Electrical Woes

[SVXalter]

Hey everyone, I always feel guilty for starting new threads on here but hey what the heck? Haha I don't want to steal threads from anyone!

My 96 polo won't start. The battery is not completely dead as the radio will still power on when the key is in the acc position. The battery was installed in the car a couple months ago. The car will take a jump start, but once it is running if you have more than one of the heat/radio/headlights on they will weaken, or the radio will even cut out and turn itself off. I had the alternator tested and it passed. I haven't driven the car much lately, do you think I just need to jump start it and take it for a semi long drive to let the alternator do its job? If not would the next step be to check all the grounds etc.? What would the first step in this process be?

Thank you for any and all advice

[Sean486]

I admittedly don't know very much about these things, but my thought would be to have the battery tested too.

[Cam]

There is a wiring upgrade for our alternators in the how to section. It may solve your issues. The wiring to the alternator is not very well designed, and the MOD is quite an upgrade. Numbers are posted in the how-to.

[svxcess]

How was the alternator "tested"? The most accurate way is to have it bench-tested and checked under load. Do you have access to a voltmeter to check the charging voltage? Maybe a bad cell in the battery which won't let it hold a charge, or a parasitic electrical draw on the system when the car is off

Use the following link to check voltage drop readings.

http://www.maniacelectricmotors.com/chstsycivote.html

And the following link to find a parasitic electrical drain

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic-Battery-Drain





.

[SVXalter]

Update:
Thank you for all the advice so far.

Put the alternator back in, with a new belt, also tested the battery while the car was off and it tested at 12 V which means there is probably no drain right? Should I jumpstart the car again and see if I get around 14 V while it is running? It seems that the battery should be at less than 12V already if that is the case. When I try to start the car on its own I get the click click click click. Does this lead me to the starter? Or perhaps the starter relay problem that Eric found? Would this mean the power loss to the radio while the headlights and fans are on is because the poor set up of the alternator in our cars?

The alternator test consisted of me bringing it to the nearest auto parts store and them hooking it up to their testing apparatus which simulated use in a car as far as I could tell.

[SVXalter]

Another update:

Jump started the car again and the battery tested at about 13.5V while the car was running, this was higher than my buddy's SVX that tested somewhere around 12.5V while running and has no problems. Took the car for a short drive around the neighborhood, and the problem with the radio cutting out was present once again. The ABS light would also come on in the dash and the dash lights would dim when this happened. The radio would come back on, the ABS light would go out, and the dash lights would get bright whenever the gas pedal was being used. When I arrived back at home I turned the car off and was able to start it again with fans, radio, headlights off just after I had turned it off, although it was a weak start. This shows that the starter is fine and perhaps the battery is just a little too weak to start the car. All of this information leads me to believe that my alternator is dying despite the passing test at the auto store and the voltage readings. Does this make sense?

[Naru]

i have the same problem.
- removed and send alternator to an electrical shop -> no problem
- removed / dismounted / checked power steering pump -> no problem
i really start to think about the tight of the belt.
even if she's new, i think she need a high tight!

[joshuachrist]

I too am having this problem. I was on my way to work when i noticed my lights going dim, when i went to turn around everything came on the dash and the car stalled out. Then i walked back home to get the other car(and the wife) to give the svx a jump. But when we got back to the svx i noticed that the dome light was bright again and it started right up. Turned it around and made it a few hundred feet before it stalled out again. Luckily i was able to coast it into the driveway. Now this morning i jumped it and it ran for about 2 mins,(long enough for me to pull the cables and put them back in the trunk). I also had the battery tested and they said it was fine. BUT I have been having power steering leaks for a few days now and have had to keep adding fluid. Could this be a problem? Im going to check my grounds and take the advice already mentioned...but anything else would be a great help. As always thanks

[Naru]

i have think about the problem.
maybe a P/S pump failure can make problem.
if the pump lock some times, the belt slide and dont run normaly.
so the alternator dont have a good speed and maybe the engine eat the battery.
i'll try to make measurement of the alternator when my car going on road again...

[SVXalter]

Update for my situation:

After having the battery charged I decided to put a different alternator in just to see if that was the source of the problem. It should also be noted that I am now running a brand new belt also, and the old one was not in great shape, but should still have been working fine. For the past 6 days the car has been running fine without any issues. Starts up every time, even in the subzero temperatures we've had already. The snow tires are on and I am remembering again how awesome this car is in the snow. Now I just hope it keeps running!

[Tuck]

I just recently replaced the alternator which gave me the "disco dash of death" so dimly that I could only barely see it in the dark. This caught me on a rainy afternoon and I only saw it after it became dark. You would have to look closely to see it.

[Naru]

so alternator replacement correct the problem?