Hey EVOM community!

I have a 2006 Mitssubishi Evo 9 MR and it's been sitting for about 3 years. I recently came back to my hometown and decided to pick it up in hopes of making it my project car. I left it in the country side a while and it's been sitting inside a barn. I've managed to smog my vehicle after many attempts and got it running... BUT... last week I may have messed up some type of electrical issue... because my evo is now refusing to keep my battery powered and something is draining all of the battery even though I've purchased a new battery + alternator.

This is how it happened...

1) About 2 weeks ago, I had to use my 12V socket to charge my phone...but since I'm not at a residence...and living in my car atm, I made the mistake of thinking it would be okay to charge it for a few hours without turning on my ignition all the way. Basically, I just turned my key until my power came on and left my phone being charged without turning the engine on. (Bad idea...but I tried to save gas since times are tough....)

2) After a few times doing this in a span of 2-3 days, my vehicle no longer started but instead was making a rapid clicking noise when attempting to turn the key. This seemed to be an issue with the battery from my experience, so I decided to just go buy a new battery and put it in. That worked for a day...and then my car died on the street and I had to pay with what little money I had to tow it back to my family's place...

2A) IMPORTANT PART - When my electricity died within my vehicle, it also turned off my clock, radio, and my volt + turbo gauges. (Both are stock and these never turned back on after repairs...)

3) I managed to come up with the money to buy a factory alternator since I suspected that to be an issue because I felt my battery wasn't receiving charge. It took about 2 weeks and me being stranded with no car... but I managed to get the alternator hooked on with a friend's help. We started the car and it didn't flip on because I thinnk the battery was already all drained, so I took it back and replaced it with a brand new one from the shop.

4) After returning with a brand new battery and knowing we just attached a new alternator, I thought my issue was finally gone....but it WASN'T. I tried to let it sit for another day while testing it around the neighborhood block until I was sure it wasn't gonna die again... but since I couldn't let it stay at my friend's neighborhood, I had to drive it. I got a few miles in my car and drove it for about 20 mins before my car began losing power again...

5) Eventually my car died and I was able to give it enough juice with a spare car battery portable charger to park it on a business street. I'm pretty depressed right now and don't know what else could be draining my battery. A friend suggested I could have somehow managed to receive a negative draw on my car which is leeching all electricity... but I'm not a mechanic and do not have sufficient knowledge to perform tests that could find out what the issue is.

If you've read this far, thank you so much. Let me tell you what my car symptoms are and maybe you could give me some advice...

- If I put the key inside and turn, I'll hear rapid clicking noises which are probably from the starter trying to get a spark from the battery. (The car won't start)
- The battery is brand new but is now completely drained... If I use and hook on my portable charger to my battery, I'm able to start my vehicle. (Car only starts with a jump)
- HOWEVER, when I unattach the cables to my battery and attempt to let the alternator try and charge it by itself with the engine running.... it won't do it. (Car will die within a few minutes without an outside electrical source)
- IF MY CAR WORKS and I'm able to drive it with what little battery it has left, eventually my engine will start revving hard even when idle at a stop light with no gas being pressed. At this time, my GAS gauge also drops from a FULL TANK down to E and I can hear my car losing electricity until it dies.

I'm at a loss. The final thing to do is take it to a local mechanic and pay for an inspection + whatever parts need to be replaced. I'm running out of money and this really is making me sad. The car also has a small turbo timer from the previous owner and that's off as well. I have suspicions that whatever happened from the last event from charging my phone on the 12v socket really messed up my car's electrical system. Either that or we somehow didn't attach the alternator on correctly and it's not charging the battery... but is that even possible if the car is able to start and drive...?

tl;dr: My poor evo is not able to keep electrical power within a battery even after I've replaced it with a new battery + alternator. Help !

 

Having a cell phone charged off the battery shouldn't do anything. Leaving the key on and powering up a bunch of other things is probably the problem. What you need is a VOM (volt ohm meter). I bought one at Radio Shack years ago for five bucks and it worked fine. So, shop around. Clean the cable clamps on the battery until they shine and make sure they are a tight fit on the battery. If the battery is dead have it charged. A charged battery should read 12.5 - 12.6 volts post to post. With the car running it should read 13.5 - 14 volts post to post if the alternator is working.

 

Trapper,

An evo is a terrible car to have to live in and sounds like you could use some immediate cash to get through tough times. Have you considered selling the car and getting back into an evo later? California is mercilessly expensive.

Since you replaced the alternator and battery, to me it sounds like you could have a parasitic draw when you turn off the car as there should be only mA's of current draw when the car is just sitting there. To fix your problem, you will need either a multimeter connected in current detection mode, or an amp clamp placed over the negative battery cable to monitor all outgoing (or returning in this case) current. You will need to go over to your fuse box and pull each fuse one by one, placing each fuse back before pulling the next, in order to determine what system is drawing the current from your battery.

Recall what barneyb stated, you should see 13.5 - 14v with the car running and about 12.6 post to post.

 

so first thing, never disconnect the battery and try and run the car off the alternator alone. This will cause what known as a load dump and could damage the cars electronics. The right way to test if the alternator is charging the battery is to use a multi-meter across the battery terminals and you should see > 14 volts. Since you have a new alternator, I would suggest checking the alternator to battery fuse at the positive battery terminal.

 

Thank you barneyb, Pal215, and Biggiesacks for responding!

I'm going to purchase a VOM/Multimeter from my local autozone or store part shop. Any tips on how to perform a test step by step for a dummy like myself?

^ I was wondering, once I'm able to find out which fuse is causing the problem... how would I know if my car has gotten rid of the leech? Do I refer to the proper voltage on what a stock evo should have? Or should I instead look to see if my car is working properly? The only aftermarket parts on my vehicle is a small turbo timer (from previous owner)... and a pair of aftermarket ballasts I installed a few years ago... because the factory ballasts died out. However, these two parts... have never caused an issue for my vehicle. I feel as though I somehow screwed up or blew up something important for my vehicle during the 12v phone charge.

I talked briefly with a clerk at an autozone before this and he was talking about HOW TO perform a draw test on my battery using a light bulb connected to my negative terminal....and pulling fuses until the lightbulb blinks or something but I forgot what his proper instructions were.

Anybody with step by step instructions on how to fix my issue once I buy a VOM? Thank you evo-bros so much for responding! <3

 

if your car is dying while driving it, you don't have a parasitic loss problem (Or at least that's not your main problem) you have an alternator not making juice problem.

 

Thanks for responding, Biggiesacks!

Any idea on what are the most commons problems... for a brand new factory alternator not making juice for the battery? Do you think it could be an issue with us not installing properly or not rebooting some type of software within the EVO? I understand a while back when my first battery died and I had to re-smog it for CA, I had to make sure...

- No error codes showed on OBD2
- Make sure the OBD2 Monitors were set to READY

I also had an issue with my EGR vacuum hoses but I paid the mechanic to reroute them correctly. I should have been learning all I could about my EVO when I first bought it but...a lot of things happened in my life and I ended up in a bad spot. :\ I'm trying to fix my evo now...and I also am wondering if you think I find out if there are new error codes on my OBD2, do you think that could pinpoint the location on the electrical issue I'm experiencing? Any idea if an OBD2 reader could find out why my alternator or battery isn't working up to par? I think I may have a spare one lying around but I'm not literate on the OBD2 codes... :\

 

doubtful the obd can tell you where the issue is. There is a wire that runs from the alternator straight to the positive battery terminal, what it connects to on the battery terminal is a fuse. That would be the first thing I would look at if I was diagnosing your problem.

Since you have a 9 w/ ACD this is what the fuse looks like

https://stmtuned.com/collections/mit...-cars-with-acd

 

Thank you so much Biggiesacks for being an awesome Evo-Bro!

I've always wondered what the hell that was connected to my battery...lol. It's the ACD! (Which also seems to be broken from a while back). I'm pretty sure most EVO 8/9 owners can attest to their ACD going haywire and having the Tarmac/Gravel/Snow lights all on.. lol.

Any idea on what I should look for on the ACD to make sure it's working properly?

 

I didn't mean to imply the ACD had anything to do with your problem. Just that the fuse that the alternator uses is different from a non-acd car. A car with ACD has 2 fuses built into the terminal, one for ACD and one for the alternator. Where as an evo without acd only has the one fuse for the alternator and looks like this

https://stmtuned.com/collections/mit...cd-oem-evo-8-9

 

I'm going to check my ACD fuse when I get back to my evo. I think you may be right and on to something ... since I've never replaced the ACD fuses or even know how long they last from stock. It's possible that the ACD could play a part in not letting the alternator recharge the battery? Worth a check.

Any idea if the other fuses in the black box may also be the issue? I'm still trying to figure out what the radio/tubo/volt gauges connect to because the battery seems to be only powering some parts of the EVO but completely ignoring other vital car parts. It doesn't make any sense though... because if the battery is brand new, shouldn't it power every single electrical function within the vehicle? I know sometimes my windows power and roll down slow which is a sign of a weak battery... but then again, it was a brand new battery with a new factory alternator.... hmmm... :\

 

Both the ACD and Alternator fuse are on the same component, which I linked. The ACD fuse could be fine while the alternator fuse could be blown, or both could be blown. You really need to just test it with a DMM (Digital Multi-meter) to find out. Even if a fuse looks good, you still need to test it with a DMM because they can be blown/cracked and not visually look like it. As far as some things not getting power, test the fuses with the DMM.

 

Ty so much Biggie for your expertise in EVOS!

I'm gonna order that ADC part if I need to after checking it with a DMM. I'm going to see if a friend has a spare DMM. In the mean time, I'll keep you guys updated on my progress. Once I get my evo running stable, I really want to show everybody here the restoration progress!

 

OP, just so that you're clear, Biggiesacks is referring to the fuse links inside the clear plastics on the positive battery terminal post. They don't look like normal fuses that you see in your fuse boxes. They are built to handle higher currents. Use the multimeter to check for continuity from the ring side that attaches to the + side of the battery to the studs at the other end of the fuse links. You should get a beep or little to no resistance value on the multimeter. One of these fuse links (left side) is connected straight to the output stud on the alternator.