Car shorted and died later

1994walker3.8

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Hey everyone while I was driving my car (1994 mustang) there was a short in my car somewhere that it drew power from my sound system and then the battery light came on. Drove a friend home, later started the car and then power started cutting in and out then eventually died. I changed the alternator because I assumed that's what it was and replaced the old one with an extra 30amps and when I put it in the car still didn't start. Any ideas on what this could be?
 

mcglsr2

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Hey everyone while I was driving my car (1994 mustang) there was a short in my car somewhere that it drew power from my sound system and then the battery light came on. Drove a friend home, later started the car and then power started cutting in and out then eventually died. I changed the alternator because I assumed that's what it was and replaced the old one with an extra 30amps and when I put it in the car still didn't start. Any ideas on what this could be?

I replied in your intro thread - how do you know there was a short? Check my other response for confirming the voltage on the battery.
 
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1994walker3.8

1994walker3.8

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I'm assuming what happened was a shortage somewhere because I was driving down the road and then this noise came from the stereo and the lights dimmed for a quick second then followed by the battery indicator light had turned on.
 

ttocs

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It could be the alt, or the battery, or the alt might have died and taken the battery with it. Take your battery out and take it in to autozone to have it tested. You will need to leave it to be charged and then tested but the longer you leave it the better. They will more then likely take if off the charger and slap the tester on it and I have seen batteries pass the test, but after being hooked up to NOTHING for a few hours they start to loose voltage. Have them test it again in front of you and then if you can leave it of the car over night unhooked and see what the voltage is in the morning to again confirm it is not slipping.
 
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1994walker3.8

1994walker3.8

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Got a brand new 130 amp alt a few days after it died since it died Friday night and didn't have any in stock so when I installed it the car wouldn't crank over and just made a ticking noise. Tried jumping it for 10 minutes and revving the engine up with the jump from the truck and it still died after 30 seconds. The crimp that goes on to the alternator had broken off so I put a different crimp on and he thinks maybe that might be the issue so it's not holding a charge or something with the wiring.
 

lutter94

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you really need to get that battery tested. Don't want it damaging other components.
 
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1994walker3.8

1994walker3.8

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Put a battery charger on the battery for 45 minutes and it started but still had low voltage and fuel pressure. Battery indicator light was still on when it started.
 

mcglsr2

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If you have a multimeter, just test the voltage across the battery leads. Super simple, will take you 5 seconds. What voltage do you see?
 

mcglsr2

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^ This. You can buy a decent for not much money at all, and if you plan on doing any electrical stuffs on the car it will be very helpful. Highly recommended that you get one.
 

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