hello all, well my car as been out of service for almost a week, (350 tbi) becase it needed an alt, so I put a new one in today (of course it needed a jump to get it started) I drove it a few feet and shut it off, I go back a hour or two later and it won't start, so (all I was getting was the solinoid clicking) I jumped it again, after waiting awhile it decides to start, I hurry home, shut it off, I try to crank it again an voila it starts (although it took it quite a few seconds). what is going on here? did the bat just not charge up enough the first time? I don't really want to drive it anywhere now for fear of not being able to start it again.
the starter, battery, and of course the alt are all less than 2 or 3 months old. is the wiring just worn out? the wire on the alt donsen't look like the best connection, could that be it or part of it? HELP

 

Do you know what caused your alt to die? Many times it is because its overworked due to an almost dead battery overloading it. Have the battery tested.

You may also just need to run the car longer to charge the battery. It doesn't charge instantly, it will take half an hour or so of driving to get a dead battery up to snuff, and thats only if its good. Bring it to Autozone, or some place that tests for free. Takes a few minutes, and could save you from having to put another alternator in.

 

well like I said the battery is only a couple months old, I'm not sure why the alt died but I had the parts place test it and it tested bad, I didn't realize that the battery takes a while to get fully charged again, I thought it did it within a few min time. could the hard starting be caused by the timing being a little off?
thanks for the quick response

 

Check for a parasitic drag. Your car should pull less than .05 A with everything in the car off.

 

Yes, if its a new battery (you didn't mention that in your post) you just need to go out for a nice long cruise. If you have a trickle charger, that would be better for both your battery and alterator. Let it charge overnight and you will be golden.

 

what is the easiest way to check for a parasitic draw?

 

Hook an ampmeter in seris with the baterry post and the ground cable. Just make sure your hood light and all other lights that are off when you park the car are not on.