hey guys so i was driving earlier today and my car suddenly died on me. At first my radio lights and the digital clock lights started getting really dim, and then the abs/brake lights came on....and then it just died. Since then it hasnt started, i tried boosting it already and it starts up.....but then once you take off the booster cables the car just dies again. I dont know whats wrong with it, it doesnt crank and the radio doesnt even turn on. Im thinking its the alternator and/or battery? I dont think its the starter cause i had that replaced not too long ago. My car also died on me the week before, after being parked for about half an hour outside a mall, i went to start it and it cranked but didnt start. I went back into the mall waited for a friend to come boost me, but decided to give it another go and it started fine. What the hells going on? I dont know if these 2 events are related but any help/input is appreciated

 

Yeah man I am pretty sure its your battery. If your alternator was faulty the battery light and the brake light on your instrument panel would have been illuminated for some time before your battey completely died. So I would have your battey tested at autozone or advance auto parts, they do it for free. They will also test your alternator too.

 

Sounds like the alternator to me.

 

alternator its not keepin battery charged thats why when u take the booster cables off the car dies

 

have you checked to see if your accessory belt is still intact?

 

Yah I'm thinking it's the alternator as well, but I don't want to replace it just to find out that something else is causing the alternator to die. How can I test the alternator with a voltage meter?

Also is there anything else I should check that maybe causing this problem?

How would this cause my car to die? Hoe do I check this?

 

look where the belts are on the left side of the engine if ur standing in front of the car make sure the belts not broken

 

Definitely an alternator problem. If it's not keeping the battery charged and it's not supplying power to the rest of the car it will stall the car. If your battery voltage is under (I think) 10-14?? volts then it is not sufficiently charged. If you can get the car running, check the battery voltage again, it should be 12-14 volts (that means it's charging).

Double check belt tension and integrity. Otherwise have the alternator tested. Once you replace or fix your alternator, start the car (via jumping probably) and take the car for a good drive to charge the battery and you'll be good to go. Good luck.

 

Better to get the alt tested and the batt tested. Check the alt fopr the current being applied and then the batt. However, if the batt has not been replaced for some time now it may best to just rep[lace. That is with a good one... Its better to buy quality the first time around.

 

An automtive battery takes EIGHT hours to fully charge by alternator. Remove it and have it charged/checked by a shop.
Your car should be able to run with no battery via the ALT. If its dying when removing the jump pack, its the ALT bad.
Acc. belt runs the ALT. You should check it for obvious reasons. If the belt is there at all, its not you problem.

 

Same thing that you described happened to me.
1st the radio was acting up (shutting off/on) then the brake light and batt light and clock started to dim.

My car died in the middle of the street in the middle of nowhere (good thing a new gas station was being constructed) so I pushed it there and called my brother. We both jacked up the car there and changed alternator and battery.

all fixed now.

Good luck.

BTW, I found NAPA being a Lot cheaper than any other auto parts store.

 

I agree with what the guys are saying here... sounds like the alternator... what's funny is that I've been through so many things I can put in some input... this happened to my ex when we were driving around... the radio turned off first... then the lights in the dash got dim and started blinking... then the car started stalling and it start again... then we rolled for another 1/4 mile and it just died... tried to jump it and no luck... found out it was the Alt. We replaced it and everything was just dandy again.

 

test them with a multimeter

 

altenator

 

This really does sound like the alternator. Couldn’t hurt to make sure your connections to the battery aren’t compromised by corrosion though. This will give similar symptoms (doesn’t start one time yet starts another).

Also if you have a voltometer/multimeter check the battery voltage. If it’s good, then it’s probably your connectors.