I have a 2001 Kia rio , I just got a brand new alternator and battery, however now my car only starts when I jump start it and will run fine for about 5 minutes then the lights start to fade and then he car dies and won't turn over anymore. I have been tolditmay be a fuse, however I don't know what fuse would need to replace.

It is possible that if your old alternator was shorted out, it could have caused the main fuse to blow. The fuse is located in the engine compartment fuse box. It is an 80 Amp fuse and sits off to the right - all by itself. (See picture)

NOTE: There is also a chance that there is something else wrong that may have caused this fuse to blow. If it blows again upon replacing it, you need to inspect the wire that runs between this fuse and the alternator - it may be shorted to ground. If this is the case, you probably did not need to replace your alternator.

Mjohannsen, You don't state here who replaced the alternator and battery or why it was done in the first place. However, check that all the connections are tight. If you have access to a voltmeter, check the output of the alternator. A good alternator will be putting out 13.6 to 14.6 volts. A few tenths of a volt either way will not be problematic but anything drastically over or under these values will be a problem. To test the alternator: First jump start the vehicle to get it started, set your volt meter for twenty volts and then place the red terminal from the volt meter on the positive cable and the black terminal on the negative cable of the battery. Take your reading. It sounds to me like you got a bad alternator. I say this because of what you describe here after you get the vehicle started. (Lights fading and eventually the vehicle dieing) Getting a bad alternator is rare but not unheard of. Also, check in the engine compartment fuse box as sometimes there is a fuse for the alternator. There is usually a legend written on the box cover to show which fuse you will need to check. Good luck with this.

Hi, I had a customer with an 03 Spectra, similar problem. There were a lot of different diagrams in the manual, so I had them check for a lot of different fuses. Please read thru all of my comments at the following post--including clicking into the "additional comments" section of the thread: http://www.fixya.com/cars/t9162916-2003_kia_spectra_1_8_liter
Not sure if this customer ever found the problem, but this will give you a few things to check.

First charge your battery then check the battery voltage you should have 12-13 volts it you don't take battery back,if it does then start the car and check voltage at the alternator with engine running it should be 13.5-14.5 volts if you don't take alternator back and if you do then you have a ignition switch problem.Check voltage at switch you should have at least 12 volts.