.

carsmypnis

iTrader: (1)

make sure your battery terminals are tight and clean. ull be surprised what that will do

WightBoy

Haven't added any aftermarket parts to the poor girl yet, and I got it from an elderly woman, so I doubt she added any. Haha. Terminals are good, just checking cables and grounds now. Is oil enough of a conductor that if there was exposed copper covered with oil that also meets the engine, could that cause a break in the connectivity?

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

Yes, oil leaking onto your alternator can kill it.
My SC300 had the same leak and destroyed my alternator as well.
It's either your distributor needs new o-ring seals or your distributor is actually cracked.

WightBoy

I didn't even think about looking at the distributor. It seems clean, but that might be incidental. Thanks, eknine9, I'll send you a six-pack if that turns out to be the ultimate problem! Yesterday and today the battery was charging fine. This evening, the streak seems to have ended again.

Vrank

iTrader: (4)

Try adding a decent sized ground cable or replace the current one. Corrosion can travel down the cable under the sheathing quite a bit and cause headaches

eknine9

iTrader: (8)

If there's no oil on the metal distributor plate that should be sitting underneath and slightly behind (towards the rear of the car) the distributor then you can rule out a dizzy leak as the culprit.

pioww

Do the big three and check the wire going from the alt. to the bat.

Ham1PDX

​​​​​​I'm having the same issue with my son's car. I feel like I'm going in circles