1992 svx with electrical issues

[darkrecess]

Hello everyone,

I originally joined the forums here about a month ago as I was going to ask about a tensioner assembly that had fallen apart... With some swearing and some luck, I got it back together.

(I started to drive the car one day, then realized I had no power steering, etc... Opened the hood to find the forward of the two belts -- the alternator, tensioner, crank and P/S pump belt -- laying on the mudshield. Found out that my nut and washer for the tensioner arm had come off as well... Dug all the parts out and reassembled them. Had it checked by my mechanic -- we live about 20 miles from our mechanic's shop -- after I fixed it, he said it was fine.)

Now, about a month later, we have the following issues:
-Rapid death of battery... We killed a brand new battery in less than an hour. This was after exchanging a previously brand new battery that we killed in 5 days. (Put new battery in, started the car, it died while doing 55 on winding country roads).
-Jump often required to start
-Very low idle (~500-600rpm), to the point where it will stall out and die. Also very rough idle.

We bought this car just over 4 months ago. It came with a brand new alternator, new brakes and tires, etc...

At this point I am ready to point the finger at the alternator being bad, seeing as when the belt fell off the alternator last month, it was driven and ran without a belt on the alternator....

I also know though that the starter could also be potentially draining the battery... But would the starter's draining of the battery be an issue while the car is running (seeing as how the car randomly dies while at 55mph?) I can see how it would be if the alternator is bad but... if the alternator is good, than wouldn't the flow of current from the alternator to the battery be enough to overcome the drain from the starter?

And also, to settle a question my wife and I were arguing over, on the SVX engine, does the timing come from the belts that are in the front of the engine, or is it similar to other engines in which the timing is controlled by a timing chain hidden underneath a cover between all the pulleys and fans and hoses and the block itself?

I know it's a lot of reading and a lot of thinking, but I appreciate any help you guys can give us.

EDIT: I am taking the alternator off in the morning and we are renting a car so that I can get to work. I am also going to take the alternator into the local autozone and have it tested as well. Not sure how fast you guys are about replying but I figured there is a lot that could be going wrong and I want to make sure I am not missing anything.

[Trevor]

Welcome,

You are correct in suspecting the alternator. However, are any of the dash fault indication lights illuminated, as there should be? If so this will help with an exact analysis.

The camshafts are driven by a toothed belt behind a cover at the front of the engine. The good news is that a broken belt will not cause the valves to contact the pistons and the resulting damage common to many other cars.

[SilverSpear]

A battery dying so fast, means that it is not charging. I would suggest to check on the fuses, then wirings, then test the alternator.

If the alternator is bad, I suggest you contact Christian at Maniac Motors and have that alternator upgraded to 160A.

[huck369]

I suggest you check your crank pulley and make sure it's not separating...
Put a white mark all the way across the face of it, run it a little while and see if the mark is still lined up across the inner and outer sections....I'm betting this is the issue

[darkrecess]

Hello again,

to the poster immediately before me: at this point I can't even get it to start up, so the test is kinda moot.

To the question about the dash lights: When the car is running, the Check Engine light is on (this is from the coolant temperature sensor that we also need to replace)... When it dies it reverts back to the the point where all the dash lights come on (similar to when you put the key in and turn to "On" before starting it).

By the way, I never knew renting a car was such a hassle -.-.

[huck369]

Hook up some jumper cable to charge the battery up for a while, then check the crank pulley (or drop in a battery out of another car)

[sowise]

You need to do the coolant sensor first. If that is bad it either won't start or won't run right anyway, no matter how good your charging system is.

Definitely sounds like an alternator issue. When you do get the car to start disconnect your battery while it is running, if the car dies your alternator isn't charging. It is also why it dies after an hour when you jump start it.

[darkrecess]

Hello,

I was told about disconnecting the battery by a friend of mine... I did some reading before I thought about trying it, and apparently you should NEVER disconnect the battery while the car is running, as it can cause an electrical overcharge and result in a electrical explosion. If no explosion happens, it is also very possible that the computer system could be fried. So I'm not going to do that test.

I have the alternator out. When I took it out I noticed the bolt that holds the battery leads was broken off.

Also noticed that the bolt for the tensioner pulley was splitting, so I need to replace that before I can safely run the car again. I've been looking, and so far this is the only thing even close to what I need:

http://www.partstrain.com/store/?Ntt...N=0&src=search

But the bolt in the picture does not look like the one that is on my car, the one I have looks much much longer. Ultimately, the pulley, the bolt that runs through the middle of the pulley, the washer and nut are all OK, it's just the long bolt that lets you adjust where the tensioner is (and also allows you to adjust the tension on the belt). I don't know where to find it -.-.

[bwb3]

Subaruparts.com has it:



Gene

[darkrecess]

Hey all, thanks for the replies.

I took the alternator to autozone... it failed the test... twice.

new one cost me 149$ with a lifetime warranty. the bolt I needed I found an exact match for it at local hardware store for a quarter.

To the poster who put up the image with the bolt... That's not my engine. My engine has a dual belt, one for the alternator / power steering / crank / tensioner, another for the crank / ac compressor and something else I can't quite see what it is. Either way. I found the bolt I needed so I can safely reassemble all this stuff tomorrow once the alternator arrives at autozone.

thanks for the help everybody... also if anyone has any experience putting an alternator on this engine and wants to share tips, please point me in the right direction .

[Sean486]

Originally Posted by darkrecess

To the poster who put up the image with the bolt... That's not my engine. My engine has a dual belt, one for the alternator / power steering / crank / tensioner, another for the crank / ac compressor and something else I can't quite see what it is.

Huh?? Are you sure about that?

[aust92pearl]

Originally Posted by Sean486

Huh?? Are you sure about that?

+ 1 lol

[huck369]

The picture is of the timing belt...not the accessory belts that he is dealing with...

[SilverSpear]

Originally Posted by huck369

The picture is of the timing belt...not the accessory belts that he is dealing with...

+1 especially that the timing belt is under-cover

[Sean486]

Originally Posted by huck369

The picture is of the timing belt...not the accessory belts that he is dealing with...

Oh, I understand, you are right of course. It just sounded strange, like the engine was somehow different than every other SVX engine ever made.