I got to my garage, disarmed the alarm, got in everything looking normal; turned the ignition to on, maybe even went to start it, can't be sure, but anyway when i went to do that my power went out completely for like a half second then the lights were real low. Got my dad to come by, tried to jump it: nothin. lights and everything work, but when i try to start it i can hear the starter crank REAL low and weak, then it just clicks. I'm guessin my battery is completely dead, what about you?





cliffs: attempted to start car, now very low power, battery not holding charge from a jump.





Sooo..what battery should I replace it with?

EDIT: damn sig

 

man its kinda hard to understand what you are saying. let me understand

you tired to start the car and it wouldnt start
then you hooked up the jumper cables using 2 vehicles and tried to start it again or did you use another battery as a power source?

if you used another car was it running?

 

walmart. Everstart Yellow. Great battery. 60 bucks for 1000 CCAs.

You might need a new alternator too (altanader)

 

Exactly, right on the dot. Go to Murray's or Autozone and ask them to test the alternator. I have the same problem, and the guy at Murray's said it was my alternator. I have a emergency charging system (my Maxima's defibulators) in my trunk at all times.

 

almost def. a dead battery. i don't know what you did or didn't do, but you may not need a new battery: when jumping you should leave the cars connected for a few minutes before trying to start, this charges it some. then when you go to start yours, rev up the donor car a bit...

 

I don't think the donor car is even supposed to be running while doing the jumping.

 

well before i even started the car, all the lights were nice and bright. Then when i tried to start the car the lights got real dim and it wouldnt start. I tried jumping off to another vehicle while its engine was on. At that point the lights were bright and the alarm chirp was normal again. I let it charge for about 5-10 min, and nothing. When i disconnected the jumper cables, the lights got dim again. I don't think my battery is able to hold the charge.

 

i doubt its the alternator, as it wasn't even engaged yet when i tried to start the car. I guess I should mention the battery died once before like a month ago while i was washing the car with the stereo on.

 

did you try to start your car while everythign was connected still and the other car was still running?

 

Was your car running at this point? Because once the car is running, the alternator powers the car's electrical (and recharges the battery). The battery only powers the cars electical system when the car is not running and for starting.

 

Yeah because you can use your battery to start the car, but once it's running it's up to the alternator to charge or maintain the power in the battery. What I did was take my mom's Maxima and charge mine in the garage (both running) for like 15-20 minutes. Therefore both batteries are using eachother, and because her alternator is fine, once I took off the cables her alternator charged her battery up and mine was full powered. Another way to test the alternator, is to start your car, and let is sit for like three minutes, then turn your lights on, then turn all accesories on (radio, heater, light, ect.). Then turn them all off except for the lights, rev your engine or go for a drive and the lights should get brighter, if they don't stay bright, you have a bad alternator. That's just the way I did mine.

 

UPDATE: I went to try and jump it again, this time successfully. BUT, when I turn the headlights on the car started to die. So I jumped it again, revved my gas for a bit, then took it for a drive with only my marker lights on to charge the battery. I did some high speed runs as well down an empty street. Whenever I depress the brake pedal, the lights would get dim for a second, then light up again. When I parked in my driveway, I shut the car down and tried to restart - lights were dim, no crank.

When I got closer to home, I tried to turn the headlights on, at which point the car was starting to stall, so I shut them off before it could do that.

Yes I did. Everything was still connected and the other car was still running.

No, the car wasn't started at this point.

 

somehow get your car to autozone and have them check the alternator and battery for free

 

going to get a battery today, as soon as I get that installed, I'll drive it over and get the alternator tested

 

I'm going to sears today, would the yellow top model #34/78 fit?

 

Sounds like your alternator if you get electrical anomalies while the car is running.

 

just a hunch, try cleaning & tightening the cables and battery posts. if the the battrey is over 3yrs old get a new one.

 

By the symptoms your describing. I would think it is the altenator. To check yourself. If you have a volt meter. If your car won't start jump your car while the donor car is running. Leave it run for about 10 minutes. Have your volt meter ready. On your altenator their is a battery wire(usually has rubber boot on top of nut). Locate this and pull back rubber boot before starting vehicle. This is where your going to check the voltage that the altenator is putting out to your battery. After the 10 minutes unhook donor car and check the voltage at the altenator. You can also just hook it up to the battery but I like to check it at the altenator. Your voltage should be (while the car is running) anywhere between 13 to 14 volts. Mine reads about 14.6 volts. If it's lower then 13.0 volts at the altenator. Get a New one.

 

thanks maximum. I got a new battery last night, and it started up perfectly. Everything works fine, if not the lights look a bit brighter.

What I did to test the alternator so far was after I started it, I disconnected the battery terminals to see if the car would still run. I haven't tried turning on the accessories during this process, just the headlights. When the marker lights are on there is no problem, when I turn the headlights on...the car dies. Also before doing that, I would depress the brake pedal, and the lights would dim out for a second then come back...

BTW, Sears didn't have the yellow top 75/35 , so I got the Red Top instead