Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 I have a 1993 Ford Probe. It Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members B-Bottom Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 that does sound like the battery to me. Try getting another one but a differnt kind this time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by B-Bottom that does sound like the battery to me. Try getting another one but a differnt kind this time. Under warrantee I would probably be stuck with what ever they wanted to give me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenshag Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 most likely, I would say it is an intermittent alternator issue...next time you go to the auto shop, have them check your alternator to see if it is charging correctly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenshag Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 also, grab your positive battery cable, and do what you would do when you give someone an indian burn...sometimes the cable gets corroded on the inside, causing what you described. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members ARES Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 if your alternator is toast, your car will run off the battery until it's dead. that could translate to an hour or a few days, depending on how you drive. if your car is sucking up batteries, it's likely the alternator. whenever i've had an alternator die on me, weird stuff happens with the electrical system (ie: warning lights come on for no reason, blinkers act funny, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by ARES if your alternator is toast, your car will run off the battery until it's dead. that could translate to an hour or a few days, depending on how you drive. if your car is sucking up batteries, it's likely the alternator. whenever i've had an alternator die on me, weird stuff happens with the electrical system (ie: warning lights come on for no reason, blinkers act funny, etc.). The battery is stone cold dead right now but I can still jump the car and it will run as long as I don't turn it off so I wouldn't think it would be the alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 4string Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by ARES if your alternator is toast, your car will run off the battery until it's dead. that could translate to an hour or a few days, depending on how you drive.if your car is sucking up batteries, it's likely the alternator. whenever i've had an alternator die on me, weird stuff happens with the electrical system (ie: warning lights come on for no reason, blinkers act funny, etc.). +1 Sounds like the alternator to me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenshag Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by The Insomniac The battery is stone cold dead right now but I can still jump the car and it will run as long as I don't turn it off so I wouldn't think it would be the alternator. that is why I said intermittent alternator issue...really, go to autozone, or whatever the comparable shop is, and have them check the alternator, I am willing to bet it is not putting out enough amps to charge the battery, but still enough to keep the car running...that or your positive cable... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastplant Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 You could also have a short in your wiring somewhere that's draining the battery. If you just it and it's dying without driving it, it sounds like that's the likely cause. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by fastplant You could also have a short in your wiring somewhere that's draining the battery. If you just it and it's dying without driving it, it sounds like that's the likely cause. I'm think so too but why after putting a charger on the battery for 4 hours and the charger saying that the battery in now charged - why won't it then start the car? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members greenshag Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 insomniac, one more question...what sound does it make when you try to turn it over? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jumpy Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by 4string +1 Sounds like the alternator to me +2 Take it to get looked at. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by Jumpy +2 Take it to get looked at. I just talked to my mechanic (also the drummer in our band) and he said that if it was the alternator the car would die as soon as I disconected it from the other car. He's leaning towards two bad batteries. I'm going to take it to his shop tomorrow and he will check it out. What a major pain in my ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members J the D Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Sears had a run of bad DIehard batteries a few years back. The entire group had a manufacturing defect and Sears would replace the battery and it would die, replace and die. I finally bought another brand even though it wasn't under warranty. Interstate Batteries had the same problem at one time. The lead plates weren't properly fastened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 21, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by J the D Sears had a run of bad DIehard batteries a few years back. The entire group had a manufacturing defect and Sears would replace the battery and it would die, replace and die. I finally bought another brand even though it wasn't under warranty.Interstate Batteries had the same problem at one time. The lead plates weren't properly fastened. That sounds like that might be the case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members fastplant Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Originally posted by The Insomniac I'm think so too but why after putting a charger on the battery for 4 hours and the charger saying that the battery in now charged - why won't it then start the car? A short could suck the battery dry very fast depending on how bad it is. Say you have an exposed wire hitting the frame somewhere. That could kill the battery real fast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tylytle Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 Where did you get the battery? AutoZone will test your charging system for free. Would be a cheap way to see what is going on. Ty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members the_big_geez Posted September 21, 2005 Members Share Posted September 21, 2005 In 30+ years of {censored}ing around with autos I have never seen an intermittent alternator problem. Intermittent voltage regulators, yes, but not alternators. It's easy to confuse the two as many alternators now have a solid state voltage regulator built into the alternator case. It leads one to claim an alternator failure when it is actually the voltage regulator. In most cases it is more economical to merely replace the whole alternator than it is to replace the VR inside. That said, batteries are really simple devices. They either work or they don't. Auto batteries are designed to deliver a maximum amount of amperage for a very short duration, then recharge. Their falure is when they are no longer able to HOLD that charge. One needs a load tester to determine if a battery can or cannot hold it's charge. If it CAN'T, there's nothing to do but replace it; no repairs are possible. My advice would be as follows: 1) Take car/battery to place of purchase. 2) Have battery tested/replaced. 3) Spring the ~$50 or so for a jump starter and carry it in the car at all times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Cortfan Posted September 22, 2005 Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 1. Probably a bad battery, again. 2. Could be a short circuit somewhere-like a dome light, stuck cigarette lighter, glove box light, etc. 3. On a Ford, it could be the starter solenoid, or one of the battery cable connections, including the ground. 4. Rarely, the alt. will send a signal to the idiot light, or not send a warning to the light, but it won't send any voltage to the battery to charge it. When that happens, you might as well replace the alternator. It would cost more to replace the triodes in the alt, than to replace the whole thing. P.S. Oh yeah, check you belt that turns the alt. Note: A 7 year battery just means you paid enough for it that they will give you a new one in about 3 years and 2 months (when it dies) for free, since you already paid the price, when you bought it the first time. No battery will last 7 years. Well, maybe 1 out of 5000. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BraunS Posted September 22, 2005 Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 Well I have a 93 ford probe too and had the exact same problem. Here's what I did:1) New battery2) Cleaned the post adaptors (not sure of correct name, I mean the wires you connect to the battery)After that everything worked just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members megadan Posted September 22, 2005 Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 Originally posted by the_big_geez It's easy to confuse the two as many alternators now have a solid state voltage regulator built into the alternator case. Clearly, the answer is that they should use tubes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 22, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 Originally posted by greenshag insomniac, one more question...what sound does it make when you try to turn it over? tick..tick..tick standard "not enough juice" sound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members The Insomniac Posted September 22, 2005 Author Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 I just got back from band practice. My mechanic is also the drummer in our band so that can come in handy. Strongly leaning towards a second bad battery. At least that's what I'm going to try first. It's not the alternator - if that was the case it would die when the battery was drained. That's not the case. It will run all day as long as I don't turn it off. It's also probably not a slow drain. Otherwise the battery would have charged when I put the charger on it. If there is a major short - why did the battery function properly for 4 weeks. If the battery wasn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bluescout Posted September 22, 2005 Members Share Posted September 22, 2005 Insomniac It could be a slow drain but running it a while should charge the battery enough to restart it immediately. I would check the connection between the terminal and the battery, and also, the voltage while running. A bad alternator can severely overcharge the battery and cook it something fierce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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