6th Gen ('00-'05): Battery Issues
#1
01-10-2017, 10:12 PM
Battery Issues
Over the past few days I've been having battery issues. It's been really really cold here lately and it's finally warming up. I thought maybe that had something to do with it. I got that 50$ battery from Walmart and went back and told them it had to be bad because my gauge reads at the first big mark. And stays there. So they give me another one and it's still doing the same thing.
The car starts pretty normally too. It doesn't hesitate.
Before I did all that, I went to advance and they tested it and said the battery weren't good, but my alternator was good. I put the new battery in and it's still doing the same thing. If I roll down the windows or turn on my defroster, it makes the gauge go to the red. If I turn it off, it goes back to the first big mark.
I've cleaned the terminals and put in new battery bolts also. My cooling fans, which are new, they don't kick on at high speed which causes the engine to overheat some.
What's everyone's opinions and thoughts on what it could be? It's been driving me crazy the last few days.
The car starts pretty normally too. It doesn't hesitate.
Before I did all that, I went to advance and they tested it and said the battery weren't good, but my alternator was good. I put the new battery in and it's still doing the same thing. If I roll down the windows or turn on my defroster, it makes the gauge go to the red. If I turn it off, it goes back to the first big mark.
I've cleaned the terminals and put in new battery bolts also. My cooling fans, which are new, they don't kick on at high speed which causes the engine to overheat some.
What's everyone's opinions and thoughts on what it could be? It's been driving me crazy the last few days.
Last edited by bfoor24; 01-10-2017 at 10:28 PM.
#2
01-10-2017, 10:54 PM
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Mountains of Utah
Posts: 4,903
Has the sounds of it being a bad ground at the battery neg, Trace the wire back and inspect wires are solid and not corroded. Your actual ground anchor cables connector and contact anchor point is clean, not corroded . What is the condition of the battery cable terminal, any wires pulling away from the connector, poor connection being made?
#3
01-10-2017, 11:02 PM
The battery cable terminal looks good to me, I didn't really notice any wires pulling away. But I will look again tomorrow when I check for the bad ground. Is the ground back towards the firewall or under the battery somewhere?
#4
01-11-2017, 04:47 PM
I'm at my wits end with these issues. I checked the grounds and they appear to be fine. My fans still aren't kicking into high speed. It's causing my car to overheat somewhat severely. I have a code for the number 2 fan relay. I replaced that. Still nothing. Thoughts?
#5
01-12-2017, 08:23 AM
I'd get a dmm and start checking what's actually going where. Also stepper motors can do funny things - are you sure it's overheating and the battery is really so low while the car is on. There isn't much that can go wrong. Again, I'd start testing the system - cooling fans by direct power to start taking things out of the equation.
#6
01-12-2017, 07:47 PM
I haven't gotten a dmm yet, but I plan to. Battery is back to being good though so far. Fans still not kicking to high speed. It got hot enough that it started steaming and broke the coolant elbows.
When I use my infrared temp gauge it shows the temp being like 210, 215 on the top radiator hose. The temp at the radiator cap is lower. Probably not the most scientific way to get the temp there though.
My transmission has been shifting hard though somewhat. Could that be letting the engine get hotter? And with 205,000 miles is it better to just drop the pan and change the fluid?
When I use my infrared temp gauge it shows the temp being like 210, 215 on the top radiator hose. The temp at the radiator cap is lower. Probably not the most scientific way to get the temp there though.
My transmission has been shifting hard though somewhat. Could that be letting the engine get hotter? And with 205,000 miles is it better to just drop the pan and change the fluid?
#7
01-12-2017, 08:00 PM
210/215 isn't that hot on a 3800 imho. I think my fans come on at 219 or something on my 04 GP series III na. Radiators should be lower since it's designed to cool the coolant so that's good it's not clogged nor the fins too badly damaged/congested with dirt and grime.
The way I get my measurements is what the computer tells my scan too - So what the computer itself is getting. IR therms are great too but there is always a slight variability based on distance from the object and where you aim it.
How long ago have you changed the fluid? What does it look like/smell like? I probably drop the pan myself regardless to see what's in the pan. Also when you fill it up, take the return like of the trans off and put it to a bucket, start the car for a brief moment, check fluid level, and color of what came out. Add fluid. Repeat until fluid is nice and clean. Put the return line on and you've changed all your fluid.
The way I get my measurements is what the computer tells my scan too - So what the computer itself is getting. IR therms are great too but there is always a slight variability based on distance from the object and where you aim it.
How long ago have you changed the fluid? What does it look like/smell like? I probably drop the pan myself regardless to see what's in the pan. Also when you fill it up, take the return like of the trans off and put it to a bucket, start the car for a brief moment, check fluid level, and color of what came out. Add fluid. Repeat until fluid is nice and clean. Put the return line on and you've changed all your fluid.
#8
01-12-2017, 09:25 PM
210/215 isn't that hot on a 3800 imho. I think my fans come on at 219 or something on my 04 GP series III na. Radiators should be lower since it's designed to cool the coolant so that's good it's not clogged nor the fins too badly damaged/congested with dirt and grime.
The way I get my measurements is what the computer tells my scan too - So what the computer itself is getting. IR therms are great too but there is always a slight variability based on distance from the object and where you aim it.
How long ago have you changed the fluid? What does it look like/smell like? I probably drop the pan myself regardless to see what's in the pan. Also when you fill it up, take the return like of the trans off and put it to a bucket, start the car for a brief moment, check fluid level, and color of what came out. Add fluid. Repeat until fluid is nice and clean. Put the return line on and you've changed all your fluid.
The way I get my measurements is what the computer tells my scan too - So what the computer itself is getting. IR therms are great too but there is always a slight variability based on distance from the object and where you aim it.
How long ago have you changed the fluid? What does it look like/smell like? I probably drop the pan myself regardless to see what's in the pan. Also when you fill it up, take the return like of the trans off and put it to a bucket, start the car for a brief moment, check fluid level, and color of what came out. Add fluid. Repeat until fluid is nice and clean. Put the return line on and you've changed all your fluid.
And I decided to bleed the air out of my coolant system tonight incase it wasn't done when they changed my coolant elbows. It did good when I had the radiator cap off and it stayed near the first big mark. Fans came on low. Put the cap back on and it went up to halfway and stayed there. Maybe the radiator cap is bad?
Thanks for your help and tips too