alternator or battery problem? need help

[ykp09]

hey, i just joined nico after facing some problems with my ca18 i've had for about 4~5 months now. i usually ask a friend or ray from garage autohero (i live in washington state) but i haven't been able to contact them and figured i'd ask here since there is a wealth of knowledge on the ca here. i know a bit about cars but this s13 ca is my first boosted car/car i've had to work on myself so i'm still learning.

so about a week ago my car's alternator was dying with the lights dimming, stereo backlight flickering then going out, and the car bogging down past 3000rpm or if i hit the gas too hard. i was able to drive it to a walmart and just bought a new battery. i drove it to a friends house (friend was in car with me whole time) driving gently cause it would still bog down past 3000rpm/fast acceleration and then left it in front of his house for about 2 more hours. anyways i was on my home when the car started doing the above again but luckily my sister's apt was near when this happened so drove it there and the car died just as i got to my sister's apt parking lot.

so i took off the alternator, had it rebuilt, re installed it and it started up right away. it started but was idling at like 1500 with everything turned off (idled at ~1000 rpm with heat full blast, rear defog, and headlights on), i drove it around a bit and it was fine (driving like before this all happened minus the 1500 idle) then while letting it idle, the rpms began dropping and then died on me. i switched the batteries out with the old one and it started again right up with the 1500 rpm idle and again i drove it fine. next morning i start it up and 1500 idle was steady even with everything on, after it warmed up i go to drive it and it started bogging down again at first around 3000rpm but then it started bogging around 2000 rpm. i parked it at my sisters again and while idling it was dropping again, i hit the gas to bring it up so it wouldn't die but the car was rumbling a bit at around 800~1000rpm, after a while i turned it off, tried to start it again but nothing (no sound, clicking or cranking, just turn key and nothing)

so for the few people who would've read this long a** essay, any ideas?

also i tried searching but the problems other people faced with their ca wasn't exactly like mine at least to me. and if this has already been discussed let me off since this is my first post C:

also some bg info i deleted the coal(?) canister but haven't taken it out the bay (could the fact it's still plugged in make the battery drain?)
spark plugs are iridium pfr something 11 regapped to .8 (about 9k miles ago do these need replacing? could never find a suggested replacement mark)
otherwise car is still pretty much stock

also there was a fast soft ticking that i had asked ray about and he said he heard it awhile back ago and it's nothing to worry about but lately i've noticed it's a bit louder.
and there were only two wires going into my alternator, a harness/plug and a ground one that bolts on. is this right or am i missing a wire?

o and the shop that rebuilt my ca alternator said it was putting out 100 amps but online most people say the stock one puts out 80a


thanks in adavance for anyone who reads this and helps out

[boost_boy]

What happened to the thick white wire that attaches to the terminal post on the alternator? If you only have the connector with the two wires and the ground, you are indeed missing a very important wire. Maybe it broke off or maybe it was never connected, but any which way, you'll need to attach it to the alternator. As for the ticking, with your car having the electrical issues, it could be anything, so I wouldn't worry about that until you sort out your charging system's dilemma. As for the spark plugs, please gap them at .039. Anything less will make the plugs more susceptible to fouling. You don't have a high-powered ignition system, so there's no need closing the gap up so small. I hope this helps you somewhat.

[Ron240sx]

I had similar problems. Since you didnt mention anything about checking electrical connections. Like my problem id assume your 75Amp Alternator fuse is bad. Im guessing its making contact on bumps and getting somewhat of a charge. Check out that fuse. Hope that helped. Btw you can pop that cap off to look at it.

[ykp09]

there's 4 wires taped up together going to my alternator but none of them are thick and white, there's a yellow one and another color i think red (car being at my sister's i can't go out and look at it) but they are both about the same size if not a little bit smaller than, say, an ipod cable. both of those "extra" wires looks to have been cut. if you're looking at the alternator from the passenger side where would the thick white wire plug into? also i will regap the plugs asap but i had them gapped at .8 cause the mechanic i went to said it would help with my car's idle (this is prior to all this when i first got the car it wouldn't steady idle and it would go from 1000~750rpm)


@ron
the fuse in the fuse box just above the battery? and yeah i haven't really been able to look at it/do much, all this just happened yesterday/this morning. i just put in the rebuilt alternator yesterday before i ran outta daylight.

[Ron240sx]

Check that fuse. Should say FL/ Alt 75A. pop the cap off and if its fine let us know. But im guessing thats your problem.

[float_6969]

There are 3 connections to the alternator. A 2 wire plug, a small, black, ground wire, and a BIG (like the size of the battery cable) wire, (IIRC it's white w/a red stripe) that connects to a bolt sticking out with a tub on it. This will be kinda big, and have some kind of plastic base to shield it from grounding out. This big wire is what actually does the charging and if it's not connected, you basically have no alternator.

[ykp09]

ok so i found that wire but it was yellow, it was ripped off the terminal so i spliced it and reattached it to a new terminal and then grounded it on the other side of the bottom long bolt near the oil filter. i also checked the fuse and it didn't look blown or anything bad. my battery is charged too.

so after all this i turn on my car and it starts right up with no 1500rpm idle. after letting it warm up i drove it around again and there was still bogging past 3000rpms but after a while it wasn't there anymore. then i parked it once again and let it idle, it died on me again and couldn't get it to start up again. any ideas on why this happened?

and thanks to those who've helped so far, very much appreciated.

edit: possibly found a solution but I don't have a huge wire near my alternator does this wire come from the same harness as the plug?

[float_6969]

Sort of. Basically that big wire should go up to the fuse box behind the battery. If you notice, there are 2 wires that plug into the positive battery terminal. Those 2 wire, and the wire from the alternator, all connect to the same place in the fuse box behind the battery.

[ykp09]

ok so the biggest wire is connected directly to the alternator's ground sticking out underneath the plug. i also bought a new fuse after i blew the fuse due to this alternator mess (the strip being all dark brown means it's blown right?). so if the biggest wire goes to the alternator then where does the smaller wire ground to? also today i pulled off the -battery cable and it died immediately, other than it being the alternator in general is there a more precise troubleshoot through this method?

[boost_boy]

Time to get the alternator checked. It could be dead or on its way out as well.

[float_6969]

If you swapped the ground and power wires on the alternator, you blew A LOT of stuff. Those fuses in the fuse box, probably some fuses under the dash, I think there are some diodes behind the radio, and it probably ruined the alternator as well.