Astro - Chevrolet - Batteries - Alternators :: Battery Occasionally Stops Charging / Runs Down And Dies While Driving
May 23, 2013
So I have a very confusing problem. In my 92 Chevy Astro the battery occasionally stops charging runs down and dies while I am driving and will not restart via jump but must be fully charged. This first happened a couple months and several thousand miles ago but has occurred 3 times in the last two weeks. Both the battery and the alternator have checked out good, and the alternator belt is tight as a drum. What could this possibly be?
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every few days, the battery stops charging and dies.... tested the alternator, and that provides a charge...tested the battery, and that takes a charge... the car runs off the battery or alternator...tested and replaced all wires between alternator and battery... cannot figure out what is wrong.
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I recently bought a 1969 chevy c10 pickup. I have been having problems with the electrical system, the battery consistently going dead despite a new battery and alternator installed by the previous owner. Is there a step-by-step for diagnosis of this problem?
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I have a 2005 Hyundai Tuscon. If we go out of town, or any time we don't drive the Tuscan for three days or more we always come back to a dead battery. I mean really dead. I mean, get a new battery dead. Since 2005 when we bought the vehicle new, we've had nine—9—new batteries put in. The last one was a heavy duty battery recommended by the dealer.
This problem started after the dealer replaced the OEM radio. We've had multiple checks done on the engine to find out where the (battery) draw is coming from. I researched and found a Hyundai Technical Service Bulletin saying that the problem is from a defective stereo. But my dealer says they can't locate the problem.
We've also had the battery posts cleaned and other things done. The vehicle runs fine and has had few problems except for this nagging battery problem.
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I've taken it to a half dozen mechanics, none can diagnose the problem. From a cold start the engine idles well, but once it warms up and the fast idle setting shuts off, it begins to vibrate quite a bit. I rebuild that included an all new fuel injection system, new ignition parts (including distributor, replaced at a later date,) new wire to alternator (the old one had cracked insulation,) and a new mass airflow sensor (swapped in from a parts van-no effect.)
Basically everything is new except for the sensors (crank sensor, idle air, throttle position, etc.,) and the fuel filter and pump. I'm not getting any codes, and at least two mechanics said it had good fuel pressure. It FEELS like a vacuum problem on a carburetor vehicle, but I had the vacuum harness checked as well, and everything seems to be in order.
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I was messing with the battery in my 200 Ford Ranger the other day and must of arc something. I know this because after plugging my battery back up my radio fuse was blown and my alternator was killed. I replaces the radio fuse, that works now, and got a new remanufacted alternator (tested mine at Advance it was dead). I installed it and nothing changed. The battery still wasn't charging. I know the battery is good because I tested it at Advance Auto. I took the alternator back and the shop replaced it with another remanufacted one. Same thing, installed it and the battery doesn't charge.
This time I took the alt back off and had it tested at Advance. The alt was dead. So I don't know if the part store gave me TWO bad alternators or if my truck is killing them. I find it hard to believe it could kill them immediately but my automotive knowledge is not that vast. I took the second (third counting my original) dead alternator back and they gave me a brand new one no extra charge. So I don't want to put a brand new alt in my truck and it kill this one too because I doubt they will give me a fourth one. What is going on? Could it just be as simple as I got two bad eggs?
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I have a 2000 Chevy Astro van, and I have this problem that no one seems to be able to figure out, let alone fix. Occasionally the car with have all the lights inside and outside the car start to "pulse". The needle on the voltmeter will be noted to surge from the average just above 14 mid point on the dial on the meter face to over this in a pulsing motion, in time to the light pulsing. I have replaced the distributor cap, coil wire, and the car has been with the mechanic numerous times. His diagnostic equipment does not pinpoint the cause of this problem. What to try next?
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I have a F250 towing a Big trailer and the RV folks have told me that while the factory seven prong will supply power to the RV, it would take a days to charge the RV batteries. So...
1) Does the connector not really significantly charge the batteries?
2) Is there a faster way to charge the RV batteries while driving?
3) Would instructions something like I found at How to Charge Two 12 Volt Batteries on an RV Towed by a Ford F-150 | etrailer.com work?
4) Would #3 eventually tax my alternator so badly that I kill it?
5) Would #3 fry the electronics in the trailer?
I'm trying to charge 2 6-volt marine deep charge batteries in series.
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I've recently been having battery drain issues with my 2002 Chevy Astro. After taking it to a local garage I was informed that nothing was wrong with it other than it needing a new battery. They put a new battery in and within two weeks of the van not being used the battery was dead. I did a bit of research online and learned that something may be drawing power while the van is off, and that I could do a fuse test with a multimeter. After performing this test I narrowed down the drain to being related to the following fuse:
19 Instrument Panel Radio: ATC(Main Feed), 2000 Series (Standby)
The only things that seem to be on this circuit are the radio, cd player and some elements of the instrument panel (e.g. odomoeter). I'd like to fix this problem but I'm sort of stuck as to what I should start testing from here. Today I disconnected the radio and cd player and tried performing the multimeter test again, with the fuse back in place. It appeared that there was still excess power being used with the vehicle off.
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I have a 95 Chevy astrology van that I've owned for about a year. On occasion (about once a month) when I start it, the battery gauge stays in the red and all the lights are dim. After driving a bit I can stop the van and restart it, and the battery gauge normally shoots up to normal, and lights are all bright again. Don't have any problems outside of that, until now. For the last 4 day, my battery gauge has refused to pop out of the red, and lights are always dim. I can drive for a couple hundred miles and nothing changes. Last night, as I left work, it ran like it has been with low battery and then just died. There is no clicking, no "whirring" sound the starter normally makes, the battery just died. I'm on a very small budget and can't afford a shop, or both battery and alternator. What are your thoughts on this problem and where should I invest my money? As a side note, battery cables and posts are cleaned off, and are bolted securely. Nothing loose and no corrosion.
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Car started losing electrical power on the way home from work last week. Dim lights, blower stopped, wipers stop, almost stalled out when getting off the interstate. Barely made it home. 30 minutes later went out to troubleshoot and it started right up. Ran for about 2 minutes and stalled out from lack of electricity. Put voltmeter to alternator and it seemed to only be putting out 8.5v. Took to store to have tested. Replaced alternator and it didn't work. Reman alternator still seemed to only be putting out 8.5v or so.
Checked fuses and cleaned battery terminal and verified good block ground and good body ground. Still having problem. 1996 Taurus. What next? Battery is exactly 2 yrs old and was putting out 11.6 when the problem first started last week. Due to cold and this existing issue, battery is only at 6.5v right now. Can jump the car, but then after removing jumper cables car dies in 30 seconds. Should I have the battery tested? What else could/should I be looking at?
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My pickup runs smooth 95% of the time. It runs rough at red lights and when pulling away from stops. It seems to happen more when the A/C is on.
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I bought my 2014 Corolla new a little over 3 years ago. Yesterday, when I was leaving work to head home I went to start my car and I was just met with my starter making a loud buzzing noise. My lights in my car, car fob, and etune radio were all working properly, but the car was just not able to start! My coworker told me that he heard of a trick where if you knock on the starter with something while trying to start it, it might give it enough of a kick to get going. Whether or not it was coincidence, it did work.
I was able to drive home, about 15 minutes (still daylight, did not need car lights), with no trouble. When I got home I turned my car off and waited for a few seconds and tried to start again. It worked, but it sounded like it struggled. I did it one more time and it failed with that same noise again. I resolved that I would just go get a new battery in the morning.
In the morning, my car was able to start, albeit with some struggle again. I made it all the way to work, and over lunch I was able to start it again and drive it to AutoZone to have them test the battery starter alternator. They told me the battery was too depleted to test it, so I went across the street to Walmart and bought a new battery. After replacing it, the car started like a champ as expected, and I drove back to Autozone to have them test my alternator and starter. The starter came back good, but they said that there was a fault in the test with the alternator. I gave them my old battery and asked them to trickle charge and test it just to see if it happened to still be a good battery that was just losing charge, or if it really was just a dying battery.
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I have a '96 Honda Civic DX model, manual transmission. I replaced the battery, sparkplugs, distributor last summer. Yesterday, hottest day yet this spring, my car wouldn't start. When cranked, the lights came on the dash, the fuel line was running, the check engine light blinked, but then no ignition. Left it overnight, started up fine this morning. Took it to a shop,Mechanic said battery and alternator were good and a replaced starter later, I took it home. Driving home, the idle dropped way too low (no tach) and almost stalled the car (battery light came on) when I pushed in the clutch. Now when I turn it on, it starts, idles regular, then the idle drops again.
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tonight at 1am: I put the key in and turn the ignition, no start, no click, no dashboard warning lights, no nothing. headlights don't turn on at allearlier in the afternoon - didn't check headlights, but no start, no click, no dashboard warning lights. Sliding 1 key into the ignition gave me a somewhat steady buzzing sound from the car, the kind you get to indicate something electrical is happening (I guess that's what it's for.
I wish I were mechanically inclined.) Sliding the other key into the ignition gave me a much more sporadic buzzing sound. Like metal wasn't making contact, when it should. A few hours previous in the morning - car wasn't starting as described above. Someone pushes the car back from the front so we can make way for another car, to come in and give me a jump. I put the car in neutral, and notice that the dashboard lights and buzzer is on, so on a hunch, I try to start the car in neutral and it starts right up. I drive it to the home driveway, no problem.
2 days ago, I bought the car. A 97 nissan sentra. What it could be? Again, never a clicking sound when starting the car to indicate dead battery. I'm familiar with that.
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My wife's 1998 oldsmobile intrigue. i have replaced the starter with a rebuild from advance auto parts, had the alternator rebuilt and installed a new battery. the car runs until the battery dies and then it will shut down while driving. it can be jumped and started but will die again when the battery drains.
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How to go about fixing my 1987 AMC eagle. I recently just purchased the service manual and am trying to figure out what I should repair first. I noticed a few weeks ago my car wouldn't idle in the cold.After bringing it to the shop multiple times it still does not run right. In fact, it seems to have gotten worse and has even died while going around 45 mph. Once it does die I find it very difficult to start. I have noticed some bad smells while trying to start it again sometimes gas..sometimes almost a burning rubber smell. (The belts are still in tact) Once it starts again it acts much like it had gotten flooded.
The motor seems to be fine and sounds good when running at proper temp. Recently, it will even die when the engine is all warmed up.Often when I get back in the car after driving it (while engine is still warm) I can turn it over almost instantaneously it doesn't necessarily sound good though. I noticed before all of this began that it would putter when going down a steep hill (or letting off of gas). Do I need to rebuild the carburetor ? Could it be as simple as a bad pcv valve? I have already put in 600+ into fixing this and no results. I am pretty convinced it some sort of fuel issue. I am also concerned the choke might be sticking and needs adjusting.
I brought it into the shop and they tightened the timing belt and secured some loose battery cables. They also said I needed to replace the battery which I then did. This did nothing to improve the how well my car ran. I brought it back and they replaced the distributor cap and adjusted the timing which apparently was way off. This did improve the performance of the vehicle but did not stop it from dying.
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I just bought a 2012 Prius c. There are oftentimes when I don't drive my car for a few days. When this happens, I have heard that the car might not start, especially in the winter. Is this true?
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195k miles.... I have charged the battery, I have bought a new battery, I have Charged the new battery... All with no avail.. Slowly but surely one at a time the abs trac control and stability control lights come on and eventually the triangle of death... Meaning when I shut it off its not going to restart.. If i drive it sparingly it might take a week if i drive it all day then it takes one day... when fully charged there is no warning or sign that there is a battery issue or draining untill the voltage is starting to get low. I have an ultra gauge hooked up and shows 14.14 while driving, I am lost as to whats the issue. also no codes or pending codes... I have taken the new battery to auto zone and had a functional test done.. said checked good... signed befuddled
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I placed my Corvette with a consignment seller this summer. When he had no action, I took the car back but...battery dead. Fully recharged it, car started immediately (first time in 2-months) but then died and will not restart. My ace mechanic has replaced fuel pump, distributer, but no fire. Indication is weak/no signal at he injectors. Could this be residual Theft Prevention system? I had that fail years ago and I pulled the module and the car has done fine for 4-years, until now.
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Does the Excursion charge the battery on my travel trailer while driving? I never boondocks but have a new electric tongue jack and wonder about that. I know it charges with a shore line I just assumed it did while driving too.
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