Alternator relay

don't blame your hubby...had the dedication and courage to have a whack at it~

Haha thanks! I won't kill him this time. Lifetime warranty on the battery, alternator and starter. Is there any easier way to get around that serpentine belt? Can't get a hand in there

okay...surprisingly these are easy...1/2 wrench on the tensioner...release the tension...fish the new one back in the same spot...the tricky part is the bearing which wears out rapidly and the spring can go weak as it's always at play, as we do not cinch it down, but rely on this spring for full-time duty...so ya, belt ain't that much money...but if you're starting to look at this vehicle as an at least 5 year commitment might think about a new tensioner and bearing and spring~ ...and the new serpentine belt too~ you'll find that to be a grade 1 on a 1-10 level of difficulty~

take a pulley off, it it gets in the way...wish I was there to help with that~

it's a "serpentine" meaning Snake like...certainly your snake can shimmy around the obstructions...make it flat to get thru...that thing is deliberately flexible~

Ok thats exactly how I read it. Problem is I can't see nor feel where to put the ratchet to release the tension. I looked down in and I read sometimes ppl take the mount off with the engine jacked up but I wasn't that ambitious of a d.i.y-er

okay, looking at this video it's a little tricker than I originally thought..a Floorjack and hose pliers...oooo hate that when I'm wrong about stuff~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bYYa65xJSwg

That video was VERY helpful...I may just try it if we have acess to a floorjack

Ok so I rented a tensioner release tool and was able to replace the alternator. I replaced the battery again just bc. So new battery, new alternator, and new starter. She cranked right up after this last alternator replacement. No flickering dash lights, the power surges. The next crank, battery began to drain. Now my brand new battery is completely dead. Wont even jeep on internal lights or allow me to roll up my power window...I think it's lake time...I have no clue what's wrong with it now and my mechanic is on 2 week vacation

poop. normally the voltage regulators are put inside the Alternator...the "six" alternator diodes which will BLOW if the car is reverse-jumped~...yes a defective alternator is a possibility...remember back in the day would always find "sunshine" brand alternators to be defective...so what I'm suggesting is that you TEST the output ....and take it back to NAPA (hopefully a store to which will test their own goods)~ you see back in the old days the regulator was a separate dealie and that would fail...with modern "one wire" alternators this is just down to the one wire...of course the GROUND connection...if not well attached might cause the alternator to start cookin'~ ...check the ground cable to the block (in the salt-belt) these things go unreliable...undo the bolt and clean all the green stuff off with a wirebrush (if you can TEST) the ground connections to the alternator~

ok....CHARGE your battery back up with a charger...AAA can help you with recharging the battery...or if it's available get yourself a battery charger~ ...the thing that concerns me is perhaps someone "reverse-jumped" when they tried to help you...and basically killed your alternator~ this is but a tragic guess~ what a pain in the gazooka~

We're recharged the battery already. Even tried to jump it after recharging. Would even acknowledge power on the jump. Should I just take everything off and replace it all at once? The starter, alternator, and battery?

Also the battery slowly drained to a complete dud. It wouldn't crank at 1st but it would power interior lights, power windows/locks

And we did think to check the ground wire, all is well there

wow...this keeps gettin' more and more mysterious~ apparently there is a "parasitic" drain on the system...this means like you left your lights on...or the stereo continues to put out the sound even when switched off~...there is a procedure for finding this "parasitic drain" but it ain't pretty...usually comes down to the glovebox light left on...but DRAINS a brand-new battery DEAD....with nothing switched on is a bit of a mystery~ finding the drain is not pretty~ http://www.wikihow.com/Find-a-Parasitic- Battery-Drain

with a fully charged battery, there should be no need for a risky "jumpstart"....my father (in the battery business) had to testify at more then one battery explosion...they are dangerous~ ok, if the battery is charged and suddenly drains down....you will need to investigate why~ look for the parasitic drain...should be something simple like a trunk-light on...you'll find it~!

reverse-jump is a baddy...hopes you did not accidentally do that~

ok

"Sad face"

No def no reverse jump

it will be okay...you'll find out WHY it's draining to dead...then we will be okay~ that guy "eric the car guy" says just keep pulling the fuses until you find the drain~ ooo no fun at all...regardez~ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KF1gijj03_0

serpentine belt is 3/8" ratchet (no socket) slightly behind the tension pulley on the metal arm. It is easy to see from under the car if you remove the covers (you may want to use a cheater bar as the bolt for the motor is in the way and will rake across your knuckles). As for the battery explosion stuff we were always told hydrogen build up around the battery can cause that.

David obviously didn't read the whole thread..thanks for ur input tho. Bob, I'm taking a break from the Malibu. Hubby doesn't wanna help me look for the parasitic draw..I ended up buying a new car *insert sad face*..I'm so frustrated with the Mali...I think I'm just gonna tow her to the mechanic *insert super sad face* sadly I think she defeated me...just so disappointed she's turning into the old forgotten hot rod project inside of every 80's sitcom teenaged boy's garage

Chances are your alternator and battery lines on the starter are not on the 'B' terminal. Check that it will cause a battery to die and not charge from the alternator. You will have 3 terminals two big ones with 13mm nuts and lock washers behind that one of them has a very short cable that goes to the solenoid assembly this is the only thing that should be on that terminal. The other big terminal on that thing is the 'B' terminal both the alternator + and bat+ lines go to this terminal. The small one which is an 8mm is for the small line that goes to the key/button ignition. I just found this problem on a car battery would die because the alternator was feeding back into the field side of the alternator. Note in this set up the car would start.... and run.... the alternator would show as bad when tested (in car). I assume an alternator uses some sort of bridge rectifier circuit which is 4 diodes. If you have a DMM set it to AC and check that output it should read 0V or very close probably mV if anything.

I'm going through this issue now. Aparently I had the terminals confused and it cause the solenoid to melt on the alternator. I verified my battery was good and reinstalled a good starter only to find that I needed my car to be towed agian because the battery died. I have a feeling its the Alternator and or the charging system. I'm probably going to charge the battery up and head to Autozone to make them test it for me and hope for the best...

I have a 08 chevy malibu classic lt I have replaced the starter battery and altinator. Now the battery on the car is not charging the motor is drawing stright from the battery this is the second altinator i have bought and still is not charging so i had the altinator tested and it tested good. is there any fuse or anything that i do to fix this.

I have to same issues with my 2006 Malibu Maxx LT.

People with the above issues need to replace the ignition switch. The above happened to my 2005 Classic with 332,000 miles, twice. Both times the ignition switch was the issue. Not cylinder key but the big box it fits into! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BqLyq2xfT_4