[michaelvibe]

Hey guys,

I have a 2003 Hyundai Sonata base with a 2.4L I4 engine. I recently had some electrical problems which lead to replacing the alternator. We had the alternator tested and they agreed that it was fried.

We installed the new alternator and the car (after charging back up the battery) started just fine.

The car ran fine for the first day, but now is displaying the check battery light once more. We tested the battery and it shows that it is holding at 100% charge (and it should as it is less than a month old.) We also detached the battery after starting the car to make sure that the new alternator was working properly, and it seems to be.

The speedometer has stopped displaying the correct speed. It will go up to about 25 MPH then stop until I turn on the AC, then it will jump up to the correct speed and run properly for a while after that. Eventually it stops working again. I have also noticed that when I turn the AC unit on the battery light goes away momentarily then eventually lights back up.

I assume it has something to do with the belts, but it looks like the replaced those correctly. I also thought that it might have something to do with the cables we reattached but all of those seem to be attached correctly as well.

What else could be the problem?

Thanks in advance!

 

[michaelvibe]

They replaced the alternator again because it was faulty but it battery light is still not going off.

Anyone have a clue what might be going on?

 

[jsinton]

Bad battery cable connects at the body, etc. Really common problem on older Hyundais after they've been on the road for a while. The fix is to physically remove ALL the cable ends, clean the connections and reinstall. Works like magic

 

[michaelvibe]

QUOTE (jsinton @ Aug 6 2010, 08:57 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347713

Bad battery cable connects at the body, etc. Really common problem on older Hyundais after they've been on the road for a while. The fix is to physically remove ALL the cable ends, clean the connections and reinstall. Works like magic

Thanks,

Turns out that both new alternators that I have purchased have been bad. They have only been putting out about 3 volts, tested at the parts store. Is there anything in my car that might be killing these alternators, or do I just have really bad luck?

 

[michaelvibe]

QUOTE (michaelvibe @ Aug 7 2010, 11:01 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=347798

Thanks,

Turns out that both new alternators that I have purchased have been bad. They have only been putting out about 3 volts, tested at the parts store. Is there anything in my car that might be killing these alternators, or do I just have really bad luck?

Well I finally got an alternator that works but now the check engine light has come on. I double checked all of the cables. Any suggestions?

 

[mikecorky]

I have a similar problem. I have a 2002 Sonata 2.4l base. The car sat for awhile while I was waiting for parts for an unrelated problem. When I started the car my the alternator was frozen, would barely turn. I got a rebuilt alt online and installed. Now I have a alt light on constantly. Didn't have it before. With the battery charged it looked like the alt was only putting out about 12vdc and it dropped as the car ran. I took the alt out and had it checked at Autozone. They say it checked out fine. Alt was putting out 14 to 15 vdc. I put it back in, checked the grounds, fuses, belts and still not charging. Could the alt be good, but the Voltage regulator be bad? I'm not sure if the regulator is checked when they run it at Autozone. The alt is definitely not putting out anything. The output is whatever the battery is at and goes down as the motor runs. Does anyone know if there is a fuseable link or another fuse I might be missing? Do you think the regulator is bad and not telling the alt to put out? I'd go out and by a new alt if I knew that was the problem, but I don't want to spend $200 on a chance. Any help would be appreciated.