Hey Guys I Need Some Help . . .

[mas09ts]

My battery will not stay charged, could it be the voltage regulator, or the alternator, or something else, any info would help.

thanks mitch

[Wrenchbender Ret]

Yes it could be any of those things. You need a volt meter to check it. First make sure the connectors are good at the alt. & reg. Put the volt meter across the bat terms. You will have about 12-12.5 volts. Start the engine. The voltage should start going up. With a good bat. that is at or near full charge it should go to 14-14.5 volts. If it does not go up remove the connector from the reg. Put a jumper between the blue wire term. & the red wire. If the voltage goes up then your regulator is defective or the wireing. If it still does not go up the alt is bad or the wire between the reg. & alt. is defective.

[Longhorn Man]

first thing is first... you need to figure out if you have a charging propblem, or a dead battery.

[mas09ts]

Well the battery gets drained and won't stay charged so . . .???

[ChevLoRay]

First things, first.

Disconnect the battery. Clean the battery top, using a mixture of bicarbonate of soda and water. DO NOT ALLOW ANY OF THE MIXTURE TO GET INTO THE CELLS....i.e., don't take the caps off of the battery. Rinse off the water/soda from the battery. This step will neutralize any battery acid that may have boiled out of the battery, onto the battery case and down onto the tray.

Remove the caps and check each cell for electrolyte level. Use distilled water to replenish any that are low. Do NOT fill the cells up, just make sure there is electrolyte covering the plates.

Clean the terminals...posts, whatever you have. Use a wire brush that is designed to get them clean. Clean the ends of the cables. Charge the battery, completely. You should have 12.2-13.8V, if it is fully charged, but a hydrometer will show you how much each cell is charged by checking the specific gravity of each cell. A hydrometer will tell you what is acceptable.

Reinstall the cables....positive first, then the negative. If it is dark when you do and you see a spark as you connnect the second cable, then something is drawing voltage from the battery. At that point, you'd have to start figuring out what it is. Pull ONE fuse from anything to help you learn. You'll have to keep disconnecting and reconnecting the second cable as you pull and reinstall the fuses. Yeah, it's a pain, but you gotta know, right?

If you've done all of the fuses/cables and don't have a draw on your battery, you can move on to the components. All you'd have left is the alternator and the regulator. Some places can check them with them installed and tell you good or bad.

Make sure the alternator belt is properly tightened. As the alternator is "loaded", it creates a resistance to being turned by the belt. The belt could be just barely loose, and not squeal, but still not be turning the alterntor pulley as much as it is possible. Make sure you have a good belt, too.

[mas09ts]

Well I'm gonna try all these things you guys have told me, but I have been just thinking about replacing everything on the block so I'll know that its all new. That would be good to know .

[ChevLoRay]

Now, now.....don't throw money at it replacing parts until you know that a given component is bad.....The economy today is not going to improve just because you go buy new parts!

I understand what you mean by replacing it all and having new parts on it, but what about the wiring? You could have one wire that is a problem. Will you replace the wiring just because?

Good luck. And, if you have some extra money laying around your house, I have room for it at my house.

[mas09ts]

Well before I knew about all of this, I had thought about replacing some stuff anyways . . . so I don't really know where to begin being since I'm only 17 , but I'm sure I'll get it straightened out.

[lowriden58]

take the battery and the alternator to advance auto or autozone and have them test them for free. the volt reg is pretty cheap and might not be a bad idea to go ahead and replace it, i think under 20bucks.

[sneakysnake]

If you do have something draining your bat then this is a good way to find it.Ive seen diode in alt drain a bat so I'd unhook it first.

[lks dcvn]

Question I would ask...

1. Does your horn work correctly (is it audible)?

If not - it might be constantly blowing and pulling power all the time and draining the battery.