Special_K

iTrader: (1)

Hi guys, I’m having a couple small problems with various parts of my electrical system, and I need someone to take a look at it. The car is a 1998 Ford Escort ZX2.
I live in Hamilton. But work in Cambridge, so if anyone knows of a good shop in the Cambridge area that would be appreciated, Hamilton area could also work. A car audio shop should be able to handle everything and would imo, be better then a mechanic.
If you have some time to kill and/or think you can offer any help on things I can do myself, here are my problems.
1- The check battery/charging system light flickers at idol sometimes and also when releasing clutch for 1st gear. I have a 150A aftermarket alternator that seems to be working fine, it runs at 14.0 volts and is just over a year old, so I suspect the battery is dying. I just want to make sure that it is the battery 100% before I get a new one. Also to be noted, there is a white powder substance around the negative terminal of the battery, I have no idea if this is a sign of a dying battery or just a coincidence.
2- Alarm system siren dead, headlights& taillights also do not flash when alarm is set off. This is from a problem I had a couple months ago when my rear licence plate light shorted and blew a fuse. The light is fixed and working but the alarm isn’t. The alarm was installed by Perfect Audio in Pickering, but they no longer exist> It’s a Vadar FM two way alarm. I suspect a blown fuse or fried relay somewhere but that’s just a guess. Unfortunately that’s all the info I have from the alarm, I tried googling them but couldn’t find any info. My screen is also cracked on the remote so if anyone has a clue as to where I can get the company contact info for a new one that would be great. I know this is a long shot because all I have to go off is the name Vadar, and I’m not sure if that’s the company name or the product model.
3- I want to finish off the big 3 upgrade, I did the negative batt to chassis when I installed my system but its time to get the other 2 in there, I’m also hoping (more so dreaming) that it might solve the flickering battery light problem. Also having a 150A alt is almost pointless with stock wires, I get a 2 volt drop measured at the amp when cranked up and the bass hits, although that’s way higher then normal listening level. I’m hoping the alt to battery wire will help reduce the voltage drop, and it should.


And FYI I’m running all 4 gauge wire, a Memphis 16-st1000D amp powering 2- 12” kaption spl subs, a Memphis 16-st150 powering front infinity 605cs components, HU is a Panasonic (cant remember model off the top of my head) and its powering the rear fill stock 5x7’s

Side thought, do you think upgrading to 2 or 0 gauge will make any noticeable difference? I was told that 4 guage is good to approx 160 amps and I’m drawing approx 110.


Thanks a lot for any and all help!!!!!

trk2loud

1 The white powder is oxidation nothing to worry about but you should clean that off. And yes it sounds like you battery is on the way out so I would look into getting a new one.

2. Yes you should try to find the relays/fuses in the alarm system. Cant think of anything else that would make it just stop like that other than a short.

3. All the grounding in the world wont help a battery that is dying. You could just top up the fluid in the battery. You would have to find a store that will give you some battery acid. Becarefull with it though, it will eat through things. Don't put water in the battery it will not help and with winter coming not good.

You should be fine with 4g wire. What ohm load are you running the subs at it says that amp puts out 1100rms at 1ohm 600 @ 2ohm and 300 @ 4ohm. So I am thinking that you are running those subs @ 1ohm even though you arent powering them fully. They are rated at 600rms each. So I think that you might consider going to 2 or 0 only after you check the battery and see if that is the problem.

Special_K

iTrader: (1)

Thanks a lot for the reply.

Last night I got the battery checked when getting an oil change and they said that its fine. I also checked the voltage at idol again because the light is staying on more consistently now. No surprises there, its running at 14 volts with the light on, and when you rev the engine a bit it goes up to 14.1 volts and the light goes off. So now I am suspecting the sensor is going on it. I don’t think that small change in voltage will make a difference because when I turn on the stereo and lights and stuff it drops to 13.9 and sometimes the trouble light wont be on. My friend has an extra battery that he knows is good so I’m going to swap it and see if the light goes off, if for whatever reason it actually makes the light go off ill invest in an optima red-top which should help out the system anyways.

I also just remembered that there are a couple fuses for the alarm right by the steering column, so ill check those tonight if its not raining too bad. I totally forgot about those, hopefully one of those will be blown.

How do I know if my battery acid is low? And would a store like parts source have the acid?

You are correct on the amp, I am running dvc subs and everything in parallel to get 1ohm, for 1100rms, however I have the first version/generation of the SPL’s and they are only rated at 500rms. My subs look nothing like the new version found on the website, the basket looks a lot more like the old mtx 8000’s or like a reaudio se/sx/xxx basket. Also my subs do not have woven tinsel leads, which really sucks the big one because they rub on the cone and on certain notes you can hear them. I’m actually looking into getting either the sx or xxx from reaudio to replace the Kaptions and will put up a post soon about them.

Thanks again for your help

Team Shadow

clean your terminals. and check it again. that white stuff is parasitic resistance and will make the battery appear to be dead or make your alt appear to be weak. test it all with clean connectin especially grounds.

keep us updated.

theboy

Make sure there is no corrosion in the wire itself,and triple check your grounds(clean the mounting surfaces and terminals!

Special_K

iTrader: (1)

Hopefully tonight I’ll be able to clean all the terminals (providing its not raining). I cleaned all the corrosion off the face or the terminal already but I didn’t take the negative terminal off the battery post to check to make sure there was no corrosion between the contacts. In hindsight I should have thought of that when cleaning it. I will also take a look at where the ground connects to the frame and see if that has any corrosion or rust. And hopefully ill be able to take a look at the alarm situation too, it was raining pretty hard last night so I couldn’t do anything.
Is there anything I can do to prevent the battery terminal corrosion from coming back?
And how do i check for corrosion in the wire?

Thanks alot for the help,

Special_K

iTrader: (1)

Well, I got to checking everything last night and the negative terminal nut was so corroded I snapped the terminal clamp trying to undo it. So I went out to Part Source and grabbed a new negative terminal with a 1 gauge wire attached, I hooked that up along with the small factory ground wires (don’t know where they go or what they do) and the 4 gauge to chassis ground I had on there before, so now I’ve got a 4 gauge wire grounded to the frame replacing the stock 8 gauge and an extra 1 gauge wire grounded to frame through a bolt on the top of the strut tower. But, all that didn’t do anything, the light still flickers on and off and comes on solid at idol the exact same as before. I figured because I was grounding the battery through the new 1 gauge (which has a clean contact) AND the 4 gauge that was on there before I didn’t need to pull out the alarm siren and pull off the 4 gauge wire and clean its contact to the frame, the top of it had very little rust and no white powder, the other thing is I think that wire might be compromised anyways because I noticed the corrosion going underneath the boot/electrical tape covering the crimped o-ring. But all that shouldn’t matter with the new 1 gauge wire on there…So I am stumped now, because when I saw how corroded that terminal was I was confident that was the problem. Any other suggestions?
I also took a good look at the logistics for upgrading the alternator to battery wire, and I have concluded the only way to get to the alternator is to either take it out or remove the whole intake manifold/throttle body etc. Both of which are going to be a huge pain so I’m definitely going to need a full afternoon and a lot of patience for that.
As for the alarm, its all good news there. I found a blown 5 amp fuse tucked away underneath the dash that fixed the problem.

Thanks alot for all the help, any more suggestions are greatly appreciated.

GrizZz

WOAH woah woah!!! BAD! You're gonna cause a meltdown!

Under normal use, yes, batteries can gas a bit and over time may need topping up. You use distilled water (or a bottle of spring water from 7-11, anything pure) for this, NOT more acid. Reason: As a battery gases, only the water evaporates, not the sulfuric acid in the electrolyte solution ("battery acid"). So when you you add water to a battery that has gassed down, you're just replacing the water portion of the electrolyte. If you add more acid, you are raising the specific gravity (potency) of the electrolyte and you can literally cause a meltdown. The only time you should add more acid to a battery that is in service is if it has spilled out for some reason.

This is also why a battery that has gassed some and the water has not been replaced is prone to failure. As the water evaporates, the remaining solution in the battery is getting more potent, and the battery slowly burns itself out.

Okay, the problem at hand...


At first glance, it looks to me like you need some cable repair, which you've been doing, and the alternator isn't spinning fast enough.

You say you've had this alternator for a year. Is the problem new, or has it always been like this with this alternator? If the problem's been there since you got the alternator, then it isn't spinning fast enough. Alternator's require minimum RPM, and upgraded alternators often require a little more. Make sure it's turning itself on at lower RPM.

A slipping belt is often the culprit of the flickering bat light. Check your belt. Replace if it looks worn AT ALL.

Keep cleaning up that corroded wiring. Corrosion & stereo equipment = BAD. Be vigilant, if there's ANY indication of corrosion on your cabling, clean/fix/replace immediately.

And yes, try a good battery. Most good auto-electric shops (ahem...) will let you try a good battery before you buy.

[ November 18, 2005, 10:09 PM: Message edited by: GrizZz ]

trk2loud

We put battery acid in our old racecar batteries when they went down and those still work great. The only reason we arent using them now is we have 2 red tops.

but my situation is alot different than a normal car. But good advice. And I will get some pics of the car up tomorrow it is all in pieces right now but you will get an idea of it.