Alt going?

jonnyb · Post by **jonnyb** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:31 pm

pulling out of my girlfriend's driveway tonigh night, and my car stalls and then wont start. had to get it jumped. on the way home, everytime i pressed the brake pedal the lights would dim real dark, and then kick back on. pulled into my driveway, and the sob wont start again. sounds like the alt? maybe need a new battery too?

Mercedesbends69 · Post by **Mercedesbends69** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 10:48 pm

To me it sounds like the battery and not the alternator.

William from NOLA · Post by **William from NOLA** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:02 pm

When the alt goes, you know. Your car will only run as long as the battery has a charge. Best thing to test it with is a multimeter. Find the voltage with the car running, that will tell you if the alt is dead or not.

Getting a new battery is a great idea. That should be done before upgrading an alt.

JeremyC · Post by **JeremyC** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 1:19 am

Jonny, do what william said, and test with a volt meter. You shoud read around 14.4 at the battery if the alt is working. If its much lower than that, you need a new alt. If the alt is the problem, be sure to give the battery some time on a charger. (just incase the battery is really low.)

Ryan from Ohio · Post by **Ryan from Ohio** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 4:07 am

Sounds like the alt is gone to me.

I lost two alts this way...Car starts running wierd and dieseling...

jonnyb · Post by **jonnyb** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 6:53 am

eh, well the car wont start at all. im gonna call a local shop in a few, to see if i can get it towed, to get fixed.

ridr4lif · Post by **ridr4lif** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:03 pm

Its most likely the alt. I had a similar problem in my BMW. What happened what the alt. couldnt charge the battery so the battery just died and the alt. didnt put out enough amperage to run the necessary components on the car or charge the battery.

TEDD

Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:36 pm

Yep, sounds like the alt isn't outputting anything. So you ran the battery dead.

jonnyb · Post by **jonnyb** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:49 pm

got it towed to a local shop. once it got there, it started, and everything was fine. they tested the battery, and the alt, and everything was ok. they said it might be some other internal electrical problem. so im gonna take to the dealer, where it still might be covered under warranty.

6three6mafia6 · Post by **6three6mafia6** » Thu Mar 24, 2005 9:51 pm

i had this exact same problem, out of no were i put some isley brothers, and i noticed that at one point my music cut off for a second and all my lights dimmed real low, scared the hell out of me, next day my battery would not start, got it jumped worked fine same thing dimming real low volume cut off for a split second, car would not start again , so i got a new battery and everything was fine, no more heavy dimming and no not starting car.