Battery-Alternator issues

[Quickslick4444]

My only issue with my car is the chargin system. I put a new battery in and its only a matter of time before it dies. The alternator was replaced then I installed another battery. This seemed to be working awsome... then that battery died a monthor 2 later. Then I upgraded my battery and ... what do you know it died today. When i replaced the alternator the wipers.. lights all worked fine w/o the battery. Now.. the wipers slowly move. Have I killed another alternator... whY!!!

[packrat427]

Have you done any re-wiring lately ?

What kind of battery is it ?

[worfdog]

its not good to run the car without a battery.it can kill the alternator if you run it to long.

[WmWatt]

If there is a draw on the battery when, for example, the car is not in use, it will run it down faster than the alternator can recharge it while the car is running. There are a couple of things you could try. One is to disconnect the battery when the car is not running and see if it lasts longer. That is not the best thing to do because when the battery is disconected it wipes out the memory in the computer and puts it back to factory settings. It takes about 20 miles of driving for the computer to readjust to engine wear, etc. The other thing to do is to use a Volt/Amp meter to see if the battery is discharing and if the alternator is charging. I see them on sale at aupt stores for about $10, much less than the cost of a new battery, and they come in handy at other times. With the engine off the votage across the battery terminals should be about 12. Less means the battery needs charging. With the engine running it sould be about 14.5. Less means the aternator is not charging the battery. Sorry, I forget how to test for current when the car is not running.

[Festiva_tunner]

check your battery cables for corrosion you may have had some get up into the the cable . . . if so and there is enough of it then its just like leaving a light on every time you turn the motor off. also if you've wired in anything, verify that it turns off when it should. For example make sure you have your sensor wire run from your sterio head unit to your amps, if this wasnt done then your amps are on 100% of the time. (I've seen that before on my buddies car, sensor wire came out of the amp and fore some reason his would not shut off when it loses that 5V signal)

[Barkley1021]

I have read on other web sites that Festivas have a problem with one of the alternator feed wires connector getting corroded and only charging intermittently, it is one of the connectors behind the drivers side headlight I am not sure which one, but the fix is to clean and resize the terminals in the connector.

[jglutz]

Check your ignition coil condeser, if it failed, alot of transients could be sent throu the electrical system reaking havoc. Typically diagnosed by a poor quality radio reception, specifically AM. alot of buzz proportional to engine speed. In terms of a battery or alternator problem, a tough one...its not uncommon that when a alt fails, the battery is close behind and vice versa.