QuestionI replaced the starter and now the battery light comes on after a few minutes and the car drives but starts losing power, the dash flickers, the radio goes out, the tranny doesn't shift, then the car dies. It will start the next day though. I took it to autozone and they said alternator is fine but the computer says "alternator wire". I'm wondering if I didn't wire everything correctly. I put the pos wire on the left side of the starter, plugged in the clip, and then I had a ground wire that I attached with a bolt on the top of the starter. Does that sound correct to you? Any information would be much appreciated. Thanks Akil
AnswerHI Akil,
I don't believe that the ground wire is supposed to be attached to a bolt that holds the starter to the engine, but it is still a reasonable ground. I can't be certain which ground wire you are describing, can you identify where it comes from or how you happened to "have" it when you were mounting the starter. The starter is grounded by the fact that it is bolted to the engine. Was that wire something you took off the starter, or did you find it hanging loose, and is it colored black? I believe there is a ground wire on a bolt of the transmission that comes from the battery, so if that is what you have then your spot on the starter bolt would be a good common ground location. The other ground points are supposed to be on the left strut tower and another one nearby that is in front an slightly below the master brake cylinder.
As regards the charging light and everything running down, that is a separate issue:
If the 'alternator wire' is the fault code, I would check the dark green wire at the alternator to make sure it is connected to pin 19 of the engine computer plug, and also that the alternator black/tan wire (also a ground wire for the alternator) is connected (but it changes to a black only color at its other end) is connected at that same ground point near the brake master. If the dark green wire or the black/tan wire was somehow loose/flaky, that would cause the alternator to not put out any current. So verify those with a meter, and examine the wires for any sign of damage, and shake them while the engine is running to see if you can cause the charge light to come on again. If it does then you have a bad connection/wire.
Roland
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