# 2000 galant electrical / charging problems



## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

we have changed alt, battery..fuses.. the car is starting only when on a 100% charged battery.. we ran it for 25mins and shut it down. everything was fine til u try to restart it.. it wont.. have to put back on charger. it acts like its not seeing the alt.. we are changing the fuse on the pos battery terminal this week.. the next step we can think of is tracing wires to see whats cut and what goes where, we got a tip , that there is an"idiot" light/wire for the alt that suppose to go into the dash/ignition..if thats not hooked up it wont see the alt..

any suggestions?


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## octaneman (May 13, 2009)

Hi playazsara


Hook up a DVOM to the battery terminals is the alternator charging 14.2-14.5 volts ?


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## Munchkin901 (Apr 15, 2011)

Like you said check all the wires for cracks and tears. Electricity may be arcing and you could be losing power from there.. When you are running it do the lights slowly dim? How fast do the windshield wipers move? Do any radio stations come in clearly? If the lights dim or the windshield wipers move slow and stations don't come in well it could be your alternator. I would suggest getting that checked out. Check for any blown fuses, although that probably is not the case. I'll post back with anymore info.
Good luck!
Taylor


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

ok, my fault.. i forgot to mention this is a race car.. so it is gutted.no lights,radio, wipers..no dash at all, racing steering wheel.. none of the normal ways to tell..we have gone through the fuses and replaced the ones that were blown.. and when started watched to see if they blew again.. nothing yet.. we did search the engine compartment for lose cracked wires, nothing yet.. lol.. the old owner thought it was a fuel pump issue.. fuel pump runs fine, gets good pressure. when the car starts its fine, when we shut it off , its fine.. when we go to re-start the starter clicks like its dead, than we charge the battery and it fires right up.. was told the starter could be taking more amps than it should to start.. but that doesnt solve the battery recharging issue...
thanks for the help!


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## Basementgeek (Feb 7, 2005)

Have you had the battery checked? Even new batteries can be bad.

BG


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## Munchkin901 (Apr 15, 2011)

Hmmm you got me there.. If it's true about your alternator taking too many amps I would put something on the wire that tones down the ampage. Also, I would start pricing out a new alternator.. 
Taylor


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## Munchkin901 (Apr 15, 2011)

My friend has the same problem with his Nissan maxima. His dad is a smart guy and made a switch on the positive cable going to the battery. So before he runs his car he turns the switch to on completing the circuit and when he is done he just break the circuit. It works for my friend. Also I don't know it that will work. Because I don't know how long you wait to Start it after you shut it off. Is it right away..?


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

we got the alt checked, its fine..battery is fine... yes, anytime we start the car , no matter how long we let it run, 30 secs-25 mins, when we shut it off it will not start back up, until we put a charger on the battery..

We we're gonna toggle the fan, cuz it doesnt seem to wanna come on at all.. but a friend said that it could be the problem, the relay still taking the power.(when i bought the car we were told it was a relay problem..we bought a relay and it didnt work..but the old ones work)..we knew there was issues b4 we bought it..lol..thought it would be a project for us.. now its just getting annoying!lol


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## RacerX996 (Apr 23, 2011)

Did you check the voltage at the battery while the engine is running? If it's not 14v than the alternator is not charging the battery at all. If the battery is healthy and the alternator tests good on a bench tester than it may be wired wrong.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

The wires may look good, but are they connected to the right places?? As for bench testing......I've had "new" rebuilt units teste out OK when they were not. Depends on who does the testing and what they know.....had one that put out the volts but not enough amps. Was told by "popular" supplier (where my daughter bought the unit from) the alt was fine even though it couldn't keep the battery charged. After the car died again on a busy highway (at night) I took the unit to NAPA (where I always go) and they confirmed the unit was defective. Replaced with a unit from my source and problem gone......daughter could have saved me the headache if she would have waited til the next morning to buy an alternator (was after 6PM and my source was closed) but she was impatient and car had to be fixed NOW.....:laugh:


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

Thanks for all the help. So far nothing has worked.. a friend came up with this for us :

I believe your problem is related to the PCM shutting down your regulator through the C connection of the 4 pin regulator plug at the Alternator.
I found this with several Mitsubishi products that the PCM believes the engine idle is too low and to conserve the idle and preventing the engine from stalling the PCM will shut the Alternator down.
The 4 pins and their use are as follows
C= Computer connection/ used by the PCM to shut down the Alternator for fuel economy
FR=Field Report/ this connection is used to tell the PCM what the Alternators is doing
IG=Ignition /connection used to excite the alternator
L=Light /used to indicate the Alternator status to the driver via the battery light in the dash

Now a quick fix for your problem is to cut the C wire at the Alternator to prevent the PCM from shutting down the Alternator.
The other is is to check the idle specification and wiring so as the PCM does not get an eronious reading. There maybe other factors but I would start with this.


HAVE ANY OF YOU EVER DEALT WITH THIS?


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## octaneman (May 13, 2009)

Without a wiring diagram for the exact pin-outs, a mod like that for a novice is just begging for trouble. In all my years as a tech I've never seen a voltage regulator being controlled by a computer. A voltage regulator are just built in diodes it has power in - power out thats it.


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

Today when we had a test light on the battery the light for the alt would be on when on gas. Which would make since to the last post. Prob sounds funny to u pro's! 
The power out of the alt is what we dont seem to be getting.
Changing the fuse on the pos battery cable didnt do a thing.
We're thinking about changing the starter cuz when the battery is "dead"(shows 9-10 volts on reader) it makes a clicking sound, but when its "full" it starts fine.. we checked for more grounds and still nothing lose or corroded. 
We thought the fan could be pulling 2much power, trying to work(its not kicking on), so we unplugged it.. charged the battery, started it let it run for a min or 2.. than let it sit for 30mins.. after 30mins car started right back up(which normally after 10secs the car wont start) but when we shut it off, the batt was "dead" again. Thank's for all the advice and help, I knew this was gonna be a project, but now its becoming a headache! At whits end trying to figure it out..1st race is 3days away..lol


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## octaneman (May 13, 2009)

Playazsara


You still have not provided us with the numbers on how many volts and amps the alternator puts out, without this information were all grasping at straws. One thing you should know, its not the volts that charges a battery its the amps. An alternator can put out less than 14v but if its output current is there, the battery is said to being charged. The starter also spins by the amount of current running through it not volts, but you haven't provided any information on the starters amperage draw either. If you have a current clamp run it through and post the meter's readings on the alternator's output. Without concrete numbers to work on anything we say now is pure speculation.


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

We havent had a meter on it yet.


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## SABL (Jul 4, 2008)

playazsara said:


> We havent had a meter on it yet.


That's the easiest part of the whole troubleshooting process!! Why are you ready to pull the starter when it is acting normal?? 

You stated you swapped the alt.....with what?? Was the alt tested before you swapped it out?? If it is certified as OK then you have missed a connection somewhere.


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

lol.. i dont have a meter thingy.lol.. I did swap the alt, the old one tested weak and the brushes were bad...we got a used one that tested fine.


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## Wireman35 (Apr 10, 2011)

The IGN. ,C,L,FR terminals sounds right for the car. For Charging purposes, the only thing needed is a wire from an ignition source to the IGN. terminal and a battery wire on the output terminal to the battery. C terminal is a way for the computer to set the voltage, FR lets the computer know how long the field is cycling, and L is the dash indicator that I'm guessing is no longer a part of the car. Voltage reading will differ with the state of charge on the battery, Take a reading before you start, then wait about 30 seconds and take another reading , it should be higher with car running. Also mitsubishi alternator are known for eatting belts so also check that belt is not glazed or oily. CHUCK


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## RacerX996 (Apr 23, 2011)

If the diodes are bad in the alternator it will cause an open circuit condition that will drain the battery while the engine is off. I can't see the computer shutting-down the alternator to conserve gasoline because unless every accessory on the car is "on" there isn't that much drag to an alternator. Plus, without alternator voltage the computer wouldn't continue to run. 

You need to have the charging system checked while the engine is running. Autozone's have a handheld unit that is fairly accurate. Be sure the battery is fully charged, though or you'll get an incorrect reading.


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

Thanks guys.. Racerx996 , i def have to have it checked but we dont have an autozone around us, a friend is bringing his multi meter up this weekend..Hope to have answers soon!


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## playazsara (Apr 20, 2011)

THANKS FOR THE HELP ... THE ALT CLIP WASNT ALL THE WAY CLICKED IN AND HAVE TO REV THE ENGINE FOR THE ALT TO KICK ON... SO FAR SO GOOD


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## kescoto76 (Sep 27, 2011)

I have a 2000 galant as well, with same problem, at start up it charges at 14.5v, after 10seconds, it drops to 12v and gets lower, if you accelerate over 2500 rpm, it will charge again, if you let it idle, it will drop immediately, i checked harmonic balancer and its good, replaced alternator, 3 times, thinking im getting defective alternators, so i went ahead and cut the computer wire, which in this case its the "g" wire(black and red), and now it it charges at 13.8v, steady, the idle is at about 700rpm, ripple pattern is perfect as well, What do you guys think??


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