i have a 2006 oz rally. about a month ago i left my foglights on due to me knee hittin the switch. they stayed on all day and then drained my battery. well i bought a new battery and took the alternator to get checked. the alternator passed and i put a new battery in the car. i started the car and the car drained the battery within 5 min. and so it did the same to 3 other batterys. well it turns it that it was the fuse that connects the alternator and the battery had to be replaced, so i did just that.
now.... here lies the problems..
about a month later the car started tripping
*i noticed that is idleing about 6000 or so... idk if thats normal.
*then i noticed that my hids were some what pulsing.. they would look as if they wanted to go brighter or something but they couldnt idk.. its weird. then i installed regular halogen lights and i see them doing the same.
*the lights seem also alot dimmer in the guage cluster.

i have taken the car to autozone had it checked again then they told me i had a bad alternator.
i took the car to oreileys then they said i had a bad battery. so i replaced the battery and it read good.
problem is though is that the car is oding all of these things so idk what to do now.

any opinions of what could be causing this?

 

Man it sounds like it could be your altenator.
Do you have a volt meter?
You can check and see how much voltage your altenator is putting out and let us know.
Thing is; your fuse shouldn't pop unless there is a problem with your altenator.

 

no i do not have a volt meter.
do you know where i can pick one up?
as soon as i can get my hands on one ill check that out asap and let u know cuz damn this electrical stuff is giving me headaches.
and i forgot to mention too that after all of that stuff happened to my car, for some reason my cruise control went out i havent checked the fuse, to it but i guess i should start there.

 

You should be able to either buy a multi meter at like Walmart or AutoZone.
But Autozone should be able to check your voltage.

As for the Cruise, I'm not sure.

 

hope fully the cruise issue is due to a fuse.
im just hoping i didnt maybe fry the computer when i went through those batterys.

but i will go to autozone first thing tomorow and ill get back to you on the volts and everything

and i know this is kind of a stupid question but for the low idleing issue, do you think this may have to do with the alternator going out as well?

thx alot man

 

Yeah it can be, We'll know better when you know what voltage your puttin' out.

 

sounds good man ill check back in tomorrow then
thx

 

The procedure to rule out the alternator is pretty easy.

Start the car
Unplug the battery and sit tight.
If the car dies, the altrenator is shot.
If the car keeps running, your alternator is likely good.

Also... it could be as stupid as a loose belt. If the belt isn't tight enough it may not have enough grip on the alternator pulley to rotate it the way it should.(I have yet to validate this theory, but I think it's plausible)

 

nice and damn i cant get to a shop today due to the fact im working all day till about 11.
so i cant figure out the volts until tommorow.
which sux.

im going to try that with my battery during my break a lil later and i will let you know what happens

thx for the input man

 

You're right, it is possible.
I have worked alot with many belt driven motors and it happens all the time.

It takes for the belt to be pretty freakin' loose though.
And it would also be very easy for the belt to pop off with the high rpms your car will turn.
So I think it could happen but if you check it should be very easy to tell.

 

well i got the alternator tested and the battery and these were the result

they said the alternator was good

and for the battery, they said it was good but the positive terminal needed to be replaced due to corrosion

voltage : 12.23v
measured: 711 CCA
rated: 550 CCA
temperature: 101 F

i replaced that but i still noticed that the headlights are pulsing and the car is idleing a lil better somewhat.
so now.. idk??

 

If it helps, my car charges at about 14-14.3 for about the first 15 minutes I run the car and after that drops down to about 13.6-13.8 when the battery gets charged, so if you get a chance to check it while its running, just hook a voltmeter up to the positive and negative of the batt and it should read 13.5 volts or higher while its charging. I am running an underdrive pulley so my voltage may be a little higher than yours. If you had a prob with the positive terminal, take a look at the negative as well. Also, follow the negative wire to the bolt that it is connected to in the engine bay. Take that bolt out and sand the paint off around the hole a little bit to make a better ground spot. Our cars have really weak chassis grounds. Does your battery light on your dash ever come on? Also, do you have a stereo system in that car?

 

i have to take a look at that. because what you are saying is true i cant even think of how many times some one has told me that lancers have super weak grounds.
i might have to try that out.
no the batt light never comes on and yes im running a 12 in sub with a 400 watt amp.
nothing to big. and i also have led dome light and liscence plate lights as well as 6k hids

 

I ask about the system because my first amp I bought had a short in it and would drain the battery. You might try unhooking the amp for a little while and see how things go. Also, I was thinking about the low idle, you do know that everytime you unplug your battery, your car has to relearn its settings right? Often this means stalls and low idling. Im not too sure on the headlights pulsing though. Make sure your alternator wires on the alternator itself are hooked up tightly as well.

 

+1^

Good call on the battery changes causing the low idle.
I bet that is for sure part of the problem.

When ever you have to disconect the battery, let your car idle (with ac and heat off) for about 15 min before you drive it, this will let the ecu relearn the fuel map so to speak.