My battery is, I am fairly certain, 100% dead and will not hold a charge. When I get the car jumped, it seems to start all right, will run all accessories, etc. However, once I put the car in drive (yes, it's an autotragic), the car begins to idle roughly, the rpms drop to 0 and the car dies.

One other thing. Prior to all this happening, I had just driven the car almost 30 miles after getting a jump (I'd killed the battery before). Subsequent starts failed.

I know for certain that I have one problem: a dead battery. What I want to know is what other problems I may have in addition to that one.

 

Geez have you replaced the battery and see if it starts?

 

i second that =]

 

i third it lmao duuhh

 

its the alternator

 

if u switch ur battery and it still dies, then its the alternator... but ya, c'mon buddy these kind of threads are just going to get u a lot of flame, next time do what common sense has to, and put in a battery first and if u still have problems THEN post a thread...

 

If you put in the battery the car may run fine for a few days, but the battery will get eaten up from constantly being used to run all the acc and not getting a proper recharge. Replace the batt, take the car immediately to someone to have the alt/electrical system tested. I would go to pepboys or wal-mart as they will test the electrical system free of charge.

 

Thanks for the advice. One last thing to add:

When I put the car in Drive and the throttle cable is held (i.e., the throttle is opened part or all the way) the car will run just fine (albeit at 1.5-2k rpm). Otherwise, it sputters, the rpms drop, and the car dies.

As for everyone else, the reason why I want to know what else may be wrong (besides the obviously dead battery) is because logistically some things are harder (and costlier) to replace than others. If I were to say, hitch a ride to autozone, buy a battery, get the car to autozone, and find that the alternator and battery were fine but my problems persist, i would then be stuck at an AutoZone (NOT where you want to be if you want your car repaired, and towing ain't cheap) . I wasn't trying to get flamed or anything, I just wanted to eliminate as much as possible before moving the car...

 

RichMax,

From my personal experience, you don't need a battery to diagnose your problem. Once the engine run (via a jump), the alternator provides more than sufficient electricity to keep the car functioning. Verify that you get a voltage of 13.5 to 14 volts once the engine runs, your dead battery does not matter at this point.

In my experience, the engine stalling problem when the transmission is in gear, is not related to your dead battery.

Good luck.

 

it means the alt is dead

 

My car did this when I was working on the air box and banged the MAF around. It would die when put in drive, had to feed it gas to keep it alive. Re-seating the wires fixed this.

If there is 13-14volts at the battery with the car running then the alternator is charging (even if the battery is dead the car should still run)

 

Everything else certainly follows the conclusion that the alt is dead, except one thing: how come the car will run fine in drive if I am depressing the brake and the throttle cable is being held under the hood to keep the throttle open? (I haven't been brave enough to torque my brakes so I can test this by myself without an assistant).

It just seems that if the alt were dead, the car would fail with the throttle open or not once I put the car in drive (seeing as I had to apply the brake to do so). I def think there is some merit to the theory posited by whitegold...

 

Not necessarily. If the voltage is 13.5 to 14, the alternator is good.

 

[QUOTE=RichMax]Everything else certainly follows the conclusion that the alt is dead, except one thing: how come the car will run fine in drive if I am depressing the brake and the throttle cable is being held under the hood to keep the throttle open?
[QUOTE]

RichMax,

Testing the alternator is the simpliest job possible: Measure the voltage at the battery terminal when the engine is idling. If the voltage is 13.5 to 14 volts, the alternator is good. Below 13 is bad. The test is conclusive, and there is no need to guess.

Good luck

 

becuse the alt puts out more juice at higher rpm. When u put it in drive and the slack is taking up it cant hold its own. my 3000GT did the same thing both time the alt died. A new batt lasted 2-3 days both times.