Long and short of it....
1997 Sunfire, 2.2 auto, only 40,000 miles....A few months back, the car started losing power, and one by one, the dash lights lit up...first, ABS, then: airbag, CEL, the radio would get fuzzy, the tach and the speedo would go dead...the works...thinking that the now almost 10 year old serp belt was just too dry rotted for words, and thinking I heard a bad bearing on the alternator, I replaced the serp belt, the alt, and the battery...
And it worked...for about 3-4 months...The problem is back, and my girfriend got stuck on the PA turnpike when it happened, and this time she had it towed to friend of her parents who want to replace the alternator AGAIN...the thing is brand new Bosch...and I don't think it will fix the problem, something else is wrong, electrically...
Any ideas? Sometimes I notice her headlights turn on one at a time (the passenger has a slight delay...)
I would disconnect the battery, make sure the terminals and the battery cable ends are shiny clean. Don't just look at them, clean 'em up!.
Then disconnect the Negative/Ground cable at the chassis connection points and give the connections the same treatment.
Connect everything back up and check with a multimeter/voltmeter and record the battery voltage at the battery terminals:-
1. Before the car is started.
2. with the engine running
3. Post the results back here
Alont
Cleaned terminals when the battery was replace, no corrosion visible now...with the multimeter, at the battery (I wasn't there, a friend tested it) the battery was NOT charging...
This is the EXACT same problem as before, and I really don't think the alternator was bad before...
I am thinking you need to take a look at youre battery cables, Something is either has a short or youre wiring, Even make sure you clean the lead cable wire on the ground cable on youre cars terminals as well chasie.
Is the alterator remanifactured or New?.
In my para 2 and agreeing with rich, you need to disconnect and clean, the negative cable where it connects to the chassis.
If you have not done this everything else is guesswork!
Try checking the voltage at the BATT or Main output terminal on the ALTERNATOR to a good ground point with the engine running. If you get 13 or higher volts here your alternator is working . This is with everything connected as normal.
Have you checked the Fusible Link between the Alternator and the Battery?
You can carry out a continuity test between the disconnected Battery Positive cable and the disconnected Alternator Batt or Main Charging cable. You should get a reading of 1 ohm or less, anything more and I would suspect the fusible link is on it's way out.
Many problems with charging systems are caused by bad connections and equipment is changed needlessly.
Hope this helps
Alont
