I am looking for help with my 2004 sebring

 

I have replaced the alternator. I did a voltage test at the battery/jump terminals and it is just picking up what the battery has in it after the jump 9+ volts at a steady decline. I did a voltage test on the alternator itself while the engine was running and it was of course putting out 14+ volts like it is supposed to. I came to the conclusion the voltage being produced from the alternator was in fact not reaching other necessary components. I chased down ALL of the wiring from the alternator to the end and nothing appears to be out of the ordinary. I have done quite a bit of research on the matter and it seems the only thing left to consider is the voltage regulator? The PCM? I don't want to spend more money than I have to being I already purchased and installed a new alternator that is. I have been on quite a bit of forums for many makes and models under the username mechaniker1986 involving various amounts of problems. Ive had help with some and no help with most. Every thread I start ends with a solution. Any input and advice is greatly appreciated as it will be helpful to other people whom may be experiencing the same problem seeking a solution and do not have money to take it to a shop just like me.

 

The car was in the shop to get the windshield wipers repaired because they were not working. After we got the car back, nothing was right. the radio was no longer working and all of the lights were dim. It looked to me like a classic alternator issue. I thought it may have been an ironically unfortunate event. I called the shop and asked them what they did. their response was they did nothing more than replace a freyed wire leading to the wiper motor. My mother in-law told me the technician told her they had all kinds of wires disconnected trying to find the source of the problem. I can't get a straight answer out of these guys possibly because they do not want to held responsible for it. I'm not sure if there is something not connected right, a short somewhere or another issue. it seems to me I may have to hunt down their screw up or locate the source of another problem not directly pertaining to what the shop did.

 

What I have found from the research is if everything checks out then the only other thing left to consider is the voltage regulator. Apparently the EVR (electric voltage regulator) is built in to the PCM (powertrain control module). So if the EVR is bad the PCM itself has to be replaced? What are the odds of that. The car was functioning just fine til we took it to those great mechanics. I want to be exactly sure what the problem is before I go throwin hundreds of dollars at it. In the past, I have solved this problem by simply replacing the fusible link. On this car in particular, I can not seem to locate a fusible link. I have located a green 10 gauge wire that hooks up to the starter running directly from the alternator. It says fusible link on it but it does not appear to have a "mega fuse" like most other vehicles. I also can not seem to find a visual description of the fusible link besides where it is located. i then came to the conclusion the "link" is the double bolted terminal on the starter. So it seems to me the power goes from the alternator, to the starter then to the ECM (electronic control module). So I turned my attention to the ECM and there does not appear to be anything more than a 20 amp fuse for the alternator. It's good. So here I am scratching my head. Should I remove the ECM and inspect the fuse terminal for burns or shorts? I may just do that to be sure. What are the odds? What could cause this? Jump starting? Possibly, I will soon find out.

 

I seriously doubt the battery is the culprit. When I jump start the car, I leave the cables on for atleast 10 minutes while I monitor the voltage output from the battery terminals, jumpstart terminals and the alternator itself. I shut the car off and do a voltage test on the battery terminals and get a reading of 12+ volts which is necessary for the engine to crank. How could the battery be causing the problem if it is holding a charge? Yes I could put a new battery in the car and it will start without a jump and all that good stuff, but will it be charged by the alternator and not drain by the engine running off of it? I'm not willing to take the chance of buying a new battery, draining it and being $150.00 in the hole. if the battery was in fact bad< the engine wouldn't even run off it for 10 minutes after I remove the jumper cables like it does until it eventually dies. So I am proud to say, I have officially ruled that the alternator and battery are good. What the hell could it be? we shall soon find out.

 

ok from the top with is the issue with your car and Ill brake down the questions to which to ask. All i just read was back and forth but no conclusive thing to whats wrong with your car what is the issue you are having no what you have done see what I can do.

 

The problem is the voltage from the alternator is not reaching necessary components for proper charging and operations of the electrical system. If you read the thread, you'll see I have performed all necessary tests to determine the alternator and battery are good. Either there is a short, a disconnected wire or one of the voltage components are not functioning properly. I'm sure I was very elaborate. Let me know if it looks like I left anything out.

 

From your post:
"I did a voltage test on the alternator itself while the engine was running and it was of course putting out 14+ volts like it is supposed to."

So you can rule out any problem with the voltage regulator. The alternator output is controlled by the voltage regulator built into the PCM. If it's putting out 14.4 volts then it's all working properly.



"I did a voltage test at the battery/jump terminals and it is just picking up what the battery has in it after the jump 9+ volts at a steady decline. "

Sounds like a bad battery to me. Take the battery to an auto parts store for a good load test. They usually don't charge you anything for the testing.

 

I will do that. Hopefully that is the problem. I just don't understand how the engine could run if the battery is bad. Shouldn't the engine be running from the alternator? If the voltage being put out from the alternator is reaching the pcm why am I not getting a 14+ volt reading at the battery terminals?

 

Loss of voltage from the alternator to the battery probably means a bad connection somewhere in the circuit. By "bad" I mean corroded or loose. Fusible links either pass current or not. There is no in-between. Dirty connections have electrical resistance and there is a resultant loss of voltage.

If the battery is showing only 9 volts, it's bad.