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?

[1986nate]

Originally Posted by 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?

You would be correct in suspecting issues with the alternator. First check that the belt is tight. If it still keeps with the same symptoms, check that the pulleys turn freely.
I had an alternator that tested working at the local Advance Auto but was later proven to be bad as I had suspected on a different car.

[XT6Wagon]

I'd start first with a complete cleaning of the batterycables, the mounting areas of the alternator and the positive cable to the alternator. Maybe skip the batterycable to starter/engine side till later as thats a bit annoying to get to, and atleast in my case mostly fine due to a coating of oil protecting it. However in my case the alternator mount was covered in hard corrosion that took quite a bit of sanding to clean off. The positive lead also needed alot of work. The groundstrap from the battery cable to the chassis was also nearly useless with corrosion and the bolt was not even worth cleaning up.

Cleaning up all of that got rid of most of my battery drain/charging issues, and removed the stalling issues.

[genzzel]

School of hard knocks has taught me that the Christmas tree lights on dash is due to low voltage due to alternator or poor connection. My son's was due to a loose connection at starter--the main cable from batt to starter. I would make sure the posts are clean and all connections are tight before damning the alt. Could be loose ground or loose positive somewhere. Just my 2 cents.

[SoCal LS-L]

Originally Posted by SVXalter

Another update:

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.

Check your grounds! Theres one at the battery, and another at the rear of the intake manifold, and one from the firewall on the driver side I think. Also as mentioned clean your battery posts and cables.

[major7venth]

It's the battery!...test with a carbon pile tester at a battery shop,parts stores usually have a loaner, or maybe a friend has one.The SVX eats battery's and must have a very good battery and clean,tight connections always. Alternator output of 13.5,nothing wrong there, doesn't help having a possible shorted battery cell, happens all the time.
Voltage drain? check (parasite) is hard to determine on an SVX because of the electronics, procedure can be explained if you need it, but I don't think so. Get a new battery and check the connections, I'd say you'd be good to go.
good luckM7

[SVXalter]

UPDATE once again:

Thank you everyone for your input.

I took the battery in to have it tested for a bad cell. They tested it, said it needed to be charged, put it on the load tester, charged it and said there was nothing wrong with it. I brought it back and the car starts just fine with the charged battery. I took it for a spin and there was no weakness in the electronics like there was before, however if the heat is on and I accelerate the heat blows harder when I'm on the gas pedal that it does when I'm coasting or idle. Is this typical behavior? Is there a chance the alternator is going bad slowly?, or maybe I should just upgrade the wiring following the document in the how-to section... I checked the grounds and they seem to be good. I don't dare drive anywhere in the SVX right now for fear of getting stranded.

[huck369]

I didn't see this mentioned and it could very well be the root of your problem, check to make sure your crank pulley isn't slipping...put a mark all the way across the face of the pulley, and after driving it a while see if the mark stayed lined up...

[major7venth]

I didn't read all the replies so, to cover the bases, start the car, turn on everything electrical, (using a multimeter) check the alternator output at an idle, and then at 1500-2000 rpm. Is the voltage low (12 volts or lower) at an idle? 13.5V or more at high idle? If so, weak alternator and/or Check (and clean)(baking soda is great stuff) *all the electrical connections at the battery* and elsewhere if possible.. corroded fuses,connections, elec. plugs, freakin fuse link, check everywhere, etc.) I don't think its anything more serious than that.
On our 94', with everything on, the high fan speed varies with each turn signal click..go figure..
good luck.
M7

[major7venth]

Oh yeah, be sure the Alternator belt is tight..yes...pretty tight indeed..could be that simple...sheeshh.
M7