'95 galant car battery keeps dying, alternator changed 3 times in the last couple yrs.?

Question

It seems to fix the problem for a while, tonight i exchanged the battery at wal-mart so it could be driven home, Seems odd that 3 rebuilt alternators are faulty? It's my friends car. But I am going to help her change it tomorrow. Can't they test them at O'reilly Auto parts? I've never even changed an alternator before. Just batteries, starters, and stuff. I really didn't want to get involved. but she's a single mom, so I felt like I should at least try. Well ok. Thanks peoples.

Answer 1

Yes O'Reilly can test your alternator and your battery also the best way is to take the Alt to them and let them test it off the car.
If the Alt has been Replaced three times then the problem might lie else wear . Is the battery fully charged? An alt is not a Charger it is a Mainter and will only recharge a battery about 85%. If the battery is not fully Charged you lessen the life of the battery, and weaken the Alt because it is constantly working to get the battery charged back up. Is there a parisite drain on the Battery? this to can cause premature Battery Failure as well as alt problems, most drains are caused by a switch that is on a light bstill on after the key is removed (most common are the glove box and or trunk light or under hood light, dirty or bad battery terminals can cause the same things.Most people condem a good alt when it's somethang minor causing the problem. Just remember If you replace the Alt and don't fix the problem that caused the failure ,you will replace the Alt again till you do fix the problem.

Answer 2

First of all, - if they can't check it at O'reiley, -take it to an Auto Zone, they can check it there.

Maybe the alternator isn't bad, (you really did mean alternator, - and not battery didn't you ?) If there is a "leak" in system that runs battery down all the time, it can "wear" down the to the point that it has very little efficiency ,--due to the fact that the "crud "from disintergartion of plates has more or less caused it to not put out enough current to crank the engine anymore! The "crud" is called "sulphation". The "curve ball" -you may be getting here is the fact that the car is being used so often, that the battery doesn't run totally down, but in fact maybe has 40% of charge- or so when she starts it again. This is "barely enough' to start the car, ( but the car starts easily!) However it has the alternator charging at a very high rate most of the time, and the battery isn't built fot "deep cycling" so often! Deep cycling is when the battery is run way down, -then charged way up,- and then repeated ,-over and over. Even a deep "cycle batttery" does not last well, if it is run way down, then charged way at least every 24 hours!

Sorry this explination is so long, but it is nescsssary in order for you to understand what I am really talking about!

Here is what you can do about it! First of all you want to have somebody check out the system (on the car). They hook up ampmeter to battery cable, and see just how much "output" the battery has. They will also see how much the voltage is (too high can be damaging, as well as too low! Now having proven the performance of the charging system,-- you want to check for "draw" (or leakage of power) from anything that may remain "operating" in the car even though the ignition is off (and everything is "supposed" to be disconnected- or "off"). A simple check is to take a small automotive light bulb and attach wires (soldered on) or maybe even a "cheap" 12 volt circuit tester( they cost around $2-3 in most places). remove one post connection from battery (either one will work). Now put the test light between the cable and the battery! If all the doors are shut, the key is off, and all the accesories ore turned off -- the bulb should not be lit! You can check to see that the bulb is working properly if you open the door, -- now the light should light, - (because the interior lights are "drawing current") NOTE: the interior light won't go on, unless the "test bulb" is a much higher capacity bulb,-as the power will mostly go through the "lightest filament bulb"!

If the bulb burns when everything is supposesed to be off, you can now start pulling fuses, and "opening circuits" till you find the culprit! Once you find problem, you can decide what to do about it, (like maybe you can cure the problem by replacing something) or perhaps you can toatlly disconnect,- (if it is not essential for regular use). Also maybe you can change hookup so that it only operates when the ignition is turned on (since using power while the car is running isn't going to affect life of battery much)!

The above checks are useful, as you don't want to change alternator and then find out that you still have the problem, -even after spending more money,- and more labor!

Have been fixing cars since 1949, and my philosphy is to only do the work you have to do,- only spend as much as you have to, (and don't have to do it more than once for any single problem!)
As far as I know there is no "glory in meaningless repition"!

By the way, it is a whole lot easier to change an alternator than a starter!

Answer 3

you should check the voltage regulator because it controls the charging system, if faulty it can overcharge the battery causing it to simply put fry. now the other way the fried or old battery can also cook your voltage regulator because the alternator keeps trying to charge the battery, up to the determined level through the voltage regulator, but if it can not reach that level then it keeps trying to charge untill something overheats, like the alternator, voltage regulator, battery, so since they are all tied together you should replace the faulty piece with a reputable aftermarket part with a good warranty , like the Hitachi alternator from canadian tire, with 5year free replacement even if you install it yourself , not the cheapest but like always in the automotive world , you always get what you paid for or just a tad less! good luck, happy motoring!!!!

Answer 4

ok ok...this is EASY....its not the battery, alternator, starter or any of these things


its a parasitic drain, like having the cigarette lighter in all the time, sucking the life out of your battery...im not saying its the cigarettelighter at all...im saying that something is shorted as someone else said and it is taking power away from your battery


take the positive cable off the battery and hook a test light in line from the battery to the cable...it should light up brighty....now start pulling fuses...when the test light goes out, u have found the source of your parasitic drain

Answer 5

I"m wondering if this model dosn't have an external voltage regulator. It's uncommon these days for one to have this but if it is then this could be your problem.

I think I would look at all the ground cables....Ground cables are the most common cause of electrical malfunction.

Does she have any add on components on her car...such as stereo or tow package? these are the first things I would look at in this case.

Hope this helps

Answer 6

Three bad alternators seems unlikely to me.

I suspect a short in the electrical system.

Mike Honeycutt