Battery is dead after pulley install?!?

Stang_Crazy · 02-03-2002, 03:32 PM

I finally got the chance to get my pulleys on the stang. I only changed the water pump pulley and the crank pulley. I DID NOT change the alternator pulley. Now, when I start the car, the battery gauge shows the volts in the red and shortly after, the battery dies. Even when I give it gas, it seems like the battery doesn't charge up. I just bought the battery last september so it should still be fine.

I was planning on buying a 140 amp alternator and then putting the aftermarket pulley on it. If I do this, will I still have charging problems??

Unit 5302 · 02-03-2002, 05:24 PM

Sounds like your alternator took a dump. The crank pulley alone will affect the alternator, but once the engine revs a little, it should still be charging full bore.

Coupe5oh · 02-03-2002, 05:48 PM

Yea, that sux, your alternator coincedently went out during that time i guess, I have a crank pulley (street) and steeda waterpump pulley, no alternator underdrive pulley, and just saw a little voltage loss, but it clears up when i give it gas, my battery is old too, knock on wood....

DZEE'S LX · 02-04-2002, 12:44 AM

I have all three pulleys (March).
It will not charge at idle but immediately comes up to normal as soon as it hits about 900 rpm.
As long as you are not spending alot of time at idle with a high accessory draw, your battery should not go "dead".
I don't think it is your pulleys. The slower speed of the crank pulley could have caused another problem to inadvertantly show up.
Check your alternator, or have the Autozone guys do it for you if you don't have the means.

Stang_Crazy · 02-04-2002, 03:46 PM

Thanks for the help guys. I thought that once I drove it, the volts would go back up but they never did. Guess it's time for a new 140 amp alternator! YEA!

joe4speed · 02-04-2002, 04:25 PM

I had to replace my alt to a 130 one as well when I got pulleys!

Stang_Crazy · 02-04-2002, 04:38 PM

JL1314:

How does the new alternator work?? I mean, if I wanted to replace the sound system down the road sometime, will I have any charging problems?

joe4speed · 02-04-2002, 11:24 PM

Instead of 80 amps it pushes 130 amps, so it can keep the charge on the battery alot faster! The stock one can hardly keep up without the pulleys on!

93GTDIN · 02-05-2002, 01:09 AM

I'm no expert, but I experienced the exact same problem you are having, and if your car is anything like mine, the 140 amp alternator wont fix anything. After I installed my pulleys, one day later the battery was constantly dying on me. So I express ordered a 130 amp alternator. Made the switch, and the problem did not even close to go away. A quick way to check is hook up a voltmeter to your battery. It should read aroudn 14 volts when the car is off and around 12 when the car is on at idle. If you are making 10 or even 11 your battery is not charging properly.

Upon closer analysis, I noticed that the small crankshaft pulley makes your belt spin incredibly slowly, and regardless of how great your alternator is, it just can't spin that alternator fast enough to create the juice needed to power your accessories, and charge your battery, 80 amps, 130, or whatever else.

Another major drawback is your water pump. When using underdrives, your water pump (from my experience) does not turn fast enough to cool off your motor. Sitting in traffic with the AC blasting, I noticed my temperaturue rise slowly, way higher than I'd like it too. After a couple of weeks i was fed up with underdrives, and I figured i'd try and get my 15 horsepower somewhere else.

I trashed the pulleys and bought a blower, which seems to be a little more efficient at the horsepower creating game.

Just my 2 cents.

dino

Unit 5302 · 02-05-2002, 02:02 AM

At idle your battery should be reading no less than 13.5 volts if you want to consider the alternator borderline, even. With the car off, and the surface charge removed a fully charged battery should register around 12.6 volts. A proper charging alternator will charge at about 14.4 volts.

The G3 alternator has a larger pulley than the stock alternator, which creates a sort of underdrive effect right there. The 1993 Cobra had an underdrive crank pulley from the factory, and it charged just fine. It could be a wiring problem, but more than likely, just a crappy regulator or alternator. The 130amp well more than doubles output at idle.

Mustang_289 · 02-05-2002, 05:19 PM

We installed MAC underdrive pullies - our stock 80amp alt was crap prior to pullies. Installed a Flex-a-lite Black Magic electric fan, MAC pullies, and PA-PERFORMANCE 3G 130amp alt(used their pully as it's larger than stock). Everything is working fine with plenty of juice when fan, lights and other accessories on.

Stang_Crazy · 02-05-2002, 11:45 PM

My PA-PERFORMANCE alternator is on it's way (ordered monday). Now, will the pulleys supplied on it suffice?? Or should I swap it for the ASP pulley I have?

joe4speed · 02-06-2002, 03:37 AM

I would probably leave the pulley on! You should be fine! Check it out, experiment, you might prefer the ASP pulley!

Mustang_289 · 02-06-2002, 07:27 AM

I talked to Rick at PA-PERFORMANCE and he recommended leaving his pulley on as it was about the same size as my MAC pulley. He said you gain very little, if any, hp from the alt pulley - most of the hp gains come from the crank and water pump pullies. He also mentioned that if you take his pulley off and put another on - it'll void the life-time warranty on the alt.

Install on the PA-PERFORMANCE alt was pretty easy, you may have to do a little filing on the alt bracket - as the housing on the 3G 130-amp alts are a little bigger. Are you planning on upgrading to 4g wire on the output side?

Stang_Crazy · 02-06-2002, 02:03 PM

Yea, I ordered some new wire with the alternator. I don't plan on really driving until april (damn winter), so if I run into anything else I need, I'll just order it up!

Mustang_289 · 02-07-2002, 07:33 AM

You shouldn't need anything else - take you time with the the connectors and solder the connections before putting new connectors on.

Stang_Crazy · 02-07-2002, 09:39 PM

Will do! Thanks for all the help!

02-03-2002, 03:32 PM	#1
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	Battery is dead after pulley install?!? I finally got the chance to get my pulleys on the stang. I only changed the water pump pulley and the crank pulley. I DID NOT change the alternator pulley. Now, when I start the car, the battery gauge shows the volts in the red and shortly after, the battery dies. Even when I give it gas, it seems like the battery doesn't charge up. I just bought the battery last september so it should still be fine. I was planning on buying a 140 amp alternator and then putting the aftermarket pulley on it. If I do this, will I still have charging problems?? __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

02-03-2002, 05:48 PM	#3
Coupe5oh Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: SanAntonio, Tx Posts: 734	Yea, that sux, your alternator coincedently went out during that time i guess, I have a crank pulley (street) and steeda waterpump pulley, no alternator underdrive pulley, and just saw a little voltage loss, but it clears up when i give it gas, my battery is old too, knock on wood.... __________________ Police package 5spd 90 Lx, Stock original motor, 3.27grs, BM fan, fms 10.5 clutch, D&D quadrant, and adjuster, ADS chip, 180 stat, mac cai, mac h-pipe, mac subframe connectors, ASP crank pulley, ripper shifter, 26x10.5 M/T sport pros welds. 246 hp according to analyzer Race weight: 3,120 E.t-13.57 with 26x10.50's e.t. streets. 1.88 60' mph- 99.92 mph

02-04-2002, 12:44 AM	#4
DZEE'S LX Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Salt Lake City Posts: 117	I have all three pulleys (March). It will not charge at idle but immediately comes up to normal as soon as it hits about 900 rpm. As long as you are not spending alot of time at idle with a high accessory draw, your battery should not go "dead". I don't think it is your pulleys. The slower speed of the crank pulley could have caused another problem to inadvertantly show up. Check your alternator, or have the Autozone guys do it for you if you don't have the means. __________________ Spec Service (UHP), BFG G-Force KDW's, Turbo Coupe 3.55 rear w/disks, 73mm calipers, Stg 1 Twisted Wedges, TFS Street Intake, 70mm TB, E cam, Crane 1.7's, Aeromotive FPR, BBK 1 5/8 shorties, elec fan, FMS Al Radiator, Moroso Wires, Kenne Bell Ramair, March pulleys, Race Magnums, 190 lph Walbro, FMS Al Dshaft, D/S loop, MM 4point rollbar, FMS C spngs, strut tower brace, Tokico Illuminas, Prothane bushings, MM Lwr Conrol Arms, KB welded subs, Cervini Mach 1 hood/valence/side skirts/wing/airdam.

02-04-2002, 03:46 PM	#5
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	Thanks for the help guys. I thought that once I drove it, the volts would go back up but they never did. Guess it's time for a new 140 amp alternator! YEA! __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

02-04-2002, 04:25 PM	#6
joe4speed He said Member...heh, heh Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Jupiter, Florida U.S.A. Posts: 3,718	I had to replace my alt to a 130 one as well when I got pulleys! __________________ *Joe!* 1988 GT, 13.58@101mph Check out my listing! Click here! Or my website:www.joe4speed.com

02-03-2002, 05:24 PM	#2
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	Sounds like your alternator took a dump. The crank pulley alone will affect the alternator, but once the engine revs a little, it should still be charging full bore.

02-04-2002, 04:38 PM	#7
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	JL1314: How does the new alternator work?? I mean, if I wanted to replace the sound system down the road sometime, will I have any charging problems? __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

02-04-2002, 11:24 PM	#8
joe4speed He said Member...heh, heh Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Jupiter, Florida U.S.A. Posts: 3,718	Instead of 80 amps it pushes 130 amps, so it can keep the charge on the battery alot faster! The stock one can hardly keep up without the pulleys on! __________________ *Joe!* 1988 GT, 13.58@101mph Check out my listing! Click here! Or my website:www.joe4speed.com

02-05-2002, 01:09 AM	#9
93GTDIN Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Live music capital of the world, TX Posts: 324	I'm no expert, but I experienced the exact same problem you are having, and if your car is anything like mine, the 140 amp alternator wont fix anything. After I installed my pulleys, one day later the battery was constantly dying on me. So I express ordered a 130 amp alternator. Made the switch, and the problem did not even close to go away. A quick way to check is hook up a voltmeter to your battery. It should read aroudn 14 volts when the car is off and around 12 when the car is on at idle. If you are making 10 or even 11 your battery is not charging properly. Upon closer analysis, I noticed that the small crankshaft pulley makes your belt spin incredibly slowly, and regardless of how great your alternator is, it just can't spin that alternator fast enough to create the juice needed to power your accessories, and charge your battery, 80 amps, 130, or whatever else. Another major drawback is your water pump. When using underdrives, your water pump (from my experience) does not turn fast enough to cool off your motor. Sitting in traffic with the AC blasting, I noticed my temperaturue rise slowly, way higher than I'd like it too. After a couple of weeks i was fed up with underdrives, and I figured i'd try and get my 15 horsepower somewhere else. I trashed the pulleys and bought a blower, which seems to be a little more efficient at the horsepower creating game. Just my 2 cents. dino __________________ 96 Cobra - a bit too stock. 14.0 @ 101

02-05-2002, 02:02 AM	#10
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	At idle your battery should be reading no less than 13.5 volts if you want to consider the alternator borderline, even. With the car off, and the surface charge removed a fully charged battery should register around 12.6 volts. A proper charging alternator will charge at about 14.4 volts. The G3 alternator has a larger pulley than the stock alternator, which creates a sort of underdrive effect right there. The 1993 Cobra had an underdrive crank pulley from the factory, and it charged just fine. It could be a wiring problem, but more than likely, just a crappy regulator or alternator. The 130amp well more than doubles output at idle.

02-05-2002, 05:19 PM	#11
Mustang_289 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 512	We installed MAC underdrive pullies - our stock 80amp alt was crap prior to pullies. Installed a Flex-a-lite Black Magic electric fan, MAC pullies, and PA-PERFORMANCE 3G 130amp alt(used their pully as it's larger than stock). Everything is working fine with plenty of juice when fan, lights and other accessories on.

02-05-2002, 11:45 PM	#12
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	My PA-PERFORMANCE alternator is on it's way (ordered monday). Now, will the pulleys supplied on it suffice?? Or should I swap it for the ASP pulley I have? __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

02-06-2002, 03:37 AM	#13
joe4speed He said Member...heh, heh Join Date: Sep 1999 Location: Jupiter, Florida U.S.A. Posts: 3,718	I would probably leave the pulley on! You should be fine! Check it out, experiment, you might prefer the ASP pulley! __________________ *Joe!* 1988 GT, 13.58@101mph Check out my listing! Click here! Or my website:www.joe4speed.com

02-06-2002, 07:27 AM	#14
Mustang_289 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 512	I talked to Rick at PA-PERFORMANCE and he recommended leaving his pulley on as it was about the same size as my MAC pulley. He said you gain very little, if any, hp from the alt pulley - most of the hp gains come from the crank and water pump pullies. He also mentioned that if you take his pulley off and put another on - it'll void the life-time warranty on the alt. Install on the PA-PERFORMANCE alt was pretty easy, you may have to do a little filing on the alt bracket - as the housing on the 3G 130-amp alts are a little bigger. Are you planning on upgrading to 4g wire on the output side?

02-06-2002, 02:03 PM	#15
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	Yea, I ordered some new wire with the alternator. I don't plan on really driving until april (damn winter), so if I run into anything else I need, I'll just order it up! __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

02-07-2002, 07:33 AM	#16
Mustang_289 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2001 Posts: 512	You shouldn't need anything else - take you time with the the connectors and solder the connections before putting new connectors on.

02-07-2002, 09:39 PM	#17
Stang_Crazy It's never clean enough! Join Date: Jan 1999 Location: Shaler, PA Posts: 1,542	Will do! Thanks for all the help! __________________ ~Dan 2001 SVT Lightning 89' GT : Taking up garage space and waiting for a buyer... Rice Hater's Club - Member #11

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Help with blower pulley install	7up	Windsor Power	2	07-06-2002 11:45 AM
help, my battery keeeps going dead	mustangLX92	Windsor Power	13	09-10-2001 03:45 PM
Battery Disconnect Install Question?	Sparkplug	Windsor Power	7	07-29-2001 12:29 AM
Pulley install is a ***$$$####@@!	bark3rd	Modular Madness	6	05-25-2001 04:52 PM
Starter refused to dissengage, battery dead.	Radon	Windsor Power	15	02-12-2001 03:52 AM