Autofanatic

im having problems with my electrical system and here is how they go...i got in my car tonite, turned the ignition, started fine. when i turned my lights on, however, the car almost shut off...i drove it for a little while till i came to a stop light, where, when i applied the brakes, the car shut off completely. i was able to get the car started, and drive it to the nearest parking lot (with the lights off, of course). So, im thinking alternator problems....but, later in the evening i went back to see how it would crank, it started fine, lights came on fine, and never could get the car to want to shut off again (i didn't attempt to drive it though). so im not sure what the problem is...any suggestions? thanks......

nadir_s

Well to make sure it isn't the alternator, you can do a simple test. Grab a voltmeter, pop the hood, and take a reading. The battery should be around 12 volts. Then start the car and take another reading... should be around 13-14 volts. That way we know your alternator is functioning and we'll go from there. Good luck

Autofanatic

when i started my car back up (and seemed to be running ok..ie: wasn't cutting off) i check the battery, and got 14.22 volts



not sure what this means, except that it might suggest it isn't the alternator, what do you think??

nadir_s

Hmm yeah probably not the alternator then because 14.22 sounds just about where it's suppose to be at. Have you checked out the recall on the alternators? I know it probably isn't the alternator, but make sure u don't fall under that recall category. Something else... i'm not sure, but someone will chime in w/ more info. good luck.

Sin

Check your battery and grounds.

TheNip73

If the alternator is bad the battery will be at 14.4 ... until you start driving and draining power when it will not be recharged by the alternator leading to the battery dying after driving for a while. I went through 2 or 3 alternators on my last car due to my stereo being a bit more than the alternator could handle. What you describe sounds similiar to my experiences.

I suggest starting your car and turning on all of your accesories one by one. Lights first. If your lights get dimmer and dimmer as accesories are turned on I would think it is quite possible your alternator is approaching its death.

Just my 2 cents.

Good luck and let us know what you find out.

Autofanatic

well, after i couldn't figure out what was wrong with my car, i took it to my mechanic, he checked it all day, and almost consistantly, the alernator was charging properly. the only problem he found was that the starter had 'locked up' on him once, he had to 'tap' it to get it to start, whatever that means....so for now im just going to drive it and see what happens

nadir_s

what your mechanic meant by "locked up" was that the solenoid was sticky... so when you turn the key, u just hear a click sound and the car actually doesn't turn over. He just went out, knocked on the starter to "unstick" the solenoid and the car started up fine. But yeah, that's not related to the problem you are talkin about.