Hey Guys,
My battery light came on Saturday(that was 8/15, now its 8/18). Then next day my battery died completely. I started driving it thinking my battery was just dying; got a block away form the house and the dash lit up like a christmas tree. It happened right as my wife plugged my phone into the aux cable like i do every day. All of the electrical started dying one by one (radio -> A/C -> then the gauges when dead) so i turned it right around and went home. Hooked it up to my jump box and it started after a minute. As soon as i unhooked the jump box the car would die.

I put a new battery in it tonight. Upon putting the new battery in I smelled the smell of burning electrical components. The car started right up but the battery light was still on. I turned off the car and unhooked the battery; the battery cables were warm/hot, that combined with the smell was the main reason i unhooked the new battery. the new batter is an interstate 24F. anyone have an issue like this? i think its my alternator but before i start throwing new parts at it, i figured i would ask the Club.

Thanks in advance!

 

99,9% the alternator.

 

Start it again and attach a volt meter to the battery. If the alternator is working you should see 13V or better.

 

yea, alternator was my second plan, after the new battery. the volt meter is a good idea, duh, thank you. ill do that today. the burning smell and hot wires made me worried that it might be a short somewhere or a messed up ground wire.

 

ive been reading online that if the battery spark bad when hooking it up, combined with the wires getting hot during use that it may be my starter solenoid. has anyone ran into this before?

https://www.yourmechanic.com/questio...eed%20cleaned.

 

When your battery light comes on, it only means the battery's voltage is low and it is not being recharged. Changing the battery without testing it or the charging circuit may have been hopeful thinking, but if your battery was past it's expected life, not a bad move. However, once changed, an immediate voltage check with the engine running is called for, looking for 13+ volts with the engine above idle speed. As stated earlier in the thread, the most typical cause of a battery not charging is the alternator. However, you smelling a burnt electrical smell could indicate something worse like a short, a fried component, bad wiring and such. Hopefully, the burning smell is coming from the alternator itself, as they are relatively easy to troubleshoot and change vs a whole host of other electrical issues, including the starter solenoid as you referenced above. If you know what you are doing with a volt/ohm meter, you can check for continuity/resistance issues with the solenoid, but if the solenoid is stuck in the closed position, it would also be powering and engaging the starter motor, which you would hear while the engine is running. Good luck, and let us know how you ultimately fixed it.

 

Hey thank you all for the help. And wilson2000, I really appreciate the in depth response. I finally got some time to look at it today. Upon testing with he voltmeter, the new battery reads around 12.7 when out of the car and around 11.3 when hooked up with the car running. Also, getting down closer to the alternator, it does seem like the smell is coming from that area. Fingers crossed its just a bad alternator. I am going to order the part. I'll let you guys know if that fixes it. Thanks again gang