I finally get my exhaust built, and now I get to drive my 3800 swap, now I have had battery issues so I bought a new one with higher cold crank amps and it fixed my problem. Now that the exhaust is quiet I can drive it at night but here is the kicker, I turn my lights on and go to start the car and everything dies won't start, the head lights won't even go down, no cranking no nothing. Finally with the battery charger on it gets some juice and tries to work.

Could there be something wrong with my alt, and how do I test it with out taking it off?

Oh and after getting my first highway driving and about 30 miles, I guess the fuel trim set, and it was running lean enough to throw the code, I don't know if that would have anything to do with the battery but it is something else I need to fix.

Hope somebody can help, Chris

Is the battery still in the stock location?

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1984 Fiero SE, White, first love, sold...
1986 Fiero SE 2M6, gold
1988 Fiero 2M4, the Fox
1987 Fiero GT, Blue, 3.4/4T40
Still looking for that perfect CJB 88 GT...

If it will stay running, you can take it to WalMart Auto Center or AutoZone and they will test the charging system while the car is running.

When you did the swap did you make sure all the ground straps from the engine to the chassis re-connected?
Does the negative battery cable attach directly to the block?
Did you paint or coat the alternator bracket?

It sounds like the alt isn't charging the battery correctly. I had a problem when I first installed my 3.4L and it was due to a combination of the above questions I asked.

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Happiness isn't around the corner...
Happiness IS the corner.
ZZ4 Powered !!

I moved the battery to the front, I ran the same gauge wire that came with the battery box for the possitive, for the negative all the way back to the block, I then have the possitive cable run from the battery to the starter then the other cable runs to the "ground station" right below the c500, or whatever the taillight harness connector is. The other grounds I have are one from the decklid hinge to a bolt that holds down the Lower intake manifold, and I added a ground from where the fuel rails screw down to the other decklid hinge. Oh and my harness had a large ground built into it that is also screwed right onto the back head. and the alt bracket I made is still pretty bare steel(or iron, i can't really tell the difference).

I will take my car to oreilly's to have them test how well it is charging, Chris

quote Originally posted by eph_kay: I turn my lights on and go to start the car and everything dies won't start, the head lights won't even go down, no cranking no nothing. Finally with the battery charger on it gets some juice and tries to work.

Why are you turning your lights on before you start your car? The lights draw alot just by themselves.. couple that with your long cable run. you are going to be dropping well below the voltage needed to start the engine...

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'86 Fastback SE 5 spd -'94 HD Electra Glide Cassic -'99 Chevy K-1500 Z-71

I don't usually do it, I was in the garage and it was my first time getting to drive it at night and my parents were right outside the garage and started up the vette with its auto headlights and my car wasn't on but I wanted my lights to go up at the same time just for kicks and it did what it did.

Chris

Yeah, they draw a lot of current, but you should still be able to start it with them on. Put a multimeter on your terminals and measure voltage as you turn on the lights, then measure resistance from terminal to ground strap on engine, etc. Either some point is corroded or you didn't use fat enough wire for the length required. Somewhere along the line resistance is overcoming the large current flow required to start the car while the headlights are on and/or deploying...

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1984 Fiero SE, White, first love, sold...
1986 Fiero SE 2M6, gold
1988 Fiero 2M4, the Fox
1987 Fiero GT, Blue, 3.4/4T40
Still looking for that perfect CJB 88 GT...

Try putting a load on the alternater.Turn on the AC,Radio, and step on the break pedal.If that doesn't do anything,then Im thinking somethings wrong with the headlights.Try the other (above) recomendations first.I have had one GM car,when it died like you describe,you had to turn the key completeley off,befor you could try starting the car again,otherwise it would act as if it was completeley dead and it wasn't.

[This message has been edited by James Bond 007 (edited 10-28-2007).]

I had my alt tested with the car running at oreilly's today and it wasn't running up to par so i have a new one to put in, we will see how it goes from there.


Chris

Well turns out my pulley was allowing play in the system, either way I have a new alternator, and fixed all the other problems that tend to arrise, I am coming to know all to well, I start the car... oh another note...

Does anybody know why I have a flowmaster 80 and when the car is warming up the driver side exhaust puts out hot air while the passenger side puts out cold air?

...anyway I let the car run with the lights on and it ran good for awhile then it went from idleing at 1k rpms to haveing the tach say 500 and then it dropped to nothing, and it wouldn't start when I tried it right after. So good battery, good starter, and brank new alt and I have had all tested it is still loosing juice.

Ok, I am really not sure what I can do, or how to test things to see if anything is wrong...

Chris

Not sure about the muffler, but where did you get it? and did you weld it in yourself? Every exhaust shop in town here wants to replace the whole exhaust from the y-pipe back rather than just put a muffler in mine.

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1984 Fiero SE, White, first love, sold...
1986 Fiero SE 2M6, gold
1988 Fiero 2M4, the Fox
1987 Fiero GT, Blue, 3.4/4T40
Still looking for that perfect CJB 88 GT...

"good battery, good starter, and brank new alt" - sound then to me like you have a short. You need to isolate your issue. To test the battery disconnect and fully charge. Let sit an hour to stabilize and test with you Ohm meter, in a few hours it should be the same. Hook up your battery, disconnect your alternator lead from your junction block just below your C500 connector. Start your car and take a reading. Should be between 14 and 16. Stop the car and take reading every hour. There is certain to be a slight drain on the car but your battery should stabilize between 11.8 - 12. If it keeps draining welcome to electical. Disconnect every thing from the battery and one by one add your harnesses (testing of course over the course of a couple hours for each one) once you determine which harness is draining your battery you'd need to isolate which wire - really at this point basic troubleshooting. Good luck, hope this helped.

Does your battery indicator lamp light when the key is on before starting? Does it turn off after starting?