charging issue, ive swapped out the dead battery, but its not charging. i check the battery with a multi-meter and its at 12.42V which is under charged (12.60V is the standard charge for a normal car battery). but when i turn the car on and check it with the multi-meter it stays steady at 13.33-13.40V so could this be a bad alternator or just a bad cable?
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2003 Dodge Neon sxt, charging problem
- Thread starter Eric492
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Russ2251
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13.8 is normal charging voltage.
Doc Sprocket
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Start with the basics- ensure all connections are clean and tight. A dab of electrolytic grease on each connection wouldn't hurt either. Clean all connectors with sandpaper/wire brush.
It's possible your voltage regulator's gone. On some vehicles, it's in the alternator. Some are external.
It's possible your voltage regulator's gone. On some vehicles, it's in the alternator. Some are external.
They've all been cleaned and tightend but there is a good possibility that it has a bad regulator...
devino246
Official DIYGK Chem Nerd
A cable issue would cause lower voltage, so a cable isnt your problem. Your alternator is charging at a good voltage, so you can cross that off the list. If your battery dead after sitting over night, or is it dead if you shut the car off and try to start it back?
If its dead after sitting overnight, your problem is parasitic battery drain, caused by a short-circuit, light staying on, etc. If you have a DVOM that can test amperage, leave the car off and the doors closed, disconnect the positive battery cable and touch one multimeter probe to the battery terminal and the other to the cable clamp. This will tell you how many amps your cars drawing when its off.
If its dead after sitting overnight, your problem is parasitic battery drain, caused by a short-circuit, light staying on, etc. If you have a DVOM that can test amperage, leave the car off and the doors closed, disconnect the positive battery cable and touch one multimeter probe to the battery terminal and the other to the cable clamp. This will tell you how many amps your cars drawing when its off.
the battery is slowly dying. it was dead when i got home swapped it out for a new one. battery light came on took the alternator out took it to autozone was bad so got a new one it was fine for a while but now the battery light comes on after the cars been running for 5mins.
devino246
Official DIYGK Chem Nerd
This alternator has a built in regulator, correct?
anderkart
Moderator
Hey Eric looks like 2003 Neons used a couple different alternators, does yours have the 2.0 or 4.2 litre engine?
anderkart
Moderator
A Link to 2003 Neon Schematics can be found on this page:
http://www.techknowman.com/dodge neon/dodge neon.htm
If that's all correct Its showing the 2003 Neon as having its voltage regulator built into the Powertrain Control Module (computer)
Your alternators small green wire with an orange stripe should be reading full battery voltage.
The other small solid green wire gets a variable ground signal from the computer. This is used to control the alternators output level.
Hey Eric you might just be fighting a voltage drop issue here. An easy test you could run is to compare the voltage exiting the alternators output post (where the big black/grey wire bolts on) to whats actually getting back to the battery.
You'd wanna run this test with the alternator under a heavy load, so turn the headlights on, get the heater fan running on high speed and warm up the engine first so the radiator fan is running. You'll also need the engine at a fast idle (2000rpm)
If your getting more than a 1 volt difference/drop between the Alternator and battery your probably just fighting a poor connection somewhere causing high resistance.
One of the more common causes of this is at the Alternators fusible link. (the Schematic shows this is near the starter or starter relay on your model) If anyone ever tried to jump start the car backwards, It would have burned out this Fuselink. (these fuse links are many times just a short section of a special type wire)
After burning this type of fuselink sometimes shotty mechanics simply use a Butt connector to crimp the fuselink back together causing high resistance problems like this. I've seen cars reading 20 volts at the alternator with only 13 getting back to the battery.
If your alternator is rubber mounted, make sure its ground strap isnt the problem. You can get voltage drop problems from the ground side too...
And make sure that belt isnt just super loose and slipping.
http://www.techknowman.com/dodge neon/dodge neon.htm
If that's all correct Its showing the 2003 Neon as having its voltage regulator built into the Powertrain Control Module (computer)
Your alternators small green wire with an orange stripe should be reading full battery voltage.
The other small solid green wire gets a variable ground signal from the computer. This is used to control the alternators output level.
Hey Eric you might just be fighting a voltage drop issue here. An easy test you could run is to compare the voltage exiting the alternators output post (where the big black/grey wire bolts on) to whats actually getting back to the battery.
You'd wanna run this test with the alternator under a heavy load, so turn the headlights on, get the heater fan running on high speed and warm up the engine first so the radiator fan is running. You'll also need the engine at a fast idle (2000rpm)
If your getting more than a 1 volt difference/drop between the Alternator and battery your probably just fighting a poor connection somewhere causing high resistance.
One of the more common causes of this is at the Alternators fusible link. (the Schematic shows this is near the starter or starter relay on your model) If anyone ever tried to jump start the car backwards, It would have burned out this Fuselink. (these fuse links are many times just a short section of a special type wire)
After burning this type of fuselink sometimes shotty mechanics simply use a Butt connector to crimp the fuselink back together causing high resistance problems like this. I've seen cars reading 20 volts at the alternator with only 13 getting back to the battery.
If your alternator is rubber mounted, make sure its ground strap isnt the problem. You can get voltage drop problems from the ground side too...
And make sure that belt isnt just super loose and slipping.
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