Oh electrical issues

Hey guys,
Having more problems. I replaced my starter this weekend after it went on Friday afternoon. Everything seemed to be running well. I was on my way to work this morning and the car broke down. It started with the ABS light. I assumed it was probably just a speed sensor (3 of the 4 sensors have already been replaced). Shortly after the ABS light came on I lost power to my stereo. I started getting nervous at this point as its never done this in the 5 years I have owned it. The instrument cluster froze and stopped working (the tachometer frozen at 1800 rpm or so). Finally, the emergency brake light came on and I got the flashing light with three beeps. The car began shuddering hard at low rpm and smoothed out once my rpm were higher. I am not sure what rpm this was happening at since my tachometer was frozen in place. I was able to limp up another exit until I reached a break down lane on the side of the road. I let the car for a minute or so before shutting it down. I tried starting again and I got the flickering gauges (as if the battery was dead). If I turn the key to the on position the radio works as well as the instrument cluster. I did notice this morning that my wiper motor was moving a bit slower than normal. I also noticed that the windows were rolling down/up slower than normal. I measured 11.4 volts across the battery terminals and am currently charging the battery. Has a similar scenario happened to anyone on here? I am thinking alternator issues but not sure if that is the correct place to start.
Thanks

I would check all your ground points first. And the main wire from the alternator to the fuse link box.

check the voltage on the battery after charging... keep the multimeter connected, start the car and see if the voltage increases by a couple volts... if not then I would check the alternator and wiring.

the reason your starter probably went is because you've been starting it with a weak battery. low voltage = high amp draw = heat = no good.

I would check the wiring around the starter in general, there is a main line from alt to batter, but also an exciter wire, these all run through the harness bolted to the starter bolt, you could have disturbed and broke this wire. If its not charging the lack of the battery light on the dash could indicate it didn't get a signal from the alternator.

Might have been better to continue the "Bad Starter *URGENT*" thread as it could be pertinent. In any case follow Post #2, OH often gets these right even on the interweb.

Update.

So I charged the battery for about 4-5 hours and put it back on the car. The car fired right up. I measured the voltage once again across the terminals before install and measured 12.11 volts. After starting the car I measured the voltage once again and measured 11.59 volts. With all accessories on I measured 11.41 volts. After shutting the car down after about 10 minutes of idling/testing I measured 11.76 volts across the terminals. What should the battery voltage be with the car running? Around 14 volts?

Sounds like it is time for a new battery, pony up. I would load test it though before you go buy a new one. See what the voltage drop is while the car is cranking (probably need 2 people to do this). Shouldn't drop below around 9.5V during cranking.

Post #2

Okay. I will check all ground points and wire to alternator. The battery that is in the car was changed back in January.

jbourke367 said:

The battery that is in the car was changed back in January.

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That doesn't mean anything. Quality control is a practice, not a guarantee. Did you replace with the correct battery? What's your CCA's?
As I stated before you need to perform a simple load test. It will rule out your battery. Bad ground connections can attribute to the problem.

FWIW, a while ago, I had random no-starts on my car. All grounds were clean, tight, as well as the contacts. I was in a parkinglot, so I decided to give the cable from the battery to the starter a wiggle. The car fired right off. The next time I had a no start issue, I wiggled that cable again, fired off fine. Replaced that cable and haven't had an issue since. Cut open the old cable and it was corroded underneath the sheath.

KrashDH said:

That doesn't mean anything. Quality control is a practice, not a guarantee. Did you replace with the correct battery? What's your CCA's?
As I stated before you need to perform a simple load test. It will rule out your battery. Bad ground connections can attribute to the problem.
FWIW, a while ago, I had random no-starts on my car. All grounds were clean, tight, as well as the contacts. I was in a parkinglot, so I decided to give the cable from the battery to the starter a wiggle. The car fired right off. The next time I had a no start issue, I wiggled that cable again, fired off fine. Replaced that cable and haven't had an issue since. Cut open the old cable and it was corroded underneath the sheath.

Click to expand...

The battery is the correct size. I did not go with the OEM battery this time. The one I got had 20% more CCAs than the OEM battery. I have had issues with starting in the winter so I was hoping the extra juice would help with starting (which it did). Not sure if that was a wise decision now that this is happening

You should be getting around 13.5 volts while running (14 is ok). Is your alternator light coming on before starting the car? read my post #4

I think you have a bad alternator but you’re able to change just the brushes & the regulator in the car still


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I'd personally recommend AGAINST buying a new battery right away, since this:

jbourke367 said:

After starting the car I measured the voltage once again and measured 11.59 volts. With all accessories on I measured 11.41 volts.

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tells you your alternator is not charging. Neither an older battery or a brand new one will run a car for long with no alternator.

Your alternator is not charging either because it’s gone bad or the wire leading from it to the battery is bad. Probably just the alternator, but you should check the wire anyway.

You should be getting 13.8-14.5 at the battery with the car running at idle. If you’re getting less it’s a good sign your alternator isn’t working. The bad news is that once the alternator is replaced the big discharges of your battery may have ruined that too, even if it is somewhat new.

A healthy battery is about 12.6v less than 12.2 is essentially dead. After you get the alternator repaired, fully charge the battery and see if it holds a charge. Maybe you’ll get lucky.

You’ll need vcds to clear the multitude of codes you will have and you’ll need it to clear the airbag light also.

jbourke367 said:

So I charged the battery for about 4-5 hours and put it back on the car. The car fired right up. I measured the voltage once again across the terminals before install and measured 12.11 volts.

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You should measure the battery voltage after charging it.
As mentioned, 12.6V is fully charged. 12.11 is not.

What brand battery is it and what is the CCA rating?
If the battery is bad it could make the alternator work harder (and hotter) trying to keep it charged.
Could damage the windings in it from the heat.

I think I would put a new battery in there, making certain it is the correct one. It should be the big H7 80Ah unit, it should fill up the whole case.

Yes, it may have gotten the wrong battery put in (or it's old and wore out). Before I new better, I was sold 2 batteries, NAPA, Interstate, that were the wrong size. They both wore out in 3 years.

Thank you everyone for your responses. The alternator was the culprit and the car is now back on the road.