2000 Battery problems. HELP!

[lethalpimp2998]

WEll just the other day my battery wouldn't start up so I just figured the battery was dead. I jumped it drove around, the next day it was dead again.

So i jumped it then went over to autozone who gave me a free test to find out whether or not it was the alternator or battery, they said my alternator wasn't pushing out enough power.

I got a 2nd opinion at pep boys and they said it wasn't either. They tested again and the machine brought up the same results.

Upon inspection the cells in my battery were low so i filled with purified water then charged the battery up with a trickle charger.

The mechanic at pepboys said that it is either one of two things,
1. The battery isn't holding its charge overnight so i need a new battery.
2. There is a short somewhere that is draining my battery

Also, i got some work done after an accident, the guy at the shop said that the only electrical they worked on was the headlights.

All help is greatly appreciated! I would just like your guyses input on what to do from experience or knowledge of this stuff. It would be much easier to just get a new battery, but i dont want to do that if its not the problem. my current battery is 1.5 years old and does not have a warranty on it.

 

[lethal6]

Well, 2 places tested the alt and said it was bad. My guess is that you need a new alt. How many opinions do you need?

Take the battery and have it checked as well. If the alt is bad and you keep killing the battery and recharging it, that's not good for it. My guess is that you will need to replace both. Why not have it checked for sure though. They will be able to tell you if it is shot or if any of the cells are bad.

 

[lethalpimp2998]

Well, 2 places tested the alt and said it was bad. My guess is that you need a new alt. How many opinions do you need?

Take the battery and have it checked as well. If the alt is bad and you keep killing the battery and recharging it, that's not good for it. My guess is that you will need to replace both. Why not have it checked for sure though. They will be able to tell you if it is shot or if any of the cells are bad.

NO. I said only autozone checked it and said it was the alt. WHile pepboys checked it twice and said it was niehter the alternator nor the battery that was bad.

 

[lethal6]

My bad. I read it incorrectly. I thought you said that both places checked and came up with the same results.

Don't know what to tell you then. What I can tell you is that your battery, if it is still good, won't be for much longer if you keep killing it and recharging it. Regular batteries are not happy under those conditions.

 

[99civicy8]

well if you were able to jump the car and drive it then your alt should be good, you probably have a bad cell in your battery. Check the big 3 and check your alt fuse under the dash to be sure number 15 i believe a 7.5amp also make sure that the wiring harness behind the intake manifold doesn't have any wires exposed from rubbing

 

[1Lowcoupe]

You my friend, should do a parasitic drain test with a DMM.

 

[Billy.]

i know this sounds silly, but check your brake lights when the car is off. its rare but sometimes the brake switch that cuts on the lights goes bad. if it does the brake lights will stay on even when the car is off = dead battery the next morning

 

[lethalpimp2998]

Well I ended up taking it to a shop instead. I knew something was draining the battery but didn't even think about the obbvious. Apparently the amp i have was draining the battery even when the car was turned off.

I just hope this is the actual problem. Unplugged it. PRAY THAT THIS WORKS lol

 

[99civicy8]

did u run a remote wire to your cd player and amp if so your amp should be turning off with the cd player i have had my system for years and never had that happen

 

[lethal6]

did u run a remote wire to your cd player and amp if so your amp should be turning off with the cd player i have had my system for years and never had that happen

Something is wrong. I have been running 2 amps for over 13 years now in 4 different vehicles and have never had that happen.

The amp should shut down when your head unit does. That or wire a switch to it and shut it down manually.

 

[lethalpimp2998]

Ok well, just to confirm its the amp, i have unplugged it and left it unplugged. So far it hasn't "not started".

but what is continuing is that my engine is shutting off. ill be driving and when i start to put on the brake. The RPM's start running low and it sometimes just shuts off.

Ideas?

 

[99civicy8]

it sounds like your alt is on its way out its not putting out enough power and when you hit the brakes or turn on your lights its too much causing it to shut down. put a multimeter on the battery on dc and check it when its running it should be around 13-14 but im telling you your amp shouldn't be causing that

 

[lethalpimp2998]

Oh yeah sorry. Well i did what you said and the remote was unplugged, i plugged it back in but left the power off on the amp just to make sure that is what was causing the problem

 

[00civicsi-r]

well one way to check to see if the alt is bad is start the car and take the negative battery wire off. If the car continues to run its not the altenator. If it stalls out the altenator is done for.