Alright I need some help....

My battery died two weeks ago so I took it and my ALT. down to get checked and they said both were fine. Well the battery was a 5 year and it was 5.5 years so I figured it was due anyway. Well it died again last monday. That was my own fault tho because I forgot to plug the back of the ALT. back in... So it's been running great all week and tonight I'm coming home from work and the battery light turns on on the highway. So I turn off the radio, fog lights, heater, rear defroster. And I was able to get to my exit...

Then my gas tank went to completely empty (I know I had 1/4 left), my SRS Air Bag light is on, My car now once I go to go from the light acts like it's in neutral and is slowly moving. And this whole time my ABS light is on...

Do you guys think it's my alternator going out or what? I need to figure this out by saturday night....

Any help is highly appreciated!

When my battery light came on and lights started acting funny, it was the alternator.

Take your car and have them test the alt and battery in the car while its running. They will be able to tell you if the charging system is running right.

So did you put in a new battery yet? If not, my bet is a bad battery.

X2

It is a common misconception that the battery light has anything to do with the battery - it is a charge system warning light meaning that if the charge system isnt doing its job, the light comes on. This is almost entirely up to the alternator.

The warning light is actually a positive switch with the ignition that is sent to ground through the alternator, when the alternator energizes, the ground becomes positive. If the alternator is no longer charging it will go to ground with will energize the light.

A very simple method to check is to turn the car on, check the voltage at the battery.

Turn the headlights on at idle and check the voltage again.

turn the blower motor on high and turn the headlights on - do not turn the AC on as this will increase the engine RPM. check the voltage again.

Now have someone rev up the car to 2400RPM and check the voltage.

You should see

12.8v+ at idle with headlights

12.8v+ at idle with blower and headlights

13.5v+ at 2400RPM

I put a new battery in last week.

And I can say that while in park the cars lights are brighter than while in gear. And no matter what speed im going it'll die...

I'm guessing that it's the alternator so after work tomorrow my dad and I will try to get it to my grandpas since his house is closer and then I can work on it... Is there a possibility that it's neither the alternator or the battery?

It's always a possibility that its neither, but have your alt tested again, since the battery is new, my money is on the alt.

go buy a new one, cheep ins anyways

do you just not have a DVM? you can check this yourself in 10 minutes.

I don't have anything to check voltage...

I went and got a new alt and threw it in and it was running great, drover around town, got gas, took the old alt to the store... Came home and turned it off and grabbed a shower and walked back out to start it up and with 30 seconds of it being on the "battery" light turns on...

Do you think that from jumping it so many times and it dieing each time there could be a dead cell in the battery now?

What other problems could I have?

I doubt jumping it many times would cause a shorted cell - that's usually due to severe shock.

But when you kill a battery, it greatly accelerates the oxidation on the lead plates. As the plates corrode the maximum capacity of the battery is lowered and it will not charge as fast. If you have repeatedly killed it chances are you have reduced its ability to accept a charge.

You NEED to buy a DVM - it is one of the most basic tools that every person who knows anything about a car should have.

They are $20 anywhere - just pick one up so you can do some basic testing.


Just to make sure, there are two cables that need to be connected to the alternator - the first is the thick 8ga wire that actually pumps current to the battery. This wire is connected to the jumper post at the top of the fuse box.

The other is a plastic connector that energizes the alternator and set off the low battery light.

On that connector there should be two wires, one is the low battery light that will show +12v when you turn the ignition on (dont start it) and the other will show +12v all the time.

Once you test those good, start the car and check the charging cable at the fuse box and make sure you see at least 13.5 volts at idle. any less and the wire is bad (if you are SURE the alt is good)

Alright, well I guess I'll be takeing a trip to walmart after school...

It's the gremlins finally revolting over the revolting sticker. We tried warning you...

jk

It sounds like the voltage regulator. Have the alt. diagnosed on the vehicle, but I would go ahead and buy a new alt. then consider a new batt after all these deep cycles. Good luck.

Well I got her fixed (Lets hope)... They sold me a bad alternator. So I got them to give me a new one but they didn't realize they gave me the gold edition of the duralast when I had the model 1 below it =]

And everything is running good again... Oh and those stickers have been off for about 2 months now :p

wow, did I ever miss the boat on that one! bout time.

Glad to see the car got fixed