electrical problem, battery??

[dc2r-0636]

hello

so i got another frustrating problem!

this morning as i was driving too work i was flicking my high beams on coz i saw a mate driving in the opposite direction and my radio switched off for a split second and my car was misfiring.

then i went to leave work and the radio presets had been lost and dash clock has reset?

so i got home and locked the car with just the key and a click noise came from the engine bay, i unlocked the car and went to start it and no interior lights were on and the car wouldnt start, fuel pump wouldnt prime. as if there was no battery at all nothing happend. then it worked again after i locked the car again and unlocked it.


battery is 14ish volts on idle, drops to 12 when high beams go on then slowly bak to 14 volts..

then i put all electrics on (AC, radio, rear demister, all lights, ect)
the lights on the dash dimmed, engine rpm dropped to lower then idle and car stalled.

what the fcuk

[EKVTIR-T]

Has it got immobiliser? Maybe loose battery terminals messing with the alarm?

Huge stab in the dark

[na-118]

have you load tested the battery? testing the charging system is fine, but a charging system charging a faulty battery could be one of the causes, something to look into

[dc2r-0636]

it does have an alarm/immo but i dont arm it..

na-118, by load testing the battery do u mean putting lights on, AC on ect? if so yes i did.. voltage dropped, lights dimmed and car switched off on idle

[na-118]

putting the lights on while car is on does put load on the battery, but by load testing the battery individually is better, you'll need a load tester if its a durst tester you put half the CCA on the test, if you got a digital tester it will tell you which cell is rooted, or low charge, overcharged battery etc

[dc2r-0636]

oh thanks for that, i just have a multimeter at home.
ill swap over my sisters battery into my car and see if it happens..

[dc2r-0636]

Thanks for The help guys, I took a stab in th dark and bought a new battery,
Problem solved :)

[1.mile]

Gotta love new batterys, 90% of the time solves a lot of problems...even though they cost $130+++ for our cars -____-

[trism]

they cost 130+ for all cars...

[dc2r-0636]

Update,

Piece of shit starting to play up again!!!!!?

[na-118]

so not the battery after all?

[dc2r-0636]

Nope, it was fine for 1 day,. Now fuking up like it did with the previous battery

[na-118]

why don't you check for current draw?

[dc2r-0636]

I didn't think I'd have to coz there's always a voltage when I try to start the car.

Also as soon as I switch the car off the dash clock resets

[EKVTIR-T]

I didn't think I'd have to coz there's always a voltage when I try to start the car.

Also as soon as I switch the car off the dash clock resets
Did a quick search and found it can be the 7.5amp BackUp fuse in engine bay or wire short somewhere

[dc2r-0636]

Thanks, will check in the morning.

[dc2r-0636]

7.5amp back up fuse is fine and so is all other fuses in the bay

got a multimeter onto it and tested the altanator,
with all electrics on including heater, dimister, lights and high beams and hazards the voltage dropped from 14.4 volts with nothing down to 11volts then the car stalled.
but starts right up again

[grifty]

it was probably fine for the first day since the battery was fully charged, seems like your alternator is on the way out.

[dc2r-0636]

Update

Got to work today, switched the car off and thought id see if it would start..
Nothing happened, car wouldn't turn over, interior lights wouldn't go on, hazards didn't work, headlights didnt..
Like there was no battery even connected.

So I moved the positive and negative terminals on the battery and it worked..
The problem must be there..

[na-118]

must be the accesory wire/ ignition wire, clean all terminals and earth points

[mocchi]

Update

Got to work today, switched the car off and thought id see if it would start..
Nothing happened, car wouldn't turn over, interior lights wouldn't go on, hazards didn't work, headlights didnt..
Like there was no battery even connected.

So I moved the positive and negative terminals on the battery and it worked..
The problem must be there..

so you hooked up wrong terminals?

[dc2r-0636]

No they were obviously properly hooked up since I drove the car..
Just when I switched it off it wouldnt start again till I moved the terminals, like giv them a wiggle

[dc2r-0636]

Bump,

Had the alternator reco'd and new ground wire from battery to chassis put it problem has gone so far!
Hopefully lol