No. It is not the alternator.?

Question

The kill switch is killing the power. I am sure. I have two new alternators and batteries in one week. The kill switch has gone bad. It is killing my power.

Answer 1

Ok. Whats the question then?

Answer 2

First thing you have to do is establish that the vehicle is not "draining the battery" while it is not being driven!

The next thing you have to do is determine that the batterys and alternators were actually bad!

Everybody's solution seems to be "new battery, & new alternator", - then we try to find out what the problem is!

So did you have the alternator and battery checked to see if they were actually bad? Or just put in new ones?

Here is how you check to see if you have a "drain" on electrical system. Simplest one is to disconect battery at one of the terminals and let it sit till you want to drive it next time,- if there is plenty power to start, and system charges ok. Then your battery is good. If it then goes dead the next time you let it sit (overnight or ??) with the terminals on battery connected, you definately have a "leak" drawing the battery down! Simple troubleshooting procedure is to hook a test light between one disconnected terminal from battery, and the "feed line to the vehicle". Once you have the test light hooked up, you will be able to see if it is pulling power from battery, as the light will burn (the brighter the bulb there more the draw (up to normal "full bright" anyway). At this point you can start removing fuses, and truning off accessories inside the car. (Naturally you will have to shut the doors every time you look at the test light, as the interior lights will make it light up too!) When you finally get the actual problem, the light will remain off!

If the alternator is actually bad when checked, (and alternators are rarely bad "out of the box", - although it does happen!) It would surely be rare, - if a second one was bad also! So It would appear that you have a problem with the alternator circuit. Did the alternator charge when you replaced the first one,- and the battery? If not,- did the alternator check bad when you took it back to parts shop? Question is power getting to the alternator to make it charge in the first place, and did power from the alternator get to the battery to charge it! With test light, you should have power to the "F" terminal (one of the two small wires in a plug going into side of case). With teh "big" wire disconnected, try a jumper cable between the "output terminal (the one with the nut holding it on)-- try connecting and disconnecting end on battery (it is the easiesdt to control) with teh engine running, - does it make a pretty good sized "spark" (if it does it is charging), or does it make sparks like an arc-welder?
If it does that, it is probably shorted inside the alternator. If on the other hand it does nothing, then the alternaotr is "dead!! Last test is with the engine turned off, - disconnect cable, and wait a few seconds, then re-connect (or "brush" it against terminal) ,-- if it gives sparks, you have bad diodes or something in the alternator. By the way make sure you have all 3 terminals disconnected on the alternator when you are doing the check with test light too, -then conect the plug, and the "big" wire (with the nut), one at a time watching the test light too!

Yiou can also take it to somewhere and have the charging system checked for perforemance, -- however the machine doesn't nescessarily know that there might be a "drain " on battery while it itis sitting parked!

Answer 3

I really doubt your kill switch is killing your battery. FIRST, with everything turned off, check for any electrical draw on the battery. This can be done by removing the NEGATIVE battery cable and touching one lead off an AMMETER to the battery post and the other lead to the battery cable. But _Be Careful_ to have the ammeter's "Range" set to a High range. Even if there is only a digital clock drawing power, you should see a reading of .015 mA or .00015 Amp of current draw. IF you see readings like .200 mA or .002 Amp, there is a light on someplace like a glove box. If it's even higher, you'd better see what else could be drawing electrical current and turn it off.

Answer 4

You might also check the light switches for your trunk and glovebox to make sure they're not shorted and burning the bulbs continuously. I don't know where your headlight dim/bright switch is, but if it's on the floorboard those have been known to short and really drain a battery quick.

Answer 5

Dam I must have missed the question

Answer 6

is there a question in between those lines there, or what?