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ok so i JUST got my car back from the shop, he changed the heating core pipe that was leaking coolant and he changed my alternator that both just happen to go at the same time!

so i drove the car home from the shop fine, drove it to work in the morning and as i was comming back home, i have a sub in my car just a 10 inch sub and before its blown a fuse where the fuse sits inside near the battery and ive changed it with no issue, well today i was comming home from work i turn up this song with the bass up, nothing that i havnt done before, and well as i was driving my radio started cutting out and im like hmm wtf? so i turn off the radio, then my RPM guage needle drops and my radio wont turn on, the fan is running slowly and my signal still flickers but very slowly and only my speedo is working but nothing lit up, well as soon as i go to hit the breaks it feels like its gonna stall on me and it almost did untill i gassed it, so i made it home i was 2 mins away and i leave it running in my driveway and look around pop the hood and check some fuses, nothing that i could find was wrong, im like f--- now i gotta call the mechanic again to ask wtf happend....well i turn off the car and go to try and start it again, NOW IT WONT START!!!!!!!!!! what the hell happend??? please help

Test your main fuse.


Also make a nice sig with the 1996 B6 or something to that effect as
it makes the future help posts easier.


More audio info needed, which deck have you got.

my car is the 93 SOHC I4 5 SPD the deck isnt a problem, its been on the car ever since i got it with no issues at all! my alternator just recently went the bearings went or something, it was the original one from the beginning of time lol.. well where is the main fuse located at? and the car wont even start now i dunno wat the hell !

First read this:

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=63944


Then get familiar with this:

http://www.mx-3.com/manuals/index.php


And this:

http://www.mx-3.com/phpBB3/search.php


All you need to know can be found with the above.

Try to charge the battery or jump your car if it starts then your alt is dead.

try cleaning up your battery terminals too. My car left me stranded in the middle of intersections a few times, it turned out to just be my battery terminals.

ok so i boosted it with another car and it started just fine, everything turned on and it was running... now my only problem is is it really just the battery? its a yr old and it was running fine without any issues before the alternator went...i probably drove the car without the alternator charging the battery in a total of 20 mins a few days apart. so 10 mins on 2 diff days... well i took the battery out and im charging it now inside the house on 4amps how long should i let it charge for ? Or im thinking maybe the alternator isnt strong enough to power everything and the battery? the mechanic said it came off the same kind of car as mine and it says 80 amps on the side its a mitsubishi alternator..what is the stock amp output on the 4cyl 93 models? thank you

I think the 4cyl is 60amp but you can get an alternator from a GS and swap your smaller pulley from your alt onto the 90amp GS alternator. And the battery is dead because it is not getting charged by the alternator, check your wires too.

I don't recommend swapping pulleys. I tried a million, and I can't find a serp. pully with the right inner (shaft) diameter. I worked at Mazda, at the time too, we had a cube van full of alts and other such things.

mx3sohc wrote:I think the 4cyl is 60amp but you can get an alternator from a GS and swap your smaller pulley from your alt onto the 90amp GS alternator. And the battery is dead because it is not getting charged by the alternator, check your wires too.

yep ok so i charged up the battery put it in the car, she fired no problem, did a few simple tests and yea the alternator is not charging the battery, when i push the brakes all the guages dim and the headlights also dim down, and they are not as bright as i remember...so i pulled the battery and brought it in since its freezing outside...well now my question is...how come the charge light doesnt come on indicating that its not being charged? when my alternator went just last week it came on and the bearings were whining so i knew it was that, but now the mechanic put in an alternator and its still not charging it properly BUT the red charge light is NOT on very weird maybe its charging it enough for the sensor to not turn on the red light? but not enough for the battery to keep charged? thanks

Check that the main battery connection from the alternator and make sure its properly attached on the alternator. Since they supposedly changed the alternator at the shop, its possible they either didnt connect the cable or didnt get the nut tight. Either case would result in the battery not getting a charge from the alternator. A loose connection here might also explain how your electronics went wonky as well. Whenever having a shop do ANY work, I always recommend getting the old parts from them just to ensure they actually did the work. Most times you need to request this before they do the work though, cause conveniently.. they have usually thrown away whatever part was replaced. Had this told to me even though they had only been done working on the car for an hour.. yet the part (waterpump in this case) was already magically gone.. and wouldnt you know it.. their new waterpump failed in 3 months.

If I recall.. there is a plastic shroud on the end of the cable where it bolts to the alternator. So if the nut isnt tight.. a good connection isnt likely.

Hope this helps.

Tunes67