[jocap1]

Hey all, I just purchased a 2001 Accent GL with a 1.6 engine yesterday. Today has been a complete nightmare I have No info on this model as of yet. I did order a Haynes manual for it yesterday but that wont arrive in the mail for at least 1 week. I have gone over the online manual at hmaservice but from what i have read through, it doesn't go into much detail as far as electrical goes.

I will try to explain in detail what has been going on from start to finish with hopes that someone can share some info they have already picked up.

Like I said, I purchased this car yesterday. it's a Accent GL with a 1.6 engine. This car has approx, original 64,500 miles. the car has been sitting in someones yard ( unused and off the road) for just under one year. When I went to pick up the car, the battery was completely dead with the key in the on position ( I never checked the battery before purchase because I know these people and more or less bought the car knowing it was taken care of). I tried jump starting the car but the battery was so dead, it wouldn't start. I went to a local WalMart and bought a new battery installed it and the car started right up. I put about 35 miles on the car the first day and parked it until morning.

I used the car to go to work this morning. We have had major rain storms all day. After driving approx. 8 miles, the dash lights started to dim, the air bag light came on, the car started acting hesitant and would not accelerate past 45 miles a hours. I pulled over and shut the car off. tried starting the car again but it wouldn't start, battery was dead. I had already loaded a spare battery in the trunk from my other car which is fairly new, strong and in great condition ( I put it there just in case on the first day I purchased the car). I installed that battery and the car started right up and ran great for about 10 miles. then the car started acting the same way, hesitant acceleration, dash lights dimming ect. I pulled over, shut of the car and tried restarting. That battery was now dead.

I phone a friend from work to pick me up and figure the alternator had sh*t the bed. I recharged my battery and purchased a new/remanufactured alternator ( for $150!!!...ouch). It was a bear installing the bugger but I finished the job and started and let run the car parked for awhile. I then drove back home. After about 1 hour of driving and about 35 miles, the same problem started again only this time it was night and the headlights were barely lit, I also smelled excessive heat and the cooling indicator was actually bottomed out on C. I pulled over once again, shut it off and tried to restart. The battery was dead again! I pulled the hood switch, lifted the hood and found the exhaust manifold where the sensor ( oxygen?) is mounted ( in the front to be cherry red!

I let the car cool for more than an hour. Asked a person near by for a jump start ( which took about 15 to 20 minutes for it to get enough juice to turn over). Thge car finally started and I had only about 3 miles to get home. the car barely made it into my driveway, where it sits right now.

Like I said, as of now I have NO info on the car. I have no idea if I can retrieve the fault codes without a meter (maybe with old style morse code and the check engine light?). I'm obviously looking at an electrical issue but could it be the main computer, a bad sensor, a short in the electrical system? I have no idea at this time.

If anyone stayed with this long write up and feel they may have some info to offer please do. it is all appreciated.

Have a good one!

 

[scottwithakay]

Electrical problem is correct. Computer issue? Doubt it. Don't replace any more parts without reading my post.

I am an expert in electrical issues such as this. Your car uses electrical energy to fire the spark plugs. I've never had this problem with my 1.5L 01 accent but several things are easily explained.

1. Your car starts running like **** because there is not sufficient electrical energy to run the computer, fire the plugs, and run the cooling fan or any other electrical accessories such as lights.

2. Your car is overheating because, as I just mentioned, there is not enough power to run the cooling fan, thus removing excessive heat from the engine.

3. The gages were probably not working due to low voltage. (What did your gas gage say?)

4. It took 15 minutes or so to jump start your car because your battery was dead (6-8 volts, I'm guessing) and needed to charge up to at least 11 volts just to turn over the engine.

Does your car have AC? Mine does not but many cars will turn on the AC when the defroster is on automatically as it also removes moisture from the air. Just asking because it was raining heavily and if you were using defrost and the AC was kickin, you would have been burning lots of amps. Even if your heater was on full blast with no AC, there goes something like 10 amps right there. Your wipers were also on, no doubt. How were they preforming?

Recommendation:

1. Get access to a volt meter. You can often find them for less than $20. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to read up to 15 volts DC (make sure DC)

2. fully charge the battery, leave it disconnected to anything, and wait for at least 30 minutes for the surface charge to wear off. It should read 12.2 to 12.4 volts. If not, it is not charged or not capable of holding a proper charge. Record the reading.

3. Connect the fully charged battery to the car (everything turned OFF, doors closed, remove hood light if illuminated. ). Check the voltage. If it is dropping rapidly, you have a short.

4. Start the car. Test the voltage with the car running. If you have any less than 14 volts reading, this is a charging system problem.

My best guess:

Your car is not charging at all. I know you replaced the Alternator. Alternators use a voltage regulator to control the magnetic field of the alternator. If the system voltage is low, it ups the current to the magnetic field thus increasing the output of the alternator. If there is an over-voltage, it lowers the current to the magnetic field thus lowering the output The role of a voltage regulator is to maintain a system voltage of approx 14.4 volts DC.

Here is the catch. I can't see any service info on the hmaservice.com website so I do not know the answer to this. Any help? In some cars, the VR is built in to the alternator. In other cars, it is a separate unit. If on this car it is a separate unit, and a malfunctioning one at that, it could easily be the culprit of all of your problems.

It is also possible the alternator you installed is defective. Unlikely perhaps, but certainly not unheard of. If you still have your old alternator, get it tested. (often free at parts stores in my area) If it is still good, keep it as a spare and find the problem. (ask your parts store for a quote on a new voltage regulator. They will give you a part number or tell you it is built into the Alt. but don't always trust them. )

It is possible that your car has a short, but in this instance I find it rather unlikely. It was sitting for a long time, correct? Why? I know the people you got the car from are trusted by you. However, it might have been sitting because of this very problem which they might have thought to be a "dead battery". Rodents often make homes in abandoned cars and chew on wires. This could explain a short. Don't worry too much. If you do have a short, more than likely your FULLY CHARGED battery would not stay charged overnight with a short or you would likely have fuse-able links or fuses burning out. Even worse, a bad short would let the smoke out of your wires. (AKA burning up wires) If this is the case, I can help you out in a more detailed manner on request.

Hope this helps.

Best regards to you. Hyundais are awesome and cheep to work on and fuel up. Keep her full of fresh oil and keep that timing belt fresh, and you will have a cheep car that will only need a cheep fix once in a while.

 

[jocap1]

QUOTE (scottwithakay @ Oct 1 2010, 02:28 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=360032

Electrical problem is correct. Computer issue? Doubt it. Don't replace any more parts without reading my post.

I am an expert in electrical issues such as this. Your car uses electrical energy to fire the spark plugs. I've never had this problem with my 1.5L 01 accent but several things are easily explained.

1. Your car starts running like **** because there is not sufficient electrical energy to run the computer, fire the plugs, and run the cooling fan or any other electrical accessories such as lights.

2. Your car is overheating because, as I just mentioned, there is not enough power to run the cooling fan, thus removing excessive heat from the engine.

3. The gages were probably not working due to low voltage. (What did your gas gage say?)

4. It took 15 minutes or so to jump start your car because your battery was dead (6-8 volts, I'm guessing) and needed to charge up to at least 11 volts just to turn over the engine.

Does your car have AC? Mine does not but many cars will turn on the AC when the defroster is on automatically as it also removes moisture from the air. Just asking because it was raining heavily and if you were using defrost and the AC was kickin, you would have been burning lots of amps. Even if your heater was on full blast with no AC, there goes something like 10 amps right there. Your wipers were also on, no doubt. How were they preforming?

Recommendation:

1. Get access to a volt meter. You can often find them for less than $20. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just needs to read up to 15 volts DC (make sure DC)

2. fully charge the battery, leave it disconnected to anything, and wait for at least 30 minutes for the surface charge to wear off. It should read 12.2 to 12.4 volts. If not, it is not charged or not capable of holding a proper charge. Record the reading.

3. Connect the fully charged battery to the car (everything turned OFF, doors closed, remove hood light if illuminated. ). Check the voltage. If it is dropping rapidly, you have a short.

4. Start the car. Test the voltage with the car running. If you have any less than 14 volts reading, this is a charging system problem.

My best guess:

Your car is not charging at all. I know you replaced the Alternator. Alternators use a voltage regulator to control the magnetic field of the alternator. If the system voltage is low, it ups the current to the magnetic field thus increasing the output of the alternator. If there is an over-voltage, it lowers the current to the magnetic field thus lowering the output The role of a voltage regulator is to maintain a system voltage of approx 14.4 volts DC.

Here is the catch. I can't see any service info on the hmaservice.com website so I do not know the answer to this. Any help? In some cars, the VR is built in to the alternator. In other cars, it is a separate unit. If on this car it is a separate unit, and a malfunctioning one at that, it could easily be the culprit of all of your problems.

It is also possible the alternator you installed is defective. Unlikely perhaps, but certainly not unheard of. If you still have your old alternator, get it tested. (often free at parts stores in my area) If it is still good, keep it as a spare and find the problem. (ask your parts store for a quote on a new voltage regulator. They will give you a part number or tell you it is built into the Alt. but don't always trust them. )

It is possible that your car has a short, but in this instance I find it rather unlikely. It was sitting for a long time, correct? Why? I know the people you got the car from are trusted by you. However, it might have been sitting because of this very problem which they might have thought to be a "dead battery". Rodents often make homes in abandoned cars and chew on wires. This could explain a short. Don't worry too much. If you do have a short, more than likely your FULLY CHARGED battery would not stay charged overnight with a short or you would likely have fuse-able links or fuses burning out. Even worse, a bad short would let the smoke out of your wires. (AKA burning up wires) If this is the case, I can help you out in a more detailed manner on request.

Hope this helps.

Best regards to you. Hyundais are awesome and cheep to work on and fuel up. Keep her full of fresh oil and keep that timing belt fresh, and you will have a cheep car that will only need a cheep fix once in a while.

Thanks for the feedback Scott. I have been around engines for a lot of years and not completely in the dark. The VR you are speaking of was exactly the unit within or outside the the alternator I first thought. Based on looking at the old alternator, the VR is located inside the alternator. Which made me feel better when buying this alternator do to my lack of ability to fully troubleshoot this car before the purchase ( rainstorm and not having all my equipment with me). Everything pointed to the alternator.

I do have a few high quality multimeters at hand will start troubleshooting this more thoroughly later today. Unfortunately, it's still raining badly as I speak and it can continue throughout the day. The other bad thing is, I don't have access to another vehichle to return parts, buy new parts, ect. it will take some major organizing to do this. (Oh did I mention, I am newly relocated to this area and don't many people close by. just my luck...ha)

I know longer have the old alternator as it was returned as a core. My experience also at the hmaservice. Their info was not through in the area of engine electrical. I have no idea if they are somehow using something in the circuit along with an alternator that might affect the charge cycle. Otherwise to me, I still go back to the alternator being the problem. It would have to be one heck of a short to overcome the output of the alternator. Also based on the first day i purchased and ran this car then let it sit over night and it started and ran well for about 8 miles, leads me to say it's not a short or at least a short while the car is in the off position.

This car sat because the person who used to own and drive it became sick and no longer are able to drive. I know the people and there is nothing underhanded with them selling car.

I was hoping that the 2001 Accent had a history of behaving this way under certain conditions/failed sensor or part ect.

Do you know how to go about retrieving the fault codes o this car?


Well, I replied back here after waking up in the middle of the night, I hope I covered most of what you asked. if not i will go over your reply again when I wake up in a few hours.

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[jocap1]

Just to update.

My problem is solved. Along with the alternator going bad, the 100 amp Fusible link/Fuse ( located in the fuse box in the engine compartment)was also bad. No doubt from an internal short of the alternator. I was finally able to find a wiring digram from through a hyperlink listed here to the 'MyHyundaiForums".

Many thanks for the info this site shares. It's helped me alot!

 

[scottwithakay]

Thanks for the update. Hope I was able to help but nonetheless glad you have found the problem. Enjoy your new, problem-free ride! :whistling: :whistling:

 

[memorymaker]

QUOTE (jocap1 @ Oct 2 2010, 02:07 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=360430

Just to update.

My problem is solved. Along with the alternator going bad, the 100 amp Fusible link/Fuse ( located in the fuse box in the engine compartment)was also bad. No doubt from an internal short of the alternator. I was finally able to find a wiring digram from through a hyperlink listed here to the 'MyHyundaiForums".

Many thanks for the info this site shares. It's helped me alot!

I am having this exact same problem, but my car knowledge very small. I have had my car in two diff shops and they both said my alternator was good. Could it be the voltage regulator that is attached to the alternator? I also removed the alternator and had it tested at the local parts store and was told it was fine. How do you check the 100Amp fuse I can see it but dont know how to remove it or what to look for to see if it has gone bad.

Thank you!

 

[Oklahomie]

I would like to thank every1 for there replies and especially jocap1!!!!! My 2000 Hyundai accent did the exact same things as he wrote in the very 1rst reply on here and my 100 amp alternate fuse was burnt out too! The nerest part store out here in Canton Ok is 30 minutes away so finding rides back in forth is hard... but wished i would of found this thread sooner bcus it was just a 5 dollar part and i went through 2 batteries and 1 alternator... i probably only need the alternator in amp fuse ....

 

[DClark]

I would like to thank every1 for there replies and especially jocap1!!!!! My 2000 Hyundai accent did the exact same things as he wrote in the very 1rst reply on here and my 100 amp alternate fuse was burnt out too! The nerest part store out here in Canton Ok is 30 minutes away so finding rides back in forth is hard... but wished i would of found this thread sooner bcus it was just a 5 dollar part and i went through 2 batteries and 1 alternator... i probably only need the alternator in amp fuse ....

If it's any consolation, the fuse blew for a reason so your alternator was probably going bad and needed to be replaced.