Alt Trouble, wiring problem?, back from the dead, can anyone help? Options

[jcbass7]

READ UPDATE PAGE 4



Here is exactly what happened.

First, the work i did on my car today.
-changed oil
-added some more transmission fluid
-plugged the CC back in
-re wired three prosport gauges (wired them into the power and ground from the stereo)

Ok now here is the problem that occured.

First the RPM gague died. then i tried to roll the windows down and those didn't work
neither did the sunroof. then after driving about 10 miles the voltage got so low (i have a voltage gauge) that i pulled over. Slowly she went down lower and lower. then i tried to drive across the street into a parking lot to get off the road. The car was at about 9 volts. Once i stopped in the lot she started smoking. I immediatly shut her off (feering fire) and checked under the hood.
Coolant was spilling from the throttle body area, pinpointed it to the coolant line funning into the throttle body..

anywhoo any ideas?
I had a similiar problem three weeks ago, where the stock 3s alt died. I replaced it with a 5s alt and now this happened.

I have to get back to base by monday at 1830.. or 6:30 for you civilian folk


while i waited for the tow truck i got really cold so i popped the hood and sat on the top mount intercooler it kept my butt plenty warm

This post has been edited by jcbass7: May 28, 2007 - 2:00 PM

[jcbass7]

bump, i need to try to fix this today...

[presure2]

bump, i need to try to fix this today...

soudns like the ALT again, jesse.
there are 2 coolant lines that are attached to the TB, make sure the clamps are secure on them, or that one of the hoses hasnt cracked.

[jcbass7]

bump, i need to try to fix this today...

soudns like the ALT again, jesse.
there are 2 coolant lines that are attached to the TB, make sure the clamps are secure on them, or that one of the hoses hasnt cracked.

Yea.. I hope its not a bad short or anything though.. two alternators in a month..... I'm thinking my grounds needed to get some more attention. I don't have the battery grounded in the trunk and im thinking thats not helping much.

[jcbass7]

Ok update.

found that the resistance across the batt cables (with no batt) was close to a dead short..

then we tried all the fuses and once we pulled the dome fuse we got a lot of resistanc.

ideas? (ps: door was open so dome would be on, but the resistance was pretty high... and last night before it all died, the sunroof and windows wouldnt work.)

[Rayme]

Ok update.

found that the resistance across the batt cables (with no batt) was close to a dead short..

then we tried all the fuses and once we pulled the dome fuse we got a lot of resistanc.

ideas? (ps: door was open so dome would be on, but the resistance was pretty high... and last night before it all died, the sunroof and windows wouldnt work.)

Isn't it normal the resistance between the two battery cable is high? It would get drained overnight otherwise.

Its wierd because why would the rpm stop working, and wondows wouldnt come down? 9 volt is enough to roll down windows...I would recheck your custom wiring. In the meanwhile get someone to boost you to see if you get normal voltage from the other car's power?

[jcbass7]

it should be high between the two cables, but when i checked it it was very very low.. maybe 200 ohms? ish

the battery is being charged right now..

we think the error is in the DOME circuit because when i pulled that fuse the resistance went to about 1,100 ohms ishhhh

Is the radio etc. hooked up to the Dome circuit?

[presure2]

I don't have the battery grounded in the trunk and im thinking thats not helping much.

you need to have it grounded in the trunk.
most people dont run a ground from the bay to the trunk, just a short ground from the battery to a spot in the trunk.
i did both.

[jcbass7]

ok so with the battery charged, we tested the alternator with the car running and the alt is only putting out 11.34 volts

Dead alt??

we also tested the spot where the dome fuse goes. we got 11.34 on the power side and from the ground side it read .27 volts.. is that an issue?

[jcbass7]

is the alt on the ST the same as the GT?
(parts car )

[jcbass7]

nvm my parts alt is seized.. but anywho

I took the alternator off of my other celica. but before i took it on that celi and it put out about 14.5 ish

so i took the alt off of my red celi ^that one^ and then put it on the 3S and the 3s is still only putting out 11.3 ish from the alternator....

so i know this alt works... is my issue with grounding?

[Batman722]

I would say it's a good bet. Also check your main rewire (the burned one) and check the plug with the 3 wires. If the plug or the wires splices aren't making good contact then that could be your problem.

where do you have the battery grounded ?

[jcbass7]

Dustin,

batt is grounded to the stock location (my wire runs from trunk to the stock wires up front.. so block and chasis up front)


i took my voltmeter and disconnected the negative terminal and read the voltage from negative terminal to negative lead and I am getting 11.75 volts

which means i have a short right???

i did this and then pulled each fuse (none of the big ones, like the 30 or higher) and NONE of them got the voltage to come down. then i disconnected all my prosport gauges, CC, radio, clock and hazard thing and none of them were related.

When i warm up and go back out im going to disconnect the cluster since when i noticed this problem, it was when my RPM gauge died.


anyone have other ideas to find this short?

[jcbass7]

pulled the cluster for the hell of it, still have a short.. the reason i thought it might be related to this because when the rpm3 gauge died is when the voltage started dropping.

EDIT: where is the rpm read from... as in where is the "sender unit" or what not.

This post has been edited by jcbass7: Feb 18, 2007 - 1:53 PM

[alltracman78]

Are you stationed in Newport?
Or just from there?

The radio uses a separate circuit. Rad.

You did a battery relocation?

Did the battery light come on in the dash?

Two things about electrical.

1-voltage drop test >>>>>resistance/ohms test
here
http://www.aa1car.com/library/voltage_drop_testing.htm
and here for more explanation
http://www.google.com/search?client=firefo...G=Google+Search

If that doesn't clear it up for you. lemme know and I'll try to explain. I just didn't want to type a book right now. I'm also working on an English paper.

2-instead of checking resistance at the battery cables, try a parasitic draw test.
http://www.samsgarage.com/tsp_electricity_102.htm

You can use your ampmeter instead of a circuit tester [test light].
Set it to Milliamps. MA
You should have 50 or LESS milliamps. More is a problem. The more above, the more problem.

This post has been edited by alltracman78: Feb 18, 2007 - 2:44 PM

[jcbass7]

I'm from gloucester MA, thats where i am right now, but i go to school on the navy base down there.

anywho ill check those links out.

the issue i have right now is, the alt is undercharging the system. i only have about 11 volts coming from the alt, yet i know the alt is in perfect condition.

I am almost positive i have a short somewhere. but i pulled all the fuses and none of them were the short.

[alltracman78]

A short won't necessarily cause the alt to not charge.
I posted the links for the voltage drop test so you could test your grounds......

Where are you grounding your multimeter at when you check the alt?

[jcbass7]

A short won't necessarily cause the alt to not charge.
I posted the links for the voltage drop test so you could test your grounds......

Where are you grounding your multimeter at when you check the alt?

where are you in mass?

anwyho i read those articles, i definatly need to try those tests.

I ground it on the stock ground that goes from the alt bracket to the strut tower (i beefed up this ground a while back with an 8ga wire)

[jcbass7]

ok so according to the parasetic draw article the exact test i did to find a "short" is actually telling me i have parastic draw.. as in..

when i put a multi meter between the neg cable and neg post on the batt i get voltage.. therefore parasetic draw.. so i need to find this and fix it. but the problem i am running into is that i have checked all the fused items and with no luck. what should i unplug that is unfused?

ps; i have a chiltons and haynes if you know of any sections that tell me info i need to check lemme know'

[alltracman78]

Well, a parasitic draw isn't necessarily a short.
It can be a short in a wire, a short in a component, or simply a component that won't turn off.

You're actually not testing for voltage.
You're testing for amperes [amps/A].

Amps is the flow of electrons.

Put your multimeter on MA[milliamps].
If it's below 50 or so, you are fine. You do NOT have a parasitic draw.
If it's above, you do. Start pulling fuses one at a time until the reading drops. Give it a minute each time to settle.
If one doesn't, install it before you pull the next one.

Put your multimeter to V. The lowest setting you have.
Put your POSITIVE lead on a GOOD chassis ground.
Put the negative lead on the negative post of the battery.

It should read .1V or less.
If not, your battery ground[s] are bad.