Car problem......again

BryanX33 · Post by **BryanX33** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:28 pm

Well today at school I left my light on by accident. I found this out at 2:05 when I went to start my car, and my battery was completely dead. I called a friend of mine to come down and give me a jump. My car jumped over and started, so I gave it a little gas. After about 10-15 seconds, the RPM gauge went from 3 (I was giving it gas) down to 0 and my car slowly shut down. My friend and I looked at the alternator and it looked clean and appeared to be new. Like I said before, the car would kick over but only stay on for about 10-15 while giving it gas. We tried this about 5-6 times. Eventually we just left my car there and drove home. Does anyone know what could be the problem? This whole situation just seems odd to me.......

Darthness · Post by **Darthness** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:31 pm

could be a combination of both batt and alt, unless something else is screwed.

thats why i like my blazer. my lights come on and off automatically. i can turn them on but theres no use when they come on by themself no problem.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:32 pm

Maybe the battery is completely dead and won't hold the charge that the alternator is sending it. Get your battery/alternator tested. You can also try hooking up that multimeter that you were supposed to set your gains with ( :) ) to the battery and see if it's sitting lower than 12v, which could mean that your battery's not holding a charge.

Bwcad1 · Post by **Bwcad1** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:37 pm

disconnect the positive on the battery or bypass the battery if the car runs its not the alternator. most cars dont use the battery for driving usually only when starting.

BryanX33 · Post by **BryanX33** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 12:39 pm

solace, one of my other friends had a charger. He hooked it up to my battery and turned it on and the thing was around 11V, but he said it was because he hasnt charged it in a while. We never got the car to start with that thing so that might have been the case? idk. It would start and stay started without either cables being hooked up to the battery for about 10-15 seconds then the car would shut off. As of now its just sitting in my school parking lot. If I cant get it to start up what do you guys suggest I do? Get it towed? I have no money

Also, once the car is running isnt the battery not even in use? The battery is only used to kick over the car....so what could be the problem? This is all confusing the hell out of me..........

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:02 pm

I believe the alternator CHARGES the battery during use. So if your battery can't hold that charge, it's not going to be able to run your car. And I'm also pretty sure that your battery should be floating with the car off at no less than 12v. I'll go run out and check the one in my rental car (Ford 500 :) ).

brent · Post by **brent** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:07 pm

The battery is only used in starting the car, and running components of the car. The engine itself runs from the alternator, and once started will continue to run without a battery at all. If the car is dying while running then most likely it is the alternator. When you left your light on it drained the battery, apparently your alternator was not up to the job of recharging it.

solacedagony · Post by **solacedagony** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 1:10 pm

Ah ok. Well, the batteries in both cars I checked were higher than 12v.
So maybe just sitting the battery on a trickle charge for awhile will do the job.

cargodz · Post by **cargodz** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 2:58 pm

Brent hit the nail right on the head :)
If the battery is completely dead and you jump it and your alt isn't working, then you'll only have the quick charge you gave it from the jump and it will run back out of juice in about 5-15 minutes.

As far as getting it home. I would suggest that you get or find somebody with a tow strap and tow it home (cheaper than a tow company), just remember to be careful and not let the strap get any slack when stopping.
Then at least your vehicle is at home for you to save up for a new alt... and if you ran the battery that low that many times you may wanna take it in and have it checked too... you may need a new battery now as well as an alternator.

BryanX33 · Post by **BryanX33** » Thu Mar 08, 2007 4:13 pm

how much is a new alternator?