I Desperately Need Help Diagnosing My Problem, Please Help

Sounds like a case for the scrap yard. Those electric faults are hard to find.

Your best bet is another car and also another model of a car!

Have fun!

Sounds like the belt may be slipping....check the tension, set to spec

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ObMow_1LpSk

...or you have a bad connection on the battery cables....Do you have a multimeter tester? You need one...you can test the connections easily with a meter....in any case a thorough cleaning and possibly a replacement is in order....clean the connections at all location pos and neg including the wire to battery connection fittings.....

Did the new battery help?

No power anywhere? Headlights? Radio? Heater fan.

With everything turned off, can you hear the fuel pump humming when you turn the key to ON, not start?

Don't spend any more money until you have an idea what it is.

Can you get access to a code reader?

Starter solenoid, get someone to thump it and try to start.

These relays often wear and jam

Trade it for a 96 Toyota Tercel. That would be a huge step in the right direction.

A friend of mine bought one on recomendation from this forum years ago and it's never seen a shop since purchase. If the brakes need replacement you need to carve about 10 minutes out of your day and $20 out of you wallet to do the job. (C-clamp not included)

Sorry to hear about your car problems. It brings back memories. I hope somebody can provide you with the clue you're looking for.

I am prescient! I knew just from the title that it was a problem with a Chevy Cavalier!

If you are going for a degree in mechanical engineering, this has a certain irony to it.

1. Was the alternator tested 6 months ago and you are assuming it is good, or did you have it tested as a result of these immediate issues?
2. Did you buy a NEW battery?
3. I don't think it is the starter.
4. It is very, very time-consuming and difficult to visually check everything conclusively.
5. Unlikely to be the serpentine belt.
6. How did you check the relays and fuses? Visually?

Do you have a multimeter that you can use to check continuity, ground leakage, output voltage of the alternator to the battery, etc.?

Does UTI stand for Universal Technical Institute? If so, your car could be a great class project. Ask your classmates for help, and maybe you all can get some hands-on learning here.

Good luck!

I am prescient! I knew just from the title that it was a problem with a Chevy Cavalier!
....and about 20,000 others here!!!

Unfortunately you wasted your money on both a Chevy Cavalier and UTI. Stop wasting your money on both the car and UTI and start taking courses your qualified for, maybe a bean counter or something. If you don't have the nack for TS you won't survive in the mechanical fields!

GA!!

ESAD would probably be an appropriate response but I won't stoop to your level.

The serpentine belt should not be loose. If it is, it suggests there's something wrong with the tensioner, if it's automatic. Are you sure it is? I would check that out. If it is loose charging will suffer, though I would expect the charge warning light to come on.

Then check voltage when running (assuming you can get it started!) and for loose/poor connections, as others have suggested.

There are two possible solutions to this problem:

1. Have the vehicle towed to the nearest vehicle breakers and leave it there.
2. Take photographs on the vehicle and list it on well-known internet auction sites (names withheld). In a few days' time, someone will show up with some money, exchange it for the vehicle, and take the problem away.

This is all about UTI on the web

UTI is also an acronym for Urinary Tract Infection

LOL!!!

There are a few here with that, but a lot higher in the body, if you get my drift!!!

I have a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier 4 cylinder
And there is the problem.

It seemed that you have a defective rectifier/Chargin IC on you alternator. Have it retested again, if it pass the test, then the wiring from alternator to the battery was having some sort of disconnection or may be wet and grounded.

I've been to your experience before with Isuzu Fuego. The case was you are running the car only with the battery and not charging it.

Yes. Alternators used to use a separate rectifier bank outside the body of the alternator. Modern alternators use a built-in rectifier bank in the alternator. Alternators are 3-phase. If one phase bank of the rectifier opens (usually the result of a spike in the electrical system, but may first short out, then burn open) it will degrade battery charging, but usually not too noticeably unless you run all kinds of extra electronics (as would a HAM operator), since the alternator USUALLY is rated higher than the car needs. If two phases are gone (One after the other, usually. I haven't seen a car lose more than one at an instance., degradation is noticeable particularly with a lot of night-time summer driving (lots of load on a degraded system), but the result then is usually that the car just won't start without a jump. I, and no doubt a lot of others, have replaced a battery thinking it was the cause, only to find out later on, down the road, that it was the rectifier bank in the alternator. Once the third rectifier goes, you are running solely on battery until the battery dies.

This is all because the rectifiers, in operation, provide the DC current needed to charge the battery. Once the open, they only thing provided across the open circuit is AC, with roughly one-third of the METERED voltage (what do you want to bet the Advance Auto Parts test device only checked for total voltage, but didn't look at the difference between DC and AC? I used to do that test at Trak Auto, which in the North-Eastern US was what became Advance Auto, and that is all our fancy test jig looked at. I brought in an Oscilloscope and proved it to my co-workers. We never had a better jig, so we started running multiple tests with both the AC and DC settings on an ANALOG meter to find bad rectifiers. We were a little weird as car parts stores went.) per phase being AC. And AC just floats across the battery, never charging it, and never being "seen" by devices in the car as anything other than noise.

I had a Dodge do it to me on a long trip, almost exactly as you describe it. Figured it out from the loss of power at increased throttle, because the spark was getting colder as the battery ran down, and the fires in the cylinders started to get washed out by the increase gasoline flow over the plugs. A few minutes later, I, too, coasted into a shop. But he had the alternator in stock, I knew the problem, and 15 minutes later I was on my way again.

GA for a really great post. I really liked it, great great great!!

I do believe that the reason you never saw 2 phases missing, is simply due to the way the fields are wired, you cannot lose 2 fields and have the 3rd....I do believe they are wired in Wye without neutral, not Delta....so you must have at least 2 working legs to get anything!

So its either 1 missing, or all!!

The old "Ignition light", which was useful with car dynamos, is really a misnomer on modern alternators. As you can see, it could remain unlit even when there is a failure on the alternator that should switch on and signal a problem.....assuming a field coil break....

Whether that is still true today with all alternators, I cannot say for certain.....it must be over 25 years since I had an alternator failure (1983 Mitsubishi Gallant, Diesel 2.3 Liter, over 400,000 Kms on the engine!!)

But that was ALL meant as info, not as criticism....see here:-

I like a display of battery voltage at all times (but driving a modern Mitsubishi its really not needed, once in 400,000 kms can be tolerated!! My current one has recently gone over the 200,000 Km mark and needed a new "Pumpedüse"!!).

Thanks, Andy. BTW, could you translate "Pumpedüse"? I know I can Google it, but I'd like to see it in your words, contextually (Google doesn't know your context) and I almost as lousy at written German as I am at spoken (I'm assuming from the appearance of the word that it is German).

Also, I can't find a "Pumpedüse" in your schematic. Did you forget to put it in? <G>

Its nothing to do with the alternator, its a special type of diesel injector that is driven by the camshaft. But it is also an example of an expensive repair!! About $1000 when it was all finished.....

"Pump injector" is reasonable.

But I cannot complain, the car has needed minimal repairs in 10 years....mainly brakes, tyres, oil and filter changes!!

SCRAP IT!

I seem to remember (from previous posts) that Cavaliers have problems with the key switch/switch wiring. If the crimp for the supply(s) to the switch were loosing connection, you could experience all the symptoms described.

Sounds like a good "project" for your pals at UTI!

I love the silver lining in your last line.

First thought about an older car, put the battery on a charger overnight. Turn the ignition on, but don't try to start the engine. Look at the "dummy" lights on the dash board. Is the alternator light lit? An open lamp there, or a bad connection in the wiring means there is no 'field' voltage for the alternator.

Second thought, jumping a car improperly can blow the alternator on either car. Re-check the alternator. Go back to what you did to create the problem, besides buying a Cavalier.

At first I thought this thread was going to be a joke.

At first I thought this thread was going to be a joke.
Now you know it is!!!

After reading this, all I can think of is that we're getting trolled.

You need to check the auxiliary power fuse and connection for a loose connection and/or oxidation.

If the wire connections are clean and tight then you need to check all of the master control relays and their connections.

Cavaliers are notorious for electrical issues and most of them originate in the fuse panel wiring and control relays.

You also have an ignition switch mounted at the base of the steering column close to the firewall that may have come loose or is failing or has oxidation issues.

The folks at AutoZone and O'Reilys and NAPA are very helpful sources for insight and troubleshooting problems.

Ask the people in your classes and your professors for their help.

Good luck, you're going to need it.

GA for BraveSirRobin, BruceFlorida and Shockhiscan.

All you need to diagnose your problem is an appreciation of not much more than Ohm's Law - this being Voltage = Current x Resistance, an understanding that the voltage should drop only a little at a time around a current circuit (including the earth return), except where the action is supposed to be taking place, some basic logic (common sense), and persistence. Investing $10 in cheapmulti meter to help you out will make things much easier.

From the symptoms it sounds like you have a "poor connection" or a "shorting/discharge" issue, rather than a "failure to charge" issue - and in an old vehicle "corrosion" will probably be involved, but it could be cracking or damage.

I say this because a new charged (?) battery would not discharge in less than some hours of use (assuming the headlights were not on) - and your report seems to indicate little actual road/running time to the last failure.

This means that either the battery voltage/current that is available is not getting to where it is needed (or it cannot return), or there is some sort of low level short that is discharging the battery "overnight", and which would explain why a (electrical?) jump start would (a) work and (b) allow the vehicle to run a little longer.

As already mentioned by others, power supply problem can be in the form of a bad positive side (supply) connection, or a bad negative side (return) connection - as you probably know all current circuits must be in the form of a loop - and in a motor vehicle it is often the chassis/body that is used for the return connection to the negative of the battery (the normal convention these days). Where the earth lead connects to the vehicle is a point of weakness that is often overlooked.

It is then just a matter of measuring voltages across points (and tugging wires/connections to "bring on" any intermittent type of problem) in order to work out where any voltage goes missing when it should not. The only big voltage drop should be at the lamp, solonoid or whatever the component is, where the action is supposed to be happening. It is usual to start from the battery positive.

LOOK FOR CAPITALS AND WHERE I PROVIDED ANSWERS AMONG YOUR POSTING!

Hey guys! I desperately need help with my car. Im an undergraduate at UTI but i just started so im not smart enough yet to fix my car. I have a 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier 4 cylinder (2.2 liter - i think) 2 door. I HAVE NO START and NO POWER!!! HELP!!! I'll list everything ive done to try and find the fault but im so lost idk what to do now and im missing school and work now that this has happened and im afraid things are going to get worse for me.

This is exactly what happened to me and how things started to go bad. I went to the mall and when i parked the car, i sat there for maybe 30 min with the car on listening to music and out of nowhere the car just shut off. I still had electric but it cut off. It would not turn over as if my battery had died.

So i immediately got a jump, BIG MISTAKE #1!

and it worked. I then went to the gas station and i went inside and came back out and car had shut off AGAIN! so i got another jump. BIG MISTAKE #2

It worked. As im riding down the road going about 55mph the electric thats normally running (radio, dashboard, heat, cigerette outlet, headlights, turn signals, etc.) started dimming down. Also you could hear the car losing "power". Soon enough all electric dims down to nothing. Gas pedal starts performing with less "power" and then, while still driving, car turns off. So then i just coasted untill i came to a stop. Car wouldnt turn over. Also all the attempts i made on trying to start the car inculded cranking, ticking, and absolutely nothing. i tried to jump it and this time it would not jump. thats when i went and tested the parts. all tested fine. bought the new battery. installed it. and it worked! it turned over! 2 days later (christmas day) went to my mom moms. walked outside to go home. BACK TO SQUARE ONE! cars dead. tried to jump it. DID NOT JUMP! AGAIN! got the car towed. its now at my house waiting to be fixed...

Here's the list of things ive done:

1.) Tested Alternator - 6 months old from Autozone, BIG MISTAKE #3. I NEVER DEAL WITH AUTOZONE, THE ELECTRICAL PARTS THEY DISTRIBUTE ARE CRAP!

2.) Passed the test so its good, REALLY! WHAT TEST, IN THE CAR TEST OR ON THEIR TEST STAND, TEST? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE? DID YOU STAND THERE AND WATCH THIS TEST? DID THEY HAVE A SHOP WITH TRAINED MECHANICS OR DID SOME PIMPLE FACED, COMPUTER DEPENDENT, PARTS CHASER, SLAM IT ON A TEST STAND AND SPIN IT?

Here are the facts! An alternator is a very simple device, some electromagnets, a couple bearings, a shaft and a small Diode Trio that shuts off the alternator when you shut off the motor! All this is controlled either by a built in Voltage regulator or the ECM that controls everything. ECMs are in cars from 1996 to present, they have a port called an OBD2 (OBD II) that you plug-in a code reader and the ECM talles you what is wrong with the car. DID AUTOZONE CONNECT TO THIS PORT……NO!! Hmmmm! If the Diode Trio is bad, the car goes dead over a few days and you are stuck! ECMs do not like voltage that it too high or too low, when this happens they go into 'LIMP MODE' so the car gets a loss in power and you make it off the freeway! HELLO, sound familiar!!

NEVER jump start a car with 'JUMPER CABLES', THEY CAN FRY YOUR ECM! Hopefully when you get the Alternator straightened out, you'll be fine. If you are NOT fine, you may have fried your ECM! In which case you will need to replace it! After a rainstorm, you can find donation cars in the wreckers yard!

I have 41 years experience as a mechanic, I operate and emergency road service, part time, and I work as a Garbage Truck Mechanic, full time, because it gives me a tax shelter! I have a HUGE jump start CART. Two D-Type Batteries that belong in a BUS. They are kept fully charged, with my Service Truck! When I do a Jump Start, I disconnect the Cart, roll the cart to the Truck or Car and start the vehicle. If it is too hard to start, I climb under the vehicle and make my connections AT THE STARTER!

I never use a battery charger, I use my Truck, batteries last longer! BATTERY CHARGERS COOK BATTERIES!

I never jumpstart, ANYTHING, using Jumper Cables, This incorrect action can EAT ECMs.

I never buy Electric Components from a Parts Store, I go to a Rebuilder and have them professionally REMANUFACTURED. It ALWAYS costs LESS and comes with DOUBLE THE WARRANTY, TWO YEARS WARRANTY!

Electrical is one part of Automotive Repair that I preach OVER-KILL. The BEST Battery, The BEST Alternator, the BEST Starter. And when the customer can afford it, I ONLY supply NEW PARTS!

GOOD LUCK!

2.) Replaced Battery

3.) Tested Starter - Passed the test so its good

4.) Visually checked grounds and wires and everything "looks" fine

5.) Checked serpatine belt and its a little loose but with the self-tension pulley i figure that tension will just readjust itself

6.) Checked all relays and fuses and everything "looks" fine

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP!!! IF ANYONE CAN PLEASE HELP ME ASAP!

I've never had a Cavalier, but in the past I've had to troubleshoot similar problems on other makes. One of the things that are never really checked is the ground cables (plural). Find each one and unbolt both ends, clean the terminals and contact base, then on any cable that is insulated, peel back a couple of inches of insulation. If the wire inside the insulation is corroded, either replace the cable or clean thoroughly, then apply a good electrical tape before reinstalling. If the cables are bad, all the other tips here won't do a thing. Good luck!

Your problem reminded me of a similar one I had in 1958 with my '54 Chevy.
My battery was discharging only when the ignition was turned on. After checking most everything else just as you did, I decided that there must be a short somewhere.
I eventually found it by turning on the ignition without starting the car, and feeling the wires until i located one that had gotten very hot. I felt my way along it and located a short at a point where the wire ran between two parts that were rubbing and had worn the insulation off the wire.
Friction tape and rerouting the wire fixed the problem.

It sounds like your battery is not charging. I am 71 years old and I have experience with the Chevy cavalier (1999). I would suggest that you might install a new Gates serpentine belt part number k050630. Accept nothing but Gates!! I know from experience that the off shore substitutes tend to slip. The Gates belt is about $21.00 to $22.00 online. Gates uses superior quality rubber. Good luck! Frank Neal. Buffalo, NY

Rectifier bridge in the alternator: sounds like one diode is short circuiting when warm and draining the battery to ground.

Let's start from scratch:

Will your horn blow?

Will your headlights come on?

Will your emergency flashers come on and blink at the normal rate?

Does the horn sound "weak" when you turn the headlights on bright?

If the horn does not blow,you have a very dead battery or a broken connection from the battery;either to the fuse panel,or the positive or negative post on the battery.

If the horn blows,and headlights come on,and emergency flashers work normally, you may have a bad connection to your ignition switch,either the contacts,the start relay,or wiring,or a dirty battery terminal. It is passing enough current to run light loads,but not enough to turnover the starter.

As for losing power on the highway, I would double check all of my battery connections,especially the small one molded into the positive post of the battery. Flex this small wire and look for weakness. Sometimes they corrode internally and you cannot see it. This wire feeds power to the fuse block for almost everything.

If you do not have a digital meter,buy one.The cheap ones at Walmart are ok for this.

Check voltage from the negative cable to the fuse block with the battery connected. It should read the same as the battery voltage.

Buy a small round battery cleaning brush,and clean the inside of the battery cable connectors and the battery posts till they are perfectly clean,with no white residue. Apply a coating of Vaseline to the post after reconnecting the cables. I recommend the felt anti-corrosion washers be placed under each battery terminal. Corrosion of the posts occurs because the battery is not perfectly sealed where the post exits the case.The felt washers absorb and neutralize this minor leakage.

You cannot tell if a connection is good by "looking" at it,you must use a meter to test it. Remember,when you apply jumper cables,you are clamping to the outside of the battery cables,and current does not have to pass from your battery to the vehicle.

Once started,the alternator may pass enough current to keep things going,but not at full capacity,so eventually,the car dies,and more likely when idling because the alternator output is reduced at low RPM.

The terminals may have now corroded to the point when nothing will pass through them.

My first guess would be the battery cables are very corroded.

Good luck.

Check relevant forums before buying another vehicle.

Toyotas and Hondas are some of the most reliable models.

Good luck.

You've gone very quiet. Give us feedback when and if you fix it, will you?

I'm in the auto industry and I can help with your problem.

1. The 2.2L 4 cylinder engine is not a good engine. You should've bought one with the 2.4L Twin Cam 4 cylinder engine. This is the same engine used in the Toyota Cavalier, which was sold in Japan. If you can believe it, the people in Japan bought a Chevy Cavalier with Toyota badges on it! I guess there are some "not to bright" people in Japan, just like here.

2. Your comments tell me the battery is dead again. I hope you didn't buy an expensive battery, because if you can't fix the car, it would be such a waste. I remember reading a post here where the OP bought a set of tires for his Cavalier and he was upset that the car soon died. Many here tried to help him and the best advice was that he shouldn't have bought the tires. Someone even mentioned that he doubled the value of his car when he bought the tires. I thought the comment was wrong and he really tripled the value of his car, though we never found out which tires he bought

3. Does UTI have a bachelor's degree program? I thought it was a tech school, where you get a mechanics certificate? Sorry if I burst your bubble, but I don't think you'll get a BS or BA from UTI and I can almost guarantee that they don't have an MS or MA program for grad school. Here is something I read about UTI: http://universal-technical-institute.pissedconsumer.com/uti-is-a-scam-and-sold-me-a-fake-degree-20121106357116.html

On this site, there have been way too many Cavalier problems posted and most are from people screwing around. If you're not one of them and you really have a Cavalier with problems, you should consider getting rid of the car. If you go to this site, you'll see that the Cavalier is one of the worst cars Chevy made: http://www.carcomplaints.com/Chevrolet/

<...desperately need help with my car...>

Local scrap vehicle recovery and reprocessing specialists can be found simply using Yellow Pages and a telephone. CR4 does not offer such a service, neither does it offer training in the use of local directories nor telephones.

An added thought: If you have added an aftermarket stereo/radio and a high power auxiliary amplifier it could well be that the sound system is overloading the alternator.

The Cavalier stock alternator is only good for 40 amps maximum current.

I think this is a trick question! A Chevy Cavalier with a 2.2L engine doesn't make enough power to turn a 40A alternator!

LOL!!

Most likely you have a bad Engine Control Computer Module.

You can get it for a bit over $100 and may solve your power/starting/shutting problems.

Rey, if he puts $100 into the car, he'll never get his money back out. Here in the US, a 1998 Chevy Cavalier is worth about $75 to $125 in running condition! I think it's worth more as scrap metal, though China has cut down on stockpiling and metal prices have plummeted.

OK, folks. I knew when I started reading this one it was going to get a lot of "Cavalier" comments (Pun, guys. Read it as such!), but I've been where he is, though not with a Cavalier.

I've read down through comment number 50, now, and commented once, so I'd like to add this, only.

While I can get the joke, I do know that when you are in the "time I've got, money I ain't" place, or worse, as it seems he is, "Time I ain't got, either", jokes aren't very helpful.

Mdough24, I sympathize. And I understand, and think most everybody else does also, that when you just can't afford to replace it, sometimes it's resale value, or what have you, just doesn't matter. If you can fix it cheap, that's at least affordable, even if in other circumstances it would NOT be worth doing.

I just wanted to make sure you understand we ARE NOT a bunch of uncaring fools. I have read and corresponded with nearly everyone here at one time or another, and know their character from their past commentary. Take it with a grain of salt, and please, let us know when you find the working fix. We all want to be able to give good answers, and your experience tunes us up.

Note, I didn't apologize for any of us. I don't think apologies are necessary, but if anyone disagrees, I believe in letting us all decide for ourselves, and kill our own dogs, as necessary.

MicahD

Sorry. Correct that to 47. It's late and I have a sore throat and fever. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. But there weren't 50 comments by the time I wrote my last.

See? Killed my own rabid dog.

Assuming (remember what the word implies, and its not me) that all connections are good, and the battery, alternator and starter/solenoid are good, the only thing I can think of that you noted is the loose drive belt.

If the engine was idling and just quit on you, I would suspect too much slippage, or an electronics problem. If it's electronics, time for a newer car.

Didn't we have a similar case several months ago, and that was with a 2000 Cavalier.

From your description of what you did, you probably spent more than the car is worth-I mean you're talking an 18 year old car!

Bet it was a fleet car for a utility company before you bought it-they don't get the best maintenance.

This may not be a solution, but it MAY give you some insight into the engine in your vehicle.

I owned a 1985 Pontiac Sunbird (same basic car as your Cavalier) with a 1.8 L overhead cam 4 cyl. engine.

The camshaft was driven by a fiberglass reinforced belt that was enclosed. Over time, usually at about 50K +/- miles the belt was supposed to be tightened or replaced, depending on the amount of wear.

Since I had to get the water pump replaced, and the timing belt would be accessible, I had the mechanic replace the belt.

About 40 years ago, I was leaving work, and my car (Firebird V-8) would turnover, but not start. After considering many different possibilities, a fellow worker who always carried tools pulled a plug and and feeling no compression realized the timing chain had broken.

May not mean anything, or may help solve your problem, but will definitely make you think about some other maintenance in your future.