I'm having power issues with my IX aswell it's weird, I have an electrical gremlin or something no one can seem to find it. But my gauges, die under high boost. I keep going through batteries. I was actually looking for am upgrade to the stock OEM Alt. any suggestions over all?

 

Well somehow my Nisei Battery Holder lost one of the screws on the top piece while I was driving and swung over and shorted out on the positive battery terminal. Ever since then my battery is not charging, and if I check the voltage across the battery while the car is running it's somewhere in the 15.7 range ... so I'm thinking the Regulator got fried.

 

You can upgrade to one with more windings that will give you more than 90 amps. The guys who do audio systems for a living can tell you about it and where to get one or who can rewind one for you, but it seems that before that, you want to know why the drain is happening in the first place.



Below are some methods that are used to test the parasitic load with the engine NOT running, all accessories switched off, and the vehicle doors closed:

• Connect a 12-volt bulb across the positive and negative battery terminals to test the bulb and the battery. You can make one yourself. If it glows brightly, then remove the negative battery cable and connect the bulb in series between the negative battery cable terminal clamp and the negative battery terminal. If the bulb continues to glow brightly, then start removing fuses or connections to the positive battery post one-at-a-time until the offending electrical component is identified by the bulb dimming.

• A better approach is to use a DC ammeter, for example a Fluke 175, inserted in series with the negative battery cable terminal clamp and the negative battery terminal or a clamp-on DC ammeter, like a Fluke 336 or i410 around the negative battery cable. Starting with the highest scale, determine the current load. If the load is above 75 milliamps (.075 amps) after the initial surge, then start removing fuses or connections to the positive battery post one-at-a-time until the offending electrical component is identified by the parasitic load dropping to within 75 milliamps (.75 amps).

I am sure that the second method is something you want to avoid unless you want to just buy an ammeter and teach yourself. Finally in the end, after removing the fuses and connections, and the light is still bright, the alternator and starter should be the only two components remaining. Rule out the starter- it's the alternator causing the parasitic drag.

But back to your question on a higher output alternator, the ICE people know best, since they make their living on amps.

 

I've been running Autozone alts on my Eclipse. They seem to last about 9 months to a year. Luckily they have lifetime warranty so all I have to do is bring it back in and they swap it out. I'm wondering if I should just buy a new Mitsu one that will last longer to cut out the hassle. I dunno.

 

im pickin up an autozone alt for my 8 today. hope it lasts longer than 9 months!

 

From the sound of it, the staff at Autozone really mean it when they tell you "See you later".

 

random question, but is there a DIY somewhere on how to replace your alternator? That's next up on my "to do" list.

 

same question i was about to ask i searched but nothing really comes up