well my problem is that i am on my 4th alternator and my 4th battery. i can not figure this out. i know that the belt is tight enough and i had also ran a 12ga from the pos(+) on the battery to the b+ post on the alternator and it only worked for like 4 days. so i have started to look more into the engine bay wiring and noticed that some wires have like old oil on them but i didn't know if it would affect anything. also i ran a new engine ground but that doesn't seem to help.





also i noticed that there was like a orange/white with a connector that was severed that was just black so i figured it was just a ground so when i grounded it, it made my stock oil pressure gauge go all of the way up(i have a mechanical installed). i am completely lost and don't know what to do. please help.

Sounds like you may have a short somewhere. You can use a testlight at the fusebox to test for this. If you find something you can narrow it down to that circut and check the fsm to track down where it might be.



Gregory

actually i did do the test light at the fues box and i got the light with the car off and the door closed on





illum

antenna

room

hazard

stop



all of those were with the car off and the door closed and also none of the other ones came on. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...O_DIR#>/11.gif

bump

Try this. Remove your negative battery cable. Attach one end of a test light to the cable. Attach the other end of the test light to the negative battery post. Now any power that is being used will go through the test light. Now go to the fuse panel and start pulling fusses until the test light no longer lights bright. If only the clock and radio memory is pulling power the test light will be very low. Sometimes you can see the test light flash from the operation of the clock. This will give you a good starting point.

Hope this helps.

chuck

checked the car this mourning when i started it up and the battery with the car on was running about 12.67v. so i don't know if it is the alternator. wouldn't think so just cause i just put that one in like 4 days ago. i have done that and it didn't glow bright at all.

12g wire from battery + to alternator output post is a really small wire. You should use at least an 8g.



I hope your engine ground wires are thicker. I use 2g or 4g for main grounds.

My starter was screwed and caused this.



Started draws incredible amperage to start car, damaging battery. Alternator attempts to charge damaged battery, damaging alternator.



Eventually took starter to rewind shop, where it drew 300 amps simply clamped in a vise. I can't imagine how much current it drew while cranking the engine, but I know it would heat a pair of heavy duty booster cables to the point they would be too hot to touch.



https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...IR#>/smile.png

so pretty much since i am on my 4 alternator and my 4th battery i should start to look at the starter to see if that is what is causeing my battery to die? well how do i check the starter?

It's what happened to me, and it sounds similar. I'm not saying it's what your problem is.



I took my starter off and had it tested at the rewind shop. Only took a few minutes to take mine off.

Unless you have a short that's killing the alternator, then you shouldn't have to repeatedly replace them. Batteries, yes, an overnight draw may kill a battery, but not the alternator. Are you goin with "chain store" rebuilds? Kragen, Pep Boys, etc? If so, you may wish to try taking your alternator to a real rebuilder and having it done right. Those chain store rebuilds consist of the absolute minimum parts required to make the alternator generate current again. Of course, you may have an electrical short that's wiping them both out, but that's not nearly as common an occurrence.

Do you have an aftermarket stero in your car? (Just throwing something else out there)

yeah i have an aftermarket stereo. a 300watt amp pushing 150rms and then a sony deck 52watt*4 and then the sub is just a 10. well i had a friend that gave me an alternator pulled and tested that came from an 88 but i don't think that it is charging the battery anymore.

You sure your amps are wired properly?

Thats what I was thinking...somethings draining the battery, could be the amps...



Has the system been installed longer than this has been happening?

yeah i am pretty sure that the amp is installed correctly. i have disconnected it for now. also i had them for about 1 month before all of this started to happen.

You need to be 100% sure.

well for now i have the amp disconnected but i also have a wire that i checked with a voltmeter that was also pulling like 12.5v and it looked like it was a chopped wire, it was black then went to a white connector and the it looked like it was white/red(or yellow/red) something like that. so i have no clue where it goes though.

I would suggest you take the car to a mechanic

who does electrical troubleshooting, for what you have

paid for 4/5 alternators and batteries you could have

the problem fixed by now. Someone who knows what they are

doing should be able to figure out what circuit is shorting out in

no time, then with your permission they could pinpoint the exact culprit.



A RX7 is no different then any other car when it comes to shorts

no i also remember taking off the rear window tint and i messed up the defroster things. would that do anything. that was the last thing that i did before i had this problem.(well other than an oil change)

No...Just take it to a mechanic like Rob said...get it done and over with.



Brent

That's the whole problem. If you don't know you need to take it to someone who does, or seek hands on advice from someone more experienced.



It MAY have done something...

so i should probably then just disconnect the fuse and then repair it or just pull it out and replace the glass.

I wouldn’t change the rear glass because you don’t know that it’s the rear defroster that’s causing your problem. That, and do you really believe the rear defroster, which doesn’t receive power while the car is turned off, is killing the battery and the alternator? If you want to pull some fuses, you may want to consider pulling them all. Pull the defogger, PW, fog lamps, antenna, turn signals, wiper, seat belt, rear wiper, both ABS fuses, hazards, cigarette lighter, heater, sun roof, radio, heater, headlamps, and retractor motor. Pull everything except what’s required to start and run the car. If the problem goes away, then you could put the fuses back in, one at a time, until the problem reoccurs. Under normal circumstances, none of these fused systems should kill 4 alternators. If it were me, I pay an electrician to find the culprit and correct the problem.