Serious Help Needed

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

Ok guys so my mom decided to drive through a little lake the other day(flame2) when she was trying to avoid someone while pulling into a parking lot and all of a sudden the car just died, well we got the car home however the problem is that the car won't start on it's own power it has to be jumped and whenever you try to apply any sort of electrical current through the car i.e. lights the car just completely shuts down, even if you rev it to 5,000RPM and then try to turn on the lights
So guys, what the hell is going on here, it's really kinda making me mad because I keep hitting walls when trying to figure it out, I mean i've replaced the spark plugs and changed the oil and the oil filter, the fuses are fine both inside the cabin and in the engine bay
HELP ME BEFORE I SHOOT THE CAR

 

[SocialStealth]

My guess is the battery was somehow fried.

Seeing as it cannot sustain itself, even with the engine regenerating it.

Either your battery or your alternator.

Have them checked out if you can. Any local auto store should be willing to check your battery for free (if not, tell them xxx(competitors name)xxx did it for free for you last time, and you'll just go there instead. Trust me, it'll work.

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

see i believe it's the alternator and if it is then it's going to be a royal pain in my a$$

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

and see the thing is that the battery isn't that old, I just replaced it maybe three months ago and the fact is when i went to charge it it was going out a charge and wouldn't charge anymore. So i believe it is either the alternator or the starter

 

[SocialStealth]

Where do you live?

I'm planning on adding subs to my system in the near future. So I'm going to need to upgrade my battery and alt to handle the extra load.

So I might be able to let it go to you for pretty cheap, IDK how much they go for.

 

[pasadena_commut]

Ok guys so my mom decided to drive through a little lake the other day

By "drive though a lake" do you mean completely submerged, or what? There is a world of difference between stalling a car in a very deep puddle and soaking the entire car. If the car really made like a submarine, to the point where the whole thing filled with water, let the insurance company total it. Flooded cars are rarely worth worth saving.

Assuming that only the engine compartment got really wet...

Was the battery submerged? Is it a sealed battery? If the answers are yes and no then the battery is probably damaged. Lead acid batteries don't work very well when the acid is replaced with pond water, let alone mud. I'm guessing that most sealed batteries would withstand a trip to the bottom of a shallow lake OK, as long as the case wasn't cracked anywhere.

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

The alternator is toward the bottom of the engine, so I would suspect that first. Pull it off and go have it tested...you might as well take the battery while you are at it.

 

[SeR_Cyclops]

It would not be the starter because if the car cranks the starter is working.

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

ok so the battery wasn't submerged and it isn't a sealed battery so.... but yea it basically won't start by it's own power so. and SeR_Cyclops it isn't cranking, like there is barely any power period

 

[slavrenz]

The alternator is toward the bottom of the engine, so I would suspect that first. Pull it off and go have it tested...you might as well take the battery while you are at it.

Not really - it's actually pretty close to the top. Besides, if the alternator was the main issue, the car should at least be able to start and run for a decent amount of time - otherwise, the battery is the first thing you should be checking.

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

well see the thing that has me scratching my head is the fact that if you jump it it will run until it runs out of gas or until you turn on any sort of electrics so it's like ??? because it can't start on it's own and the battery isn't that old

 

[slavrenz]

Have you checked for blown fuses in both locations (under the hood and inside the driver's side of the car)? Also check for any ground wires that may have become disconnected or are corroded. Maybe some wires near your starter got knocked loose or something...

 

[Sheadensp5]

itll be the alternator ... i dont have the bottom shield on my engine bay so when it rains i cant drive car cause it ***** with my alternator so prob need a new one... its not that hard to replace just$$

 

[slavrenz]

I don't get what the kick is on the alternator - I'm not near my car right now, but looking at my repair manual, the alternator is pretty high up on the engine. I just don't get how any reasonable amount of groundwater can reach it...

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

slavrenz yeah i checked the fuses and relays today
Sheadensp5, yeah that's what i'm thinking but i'll find out tomorrow when I have it towed and see whats wrong

 

[MazdaSpeeder]

I don't get what the kick is on the alternator - I'm not near my car right now, but looking at my repair manual, the alternator is pretty high up on the engine. I just don't get how any reasonable amount of groundwater can reach it...

I just went out and looked, and it's not at the bottom of the engine, but it's probably at or below the midpoint of the block, and a water incursion could easily get enough water in it to mess it up.

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

yeah thats usually what happens is when you find a large sum of water the water finds every single crack of the engine and then ends up messing up the alternator so.....

 

[i12drivemyMP5]

I don't get what the kick is on the alternator - I'm not near my car right now, but looking at my repair manual, the alternator is pretty high up on the engine. I just don't get how any reasonable amount of groundwater can reach it...

Repair manual for what car? And what do you consider bottom of the motor, hanging out down under the oil pan? The alternator is at the bottom of the motor on the backside toward the firewall. Whether or not water can get to it depends on how fast it went thru the water & or how deep it was.

 

[Mazdaspeedfreak]

thanks for all the help and opinions and for everyone that's wondering what it was, it turns out it was just the battery but it kinda doesn't make sense since the fact that the everything said the batter was just fine and pushing out more then enough cca