maxinout93

OK Im not sure what is going on here but for the last 3 days my car, 2002 I 35 has been lacking power I can barley drive it. It sat for 3 days while doing exhaust work, The battery in there was less than a year old. SO i drove it to work it was ok, still had to baby it there. As i leave from work and get to a gas station less than a mile away it runs but no longer accelerates so i roll to a stop. Long story short they said the battery was bad so i had it replaced with a new one. New one goes in and same driveability problems, ac is not pushing out cold air like it use to and a/c light seems dim. SO i leave work again thinking everything is good and less than a mile away in a parking lot i turn the car off, and she will not start even with a battery new battery i installed yesterday. It wont start unless i boost it off or jump start it and no telling how long it will stay running until it dies again and have to jump start. Idk but im hoping the alternator isnt shot again, although no warning lights came on. But how can a new battery drain so fast? Went to start it this morning all interior lights come on but it wont start without a jump. I dont want to throw parts at it, but can the alternator go without going altogather?

flames101sully

iTrader: (1)

Yes, the original alternator on the 2000 went slowly. Replaced the battery first and after two days the car was dead again. Alternator was the issue, it was working just enough to be able to keep the car on and running, but a couple of times while driving it the dash lights came on and i lost power, although that only lasted a few seconds and luckily never left me stranded.

What brand of alternator did you put in? A lot of aftermarket's seem to be hit or miss. I've had very bad experiences with aftermarket branded ones, the longest lasting almost an year and a half and 70,000km's .That was the 3rd aftermarket one put in after the other two failed in less than two weeks each. Found a junkyard OEM after more failed aftermarket's and it hasn't given me a problem.

maxinout93

Thanks for you response man, ive been using junkyard alternators as of lately with this last one being installed about 2 months ago. I just wanted to be sure I wasnt going crazy because My battery is brand new and no warning light came on as of yet as for now it is parked until I go to take the battery out and get it recharged, If it is indeed drained, then i know for sure the alternator has to be the problem, also may be the cause of my driveability issues too.