Guest eric-z Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 hey guys, I need some help with my car. I can drive it fine as long as I don't use anything that runs on electricity for any extended period of time(excluding the engine). I have been having this problem for a while so I figured it was the battery or alternator, so I take it to sears where I get a new battery and they run some test that checks the alternator. The tell me the alternator is fine and with the new battery and ok alternator everything is fine. confident with my working electrical system I stay a little later at my house and start off to school at night. so on the way to school I noticed that whenever I turn on my lights the volt meter goes from 14 volts to 12 volts. I think "hmmm, thats awfully strange" and then decide well 12 volts should be fine enough to run all of the lights. and later on I look back at the volt meter and its dropped down to 10 volts. now this makes me a little uneasy. but I guess what else can you do but continue going. so later on I feel a loss of power(my electricity is no longer going to my engine I assumed). while I was deciding what to do it got alot worse. I pull off to the side of the road and turn off the lights and my voltage meter jumps back up to 14 volts. I wait for a while and decide that my alternator is recharging the battery because then when I turn on the lights it goes back up to about 10volts then later it seems to top off at about 11-12 volts. and I can drive a little ways and then pull over agian to recharge. so what do you all think? thanks in advance for the imput. Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
innerware Posted September 13, 2004 Share Posted September 13, 2004 Just a guess, but do you have an external voltage regulator? Maybe it just isn't keeping up with the demand. Or it is going? Wierd though, maybe there are power hungry gremlins living in your car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Wierd though, maybe there are power hungry gremlins living in your car. I think so too... so I don't really think I have an external voltage regulator. anyone know if there is one on a 1981 280zx? and if not then you think the voltage regulator in the alternator could be bad so I should try geting a new alternator? Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Clean and tighten all your major electrical connections. Battery, alternator, voltage regulator, GROUNDS, connections in your lighting circuit. Could be that simple. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted September 19, 2004 Share Posted September 19, 2004 Dan, I suspect that somewhere I have a bad ground connection. But, how would that make my lights take more electricity?(please excuse my ignorance I'm just trying to understand better) Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Juday Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 Dan' date=' I suspect that somewhere I have a bad ground connection. But, how would that make my lights take more electricity? Eric[/quote'] Since the negative wire from your headlights doesn't connect directly to your battery every connection between the lights, (including the plug in the back of the light itself) and the negative battery post is a potential voltage drop point. This would show up as a higher than normal current draw when you energize the circuit (turning on the lights). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2slo4u Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 What kind of car do you have? What year model? Seriously doubtful that the lights can draw too much current. If they did, their fuses would blow. Check the black fusible link next to the battery. If it is loose or has been overheated before, there could be insufficient current from the alternator reaching the battery. It is also very important to have clean tight battery connections. If the guys at sears didn't check the alternator and battery with all of your accesories on, the voltage may have not dropped enough for them to notice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest eric-z Posted September 20, 2004 Share Posted September 20, 2004 What kind of car do you have? 280zx What year model? 1981 Seriously doubtful that the lights can draw too much current. thats what I was thinking too ok, I'll check on the fusible links. Does anyone know where the black wire connects to the body/earth? thanks you all for posting, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest blusty Posted September 29, 2004 Share Posted September 29, 2004 hey guys, thought I would let you all know that I fixed the problem. I replaced the alternator and cleaned off the battery terminals because they were pretty nasty. thanks for the help, Eric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tony78_280z Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 I've had autopart store guys test an Alt I KNEW was bad and they said it was good. They are morons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandonsZ Posted December 2, 2004 Share Posted December 2, 2004 I agree autoparts store monkeys sometimes have faulty equipment or training. If the equipment looks like they got it out the back door of a WWII surplus store, then question the results. Or if the monkey scratches his head and looks in a manual then maybe you might have a blown alt when he's done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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