Alternator?

[mxer147]

Yea, it’s mostly my winter beater car but also use it for hunting and fishing road trips when I know it’s in for a trashing. I know this seems crazy but I have been getting 10 yrs out of most my batteries here in Colorado. I had one only last 3 years but it failed when the post broke in half so I don’t think that one counts. I do take care of my mechanical stuff mostly myself and this car has been very reliable. It makes a huge difference living in softer environment conditions. When I resided in the Midwest, the harsh environment was really tough on everything.

The car ran perfectly to the car wash and back home after I installed the water pump, then acts up a week later. There aren’t any wires or vacuum lines near the pump. Maybe, something disconnected when I also replaced both upper and lower radiator hoses? The last time the CPS was failing it didn’t set off any codes. The only other unusual thing I did was moved it closer to the garage without the serpentine belt connected since the water pump was seized. Maybe that has something to do with it. I will get the flashlight out to look hard if something came unbuttoned when I pressure sprayed it or replaced the hoses. I still don’t have a check engine light condition so not sure the ECU identifies any faults even though there is something wrong.

Most of my batteries were purchased from Advance Auto, I buy the cheaper battery too since the higher price only buys you another year of warranty. Most batteries don’t fail within the warranty period anyway.

I greatly appreciate your input and recommendations. I’ll take some pics of my batteries so you don’t think I’m delusional, lol.

 

[Ricko1966]

Do a volt drop test on battery positive cable . And battery negative cable. Something isn't right here,no way is a fuel pump, ignition and fuel injectors pulling a good battery down to 9 volts in a few seconds or minutes. But if you can't supply adequate voltage due to bad cables etc. This can cause problems such as low fuel pressure,injectors that don't open, etc.

 

[mxer147]

About to run to advance to take advantage of my limited lifetime warranty, pretty sure this is the reason it won’t idle, likely from hot coolant hitting it.

 

[mxer147]

Got ahead of myself, still not idling and dropping voltage….dumb arse! Voltage drop tests next.

 

[mxer147]

The no idle condition was a bad MAF sensor, misfiring was from bad ignition coil and spark plug wires. I believe it’s road worthy again after also replaced the power steering pump and replaced the o-rings in the two aluminum elbows. Still have a minor oil and tranny pan gasket leak to resolve this spring or summer.

 

[mxer147]

Did all the work mentioned above and some more work but hot misfire condition persisted until I replaced the ignition control module. Slapped some heat sink paste on new part which solved the problem. Now it needs some new wheel bearings since the crappy Covid quality parts are failing.

 

[KD4UPL]

Your battery is bad. They don't last 10 years. You might think it's still good but a bad battery works your alternator harder and can cause low voltage to other components on the car.
Did you actually get the battery tested?

 

[mxer147]

I did replace the battery but the voltage drop was mostly due to misfiring so badly that the engine would stop running unless I feathered some fuel.