AHHHHH what i feared the most has finally come - Page 2

#16 11-03-2005, 04:45 PM

I also doubt it's the alternator or battery. Our alternator went while I was driving home from Austria (Hubby was with me but on motorcycle.) Every single red warning light came on! Made it back to Germany 45 miles away, partly on a highway at 80 mph at night with lights on, the rest at 62 mph with occasional high beams. Even stopped once for gas!

Didn't quite make it home

, so we called Hubby's Dad to come with another battery for us. We switched batteries and made it to the in-law's place - another 44 miles. Stayed overnight, recharged battery, made it to mechanic next day

New alternator ended up costing us 450 euro, or about $535 US

(ask SilverSpear why I'm now posting in tech area

)

spinn360 · #17 11-03-2005, 04:46 PM

I had a problem similar to this except for the slow acceleration and it was because I only had like one ground wire that was actually grounded from the battery and it was only a little bit thicker then a heavy speaker wire. I reground it in several places and it ran fine. But that one wire was burnt. Check and see if your battery is getting hot after the car runs for a bit. Its not supposed to but thats what mine did when the ground wires were screwed.

Someone before me actually ground the largest wires to a piece of plastic!!

Matthewmongan · #18 11-03-2005, 05:26 PM

reguardless, check the voltage. any pepboys or auto zone will do this for free. i have blown out 5 alts or so and everytime its diferent. sometimes all the error lights come one, some times i get symptoms you experience. check all the conections to the alt as well as the battery.

#19 11-03-2005, 06:55 PM

like when i turn out the lights it runs better.. but no where close to where it should run at all.. the ground is fine its connected to the metal in the stock location.. just a question.. what kind of alt would i need.. if i was going to do this myself... could i get one from subaru or should i not go that route cus i know the dealers gonna be expensive as hell... is it alright to drive this car in the condition its in.. cus i have been getting rides everywhere.. and its inconvenient.. thanks for all the replys so fast.. im feeling better about the situation at hand..

Matthewmongan · #20 11-03-2005, 07:09 PM

first check the voltage. as for alts, i have had bad luck with salvo, advance, and pep boys. the one im useing now is napa and it seems to be working fine.

ShiuludeSVX · #21 11-03-2005, 08:27 PM

Ultimately the Alternator is supplying all the voltage that needs to go to the plugs.

This is definately caused by the Alt., and is probably just one or two diodes in it that have gone bad. This will drag the Alt into a frenzy state just trying to supply what you need. Probably notice a blazing Alt, when it runs also {quickly builds heat}.

You can top off the battery, but you will drain it everytime you run the vehicle. Lights and accessories only speed up the process.

Unfortunately, the Alt has to be off the car to do the test, unless your parts place has a roving model of the test bench.

Battery will test out low when you get there, and will even hold up to a load, but once the car runs, it will suck it dry.

No. I'm not a mechanic. But I've been thru this too many times on previous foreign, and domestic vehicles.

Matthewmongan · #22 11-03-2005, 09:26 PM

yeah thats a good point. however, i find that if you have 14.5v in the system, your good. anything less and the alt is bad. 15$ or less digital volt meter works fine, or you can go to any pep boys advance or ntb and have them check it. all the ones ive been to do it for free.

ShiuludeSVX · #23 11-04-2005, 08:51 AM

Good point Mat. I forgot about the simple test.

Thanks for the reminder.
Course, we can't do the old "pull the negative with it running" trick anymore.
Burn things out that way.

Ya Know.
This is not really that big of a job, even if it is the Alternator.
Just deal with someone you trust for the replacement.
Hardest part is prob. taking the tension off the Serpentine to get the Alternator off, and back on the car.
Breaker Bar comes in real good for that on most cars.

#24 11-08-2005, 12:44 PM

well another thing came up while i was driving it.. cus i had to go somewhere so i took the car against my own will.. the check engine light now comes on.. but it turns itself off after a while?? and then it can like come back on.. i dont understand this

Rotorflyr · #25 11-08-2005, 01:05 PM

Get the alt fixed (if your sure it is the problem) before you "have" to drive the car somewhere again! Continuing to drive it "as is" will end up causing you more problems and money in the long run.
As for the cel, pull the code to be safe, but remember voltage surges can and will wreak havoc on a cars electrical system, up to and including ecu's and tcu's, it may just be due to the bad alt and just neeed to be cleared.

dwd1985 · #26 11-08-2005, 01:33 PM

If you have a 92 - 95, you can pull the codes yourself, if you go to the "how-to" section and click on engine, and then codes, you will find all of the information you need for the CEL. However, it could just be caused by the bad alternator thing, and might just go away after a new one is installed.

#27 11-08-2005, 02:33 PM

i took it to subaru today.. im prepared to get raped on the price...

benebob · #28 11-08-2005, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NikFu S.

I once drove 40 miles at 60mph from Phoenix to Mesa with an alternator that was not charging.

I made it less than 4 miles from symptoms starting (dash lights glowing) until death on my alt in my SVX and the battery was less than a month old at the time. My Brat lasted about a week when it went (although I had to push start it toward the end)

Seriously if it is your alternator get yours rebuilt locally rather than buying a crappy rebuilt one from a store. For about $125 and 2 days you'll be back in business. Of course verify its the alternator (can pull it and take it to Advance or Autozone and they'll let you know if its good or not)