first off...i know this is the wrong area, but this is where all those who's opinions i trust can be found......

my BIL has a 2001 Suzuki vitara with the 1.6....recently he has been having starting issues, and the kid at auto zone(i told him go to oriellys for second opinion) is trying to sell him a $200 alternator......

i pulled the positive cable off and the vehicle kept running (even with day running lights), so this tells me the alt is at least partially charging correct ??

i cleaned the acid off of batt and connections...it was bad....and jumped it....it ran and cranked fine all day yesterday, this morning, right back to wont start...

so we cleaned the connections again with baking soda and water, and this time i ran a screw down between the post and clamp to tighten them up....its starting better now on its own, and after running for a few seems to be starting stronger then before....


i put my voltmeter on battery with cables off and it read 12.7v, and with the cables on its reading 14.2(also tells me alt is charging) am i right in this, or am i over looking something ??

this is basic auto electrics 101 it seems to me....so maybe we can <!leave out the jap crap and> pretend its just a basic electrical question......

my response to him so far is to get new better fitting cables, clean all the connections top and bottom, and possibly a new battery since the one he has now is 7 years old.........

.....but he is an idiot and is trying to budget for a new alt since the 18 y/o pro at autozone has a machine that tells him whats wrong.....


PLEASE HELP SOON !!! LOL

 

I would have the battery checked to make sure it does not have a bad cell or two. If battery checks out fine, you might have a parasitic drain. Meaning something in the electrical system is drawing power when it should not be. Example might be a glove box light not turning off when closed. It keeps drawing power, that is just an example. Might be the cables but from your cleaning and tightening of the cables I'd rule that out for now, but you could check them for ohms. That would tell if they have to much resistance. I'd take the alt somewhere else and have it checked as well. It could still be a bad alt. I've seen alts put out the right voltage on a meter but still have a bad diode.

Hope this helps some.

 

Myself, I would give the battery a once over OR two..... especially since it is seven years old...

The 14.2 volts is where it should be.. The alt could have a bad diode like Buck says, easy way to check that is leave the battery cable off over night and if it cranks normal have the alt checked, preferably at an auto electric shop..

If all that checks out get those cables up to par, they don't sound very good when you say you had ro run a screw in to the clamps to get better contact..

I'm betting a "good" battery and some decent cables and all will be hunky dory!!!

 

im with ya on that one......thats the plan as of now, i just talked him into doing it my way before he drops 200 bucks on something he dont need....

one question, we actually just got done discussing leaving the pos cable off over night.......how do i determine if its a bad diode versus a parasitic loss ??

would taking the pos cable off at the alt do the trick ?? instead of at the battery ??

 

a bad diode im assuming would let the bat discharge back through the alt correct ?? but wouldnt that result in a totaly dead batt after sitting all night ?

 

If there was acid over the battery i'm pretty sure the problem is a dying battery, not an alternator. Mine has 18 years and i don't remember ever replacing it. Replace the bat., clean every contact, tighten better and this will be the end of it.

 

im leaning towards tired batt primary and crappy cable secondary right now......

yesterday when i checked batt voltage it was 12.7....and when cranking with out help, it dropped all way down to 7.95v, just for a split second, and then right back up to 14.2ish as soon as it started up......this was before the second cleaning and screws installed...

 

You could do that.. good idea....

 

Here's a vote for marginal battery. If you can unplug the alternator on the vehicle safely, that's another option to check parasitic drain vs diode.

 

Batterys bad, its 7 years old, most last 5 years at best.

 

Moved from '87-'96 truck forum.

 

I vote for weak battery and also possibly the cable is corroded into it's length and needs replace.

 

If you measure the battery voltage right on the posts, and it goes under 10 volts when tryng to start, that's the batt ( or a bad starter).

A common test is to charge the batt with a good charger. Then turn on your headlights and heater fan for about a minute. Click them off and the batt should still be reading around 12.5v or so (IIRC).

If you get a new batt, make sure that it's pretty well charged before you put it in. Also, pulling the battery cable with the engine running can damage the alternator. (You generally get away with it, but it's not a good thing to do).

 

umm if none of these ideas work i would lean towards a bad starter or stater siliniod..my friends four runner was having a problem very similar to this.. and i cheched it all out and then decided to give the starter a tap witha hammer and it started cranking faster.. so i took it out and the starter was fried..so if the battery doesnt work... go for the starter next.

 

7 years old is old for a battery. Cables could be shot also. I once had cables corroded not only at the terminals, but a few inches up the cables as well.