UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

ok i know this is a lexus forum but you guys are very knowledgable and i consider you to be friends so i need some help for my girlfriends car, she has a 2000 hyundai elantra and the following is something i posted in a forum for her car, thanks in advance guys

She has a 2000 elantra, on thursday night she broke down. The car wasnt getting enough electricity. The battery wasnt charging basically and it seemed as though the alternator was dying. They went and had the battery tested and it tested good. The following day we jumped it, drove a little and jumped it again several times to get it to go about 5 miles. It seemed as though the car was running on what juice was in the battery alone. Once we got it to autozone they tested the alternator and concluded it was bad. We bought another one and installed it. We aqlso had them hook the battery up on the charger before putting it in and firing it up. We started the car and had the guy from autozone test everything. He said that the votls (i think) or maybe the amps coming from the alternator was low, it was running at a 12 and its supposed to be at 14. The test was conducted by hooking up straight to the eyelets on the battery. Since then she is able to drive the car during the day as long as nothing in the car is running but if you turn the lights on or anything else for that matter it starts dying down. Her brother had told us about a 100a fuse to change out, we bought one and checked it out, fuse wasnt bad but we changed it out anyway. The only thing we can think of is it has to be somewhere in the wiring. What do you guys think?

Lexmex

Somehow my finger would still point back to the battery. I've seen batteries that tested out okay only to die a bit later. I very much remember my OEM battery when I was in Mexico and having the infamous 1:00 A.M. show up on the clock and had it tested and it said okay, but it surely wasn't. Best thing would be to switch it out with another battery from another vehicle to test it.

RayN

Try a different place to test your battery. You replace the alternator already. Seems like the problem points out to the battery. Make sure the terminals are clean and tight.

code58

UNOHOO- This story doesn't make sense. Where did you buy the alternator? And if you bought it at Autozone and then they tested it afterwards and it showed producing 12V, why in the world didn't they give you another ? (because that one is no good!) You can't expect a battery to stay charged up with an alternator producing 12V. They were right, you need it to produce at least 14V to keep the battery charged. If the alternator is indeed charging 12V- replace it! I agree that the battery needs to be tested again, by someone else, and the alternator also. But if they test the same as you reported, make them give you another alternator! My brother got 4 rebuilt alternators for his sons car some years back before he got a good one. I bought a rebuilt for my sons Camaro some years ago and decided to check it before I installed it (trusting rebuilt about as far as I could throw them). When I pulled it apart I discovered one of the 3 field wires twisted completely off when they used an impact wrench to tighten the 3/8 nuts. Saved me the work and frustration of installing it and having to take it back off. Just because you installed a rebuilt DOES NOT MEAN YOU GOT A GOOD ONE! Rebuilt alternators especially are notorious for being of poor quality. It is obvious that most of them are never tested to see if they even work, much less produce the proper voltage!

lexus114

Same thing with starters,I think they just clean them up,re-paint them and throw them back on the shelf. As code mentioned,have them give you another one,and make sure it produces 14 volts.Or,go to a reputable salvage yard,buy a nice used one,and return the supposed rebuilt one,and get your money back. As I mentioned,I went through this with starters around14 years ago. I had gotten so good at replacing them, I even did one in a Giant(food store)parking lot,in under 15 minutes!(on a 1985 Chevy Cavalier)

UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

hrmmmm, i didnt know that rebuilt ones were so unreliable, dood said they tested it prior to installation and it tested good, do you guys think that maybe if the belt isnt tight enough it could be slipping a tad and thats whats causing the shortage? reason i ask is this is the first time ive done anything like this and it more out of necessity than anything. well i think we will go have everything tested again after what you guys have said

btw i posted this in a hyundai forum, only got 1 reply and dood didnt say anything i didnt already know like "well sounds like youre not getting enough juice from the alternator" lmao

Thanks a lot for your help guys

UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

yea this one was my cherry popper on alternators and we did it in the parking lot of autozone, in 20 degree weather.....in freezing rain....yea.....

UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

UPDATE: so my girlfriend told me the belt was squeaking some here and there, i tightened up the belt going to the alternator and drove it to autozone to do some testing on the alternator, on the way there i turned on just about everything, full blast heat, lights, radio, using the power windows, etc. seemed to be working better since i did that, got to autozone and it came back over 14 volts. looks like it just needed tightened. i think were going to replace the battery soon though, hers may be a little on the weak side, thanks for all of your help and advice

mmarshall

There should be a belt tensioner to keep it from going slack as well. If the tensioner isn't working right, the belt will just get loose again and fail to spin the alternator properly. Check it for proper tension every couple of days until you are satisfied with it.......most mechanics recommend about a half-inch of belt tension (pushing it in with your fingers). If it's TOO tight, it will put too much pressure on the alternator pulley/bearings and wear them out. And if it's a long serpentine belt that runs several accessories at once like A/C, power steering, water pump, etc....( I don't remember if the Elentra has a serpentine belt), it can prematurely affect those components as well.

UNOHOO

iTrader: (3)

well theres like 3 belts under there so no worries on the serpentine, i can push it in probably a little less than half an inch, id half to check it again, i didnt know that about it being too tight though, tomorrow ill run it back down to autozone and use their belt tensioner, thanks mmarshall

herbvdh

UNOHOO:
Failure to have the correct angle belt will result in discharging the battery also. My father threw a belt and ground it up on I 95 in the Carolina's we got the car to a service station that put on a belt got home forgot about it till battery trouble came up had car to dealer and had to replace the belt due to incorrect angle belt was not all the way in the pulley basically.

mmarshall

Check the specs for your individual car first. For most cars in general, it's about a half-inch of belt play.