pezlow280zx Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 ok this is what happens, when my car sits without driving the battery gauge shows in the yellow area around the number 10 and its hard to start the car but when im driving it charges to around 14 on the gauge i had the battery tested and its good, only a year old, and say if i drive to walmart or autozone if im in their too long then my battery drains and its hard to start. i have no radio, my ac doesnt work and lights arent left on. why is my battery being drained when nothing is on? thanks for any insight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S130Z Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Go to autoZone and have them test your alternater. Your guage reading 14v when the car is on may be saying the alternater is putting out the correct volts. But if the alt is not putting out enough amps, then your battery may not be getting a decent charge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezlow280zx Posted March 3, 2010 Author Share Posted March 3, 2010 thanks i will check it out later today and on that note how hard is it to rebuild the alternator? so i dont have to buy a rebuilt one from autozone because money is in short supply. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlatBlack Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 Check your fusible links, mine gave me alot of trouble until I converted to fuse blocks. Try and jiggle the FL wires when the charge light is on and if it runs better, that is most likely your problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathhh Posted March 3, 2010 Share Posted March 3, 2010 I had changed my alternator about a couple months after purchase. Boy was that a very odd problem. The battery volts would decrease on the gauge SOMETIMES and then go back up. I figured it was a bad battery, so i had it tested, actually twice. Finally one day, "we" thought the battery finally gave out, and replaced it and the car ran pretty good for over 10-20 miles. Then the same problems occurred. I was fearful of getting the Z stuck on the road AGAIN so i kinda raced home which was an hour away! The gauge showed a low reading, yet it stayed consistent and no battery gauge light came on until i got in the driveway. I was lucky i made it home. I talked to a few guys, and they suggested testing the alt by placing a metal object such as a wrench behind the alternator while the car is running, and the wrench will be magnetically pulled by the alternator if the alt is in good condition. My wrench failed misereably. Make sure the wrench is actual metal too if you use this method or another metal tool is fine. I replaced the alternator with a gallon of elbow grease and none to spare. Instead of dropping it underneath the car, i decided to pull it out topside because i was in a tight pickle that was my only option. That took awhile, and had to rearange a few things but it worked out. I hooked it up, and it runs. Glad it was actually the alternator and not the 2nd battery that could have been bad as well, cause all that work would have been for nothing. In short, more than likely, get the alternator replaced. As for rebuilding it yourself, your better off buying a new one from autozone and giving them your core for 10-20$ back. Total is about 60$ spent on a new alternator. It's worth it if you plan on keeping the car. And yet i still have a horrible vacuum leak somewhere...man that is truly making me ancy that im having such a hard time finding it! Anyways, hope my story shed some high beams of light on your alternator problem! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezlow280zx Posted March 4, 2010 Author Share Posted March 4, 2010 thanks heathhh thats what happens to me too, my gauge drops and rises while i drive then stops and when im at a red light it drops low and acts like the car will die on me so i hold the gas in at around 1k rpm so it dosent, but yesterday it did something weird, while i was driving home the power died and the only thing keeping my car running was the fact that i was moving, i had the gas pedal floored to keep it moving so i thought it was the belt but about 7 miles later i got power again and i made it home but i still dont know why it did that. i will do the wrench thing now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathhh Posted March 5, 2010 Share Posted March 5, 2010 Just figure replacing the alternator then. Im sure that is your problem. If you haven't replaced one before (as i hadn't before) then make sure you know everything you need to before you make the replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pezlow280zx Posted March 5, 2010 Author Share Posted March 5, 2010 solved it was the alt. everything is running great now that i have new alt. thanks guys Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArchetypeDatsun Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 (edited) I had the same problem with my 81 non turbo but my starter was going bad so I replaced it along with my alternater, I had a turbo alternater from a L28ET motor I had laying around and put it on, at first I was concerned that it wasn't gonna work but upto now I haven't had any problems. You might wanna get starter & alternater checkout by one of those electric motor repair shops real good and cheap just call some up or just take the parts to get them so they can test them. Edited March 25, 2010 by 280zx@541 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mobious5 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 my alt went out a couple weeks ago, i was coming home from college and my batt kept dyeing, every-time i was at a stop the car would bog down simply because my foot was on the break and the light were draining the battery. finally the car turned off and i ended up pushing it into a parking spot. ( what i didnt tell you was it was raining and dark out) next thing you no some guy in a jeep backing out nails my in the passenger side fender and jeep. and all this happened the day b4 my 20th birthday lol. so the moral of this story is, alternators are ***. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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