So recently I had an issue with my positive terminal connection, it had been pinched up against my exaust manifold and then melted and was shorting. So I have now replaced a battery, repaired the connector wire and replaced 2 alternators (mechanic shop fried the first one) and now my battery and parking break light have come back on after about 30 minutes of driving. Any idea what the possible issues could be?
Shorting out a car battery will produce a lot of current. How much damages was done as far as melted insulation on the positive and negative wires? Current would be going through the manifold in to the engine block and then back to the battery through the starter motor ground connection.
Not much, a little melted plastic and old electrical tape that someone pit on it wrong. We checked for any splitting or metal damage and rewrapped it in high temp electrical tape and put some heat shielding over it. I wonder if its possible I need to replace my battery again. Or maybe try to replace the cable.
Usually the battery light comes on when the generator fails and stops charging the battery. In newer vehicles maybe it is for a battery failure too. It still drives and charges the battery and everything with the battery light on? You can measure the battery voltage while running to see if it is charging. It should be 13.8 at least.
What condition is the belt and tensioner in? Try putting a socket on the alternator nut and attempt to rotate the pulley in case this is a slipping belt getting hot problem.
Since there was a large short along with one fried alternator maybe a check of the underhood high amp fuse between the alternator and battery should be done.
From a professional standpoint, I disagree with you
I’ve worked on tons of vehicles with a bad alternator and that red battery light never came on
It’s just like the check engine light . . . just because a particular warning light is not illuminated does NOT mean a particular system and/or component is functioning properly
With a short that bad it could be any number of electrical problems. You need an automotive electrical shop. Prepare your checkbook.
Ask your shop do the standard battery/alternator test. That’s where to start. Low voltage can confuse electronics and cause weird electrical symptoms/displays, and no way to fix that other than to return battery/alternator voltage to spec.
If you just want a guess as to what part isn’t working, if replacement alternator is an aftermarket brand rather than Kia oem, that’s a good suspect. Next guess, I had a problem on my Corolla with the cable between the alternator and battery breaking in half at a wire splice inside wiring harness, caused similar warning message