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My car just died! *UPDATED!* THE BATTERY IS FALLING APART! PIC!

P

p0ntif

Platinum Member
So I drove home for lunch and then was running late on getting back so I go out to my car and try to start it . . .nothing. It is pretty cold out, but i think its kinda weird that it would just not start like that. the electrical locks then wouldn't work very well either, and the radio was all static. Battery is definately having issues. One of my friends said it might be my alternator. What do you think? I think the battery is like 3 years old.

UpDATE: Tried to have it jumped . . .it won't start, bettery doesn;t seem to want to hold a charge or something. Could it still be the alternator? I find it kind of strange that this happened 'out of the blue' like this.

UPDATE: Battery falling apart, see my last post down there, link to pic included.
 
Originally posted by: p0ntif
So I drove home for lunch and then was running late on getting back so I go out to my car and try to start it . . .nothing. It is pretty cold out, but i think its kinda weird that it would just not start like that. the electrical locks then wouldn't work very well either, and the radio was all static. Battery is definately having issues. One of my friends said it might be my alternator. What do you think? I think the battery is like 3 years old.
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Signs point to yes.

A dead battery may be caused by a dead alt. I was told once by my alt guys that when the diodes go bad, the alt actually acts in reverse and draws power from the batt rather than charging it.

-PAB
 
Could be both the alternator and/or the battery. If your battery is bad, it aint gonna hold the juice the alternator is providing it. If your alternator is bad, then it aint charging the battery right. So you're screwed either way. 🙁
 
question:
if your car gets jumped successfully after the battery to be found dead,but wont hold a charge...is it the battery or the alternator?
2ndly, how much of an effect can loose connections have on a battery?

im having some battery troubles myself :/




im sorry about your car.
 
Try jumping it first. Then remove the jumper cables after the car is running. Use a volt meter to check the voltage of the battery. if it is over 12.6 then your alternator is putting out power ( but maybe not full power. ) usually the voltage is around 14 or so.

If the voltage is under 12.6 then it is your aternator or the wires to the alternator.

Most places that sell batteries ( walmart included ) have a battery tester that will pull a load from your battery to see if that is the problem. Most auto places can test your alternator ( NTB included ) for output, but it requires removal of the alternator from the car.
 
If you don't have anyone to jump it off of you can always push it, put it in frist and pop the clutch. This will generally work if there is a little juice left and it can get you out of a pinch if it happens again.

edit: Only if it is a stick of course.
 
if your car gets jumped successfully after the battery to be found dead,but wont hold a charge...is it the battery or the alternator?
Click to expand...
Could be either. If the voltage measured across the terminals of the battery is higher than 12.6, then it is not the alternator, and would most likely be a bad battery.

2ndly, how much of an effect can loose connections have on a battery
On the battery? really none. On the output of the battery, a bunch. The voltage can fluctuate, and even be cut altogether. The result is hard starrting, intermittant problems, bad charging, etc. If your battery is really dirty on the top, the battery can actually discharge across the dirt.

Here is a little known battery fact. If you place a car battery on concrete it will discharge through the bottom overnight. Do not charge batteries on the ground. Place a piece of wood under them to act as an insulator. I never thought this was true till I thappened to me, and I was able to reproduce it. Wierd.
Click to expand...
Click to expand...
 
Uh, Evadman, the voltages should be as follows;

13.2 to 14.5 = Good Alternator
13.2 and below = Bad Alternator

😉
 
Originally posted by: Roger
Uh, Evadman, the voltages should be as follows;

13.2 to 14.5 = Good Alternator
13.2 and below = Bad Alternator

😉
Click to expand...

DAmn surface charges, I stand corrected 🙂
 
Originally posted by: ncircle
question:
if your car gets jumped successfully after the battery to be found dead,but wont hold a charge...is it the battery or the alternator?
2ndly, how much of an effect can loose connections have on a battery?

im having some battery troubles myself :/




im sorry about your car.
Click to expand...

Ive had TWO alternators go out on me now. One was close to home but the other was half-way to college about an hour away from home which sucked. If it is the alternator, you will be able to jump the car and it WILL run but only for like 5-10 minutes then the battery will run out of juice since the alternator isnt recharging it. If its the battery you should be able to jump it and have the car run fine until you shut it off and then you wont be able to start it.

Alternators are cheap, like $20 or something and are pretty easy to replace yourself. Just take off the fan belt, disconnect the power cord (CAREFULLY) and the unscrew the old alternator, screw in the new one, hook everything back up, jump the battery and you should be good to go!

Dont take any of the above as fact, just from personal experience! I would ask a mechanic 🙂
 
Originally posted by: ANY5546
Originally posted by: ncircle
question:
if your car gets jumped successfully after the battery to be found dead,but wont hold a charge...is it the battery or the alternator?
2ndly, how much of an effect can loose connections have on a battery?

im having some battery troubles myself :/




im sorry about your car.
Click to expand...

Ive had TWO alternators go out on me now.
Click to expand...

AC Delco?

-PAB

 
check the battery terminals. Sometimes they get corroded, and give you poor contact. Everything else may be just fine.
 
My car died too. Driving it home on Friday, all of a sudden, engine started running eratically then died. Pushed it to my garage and whipped out the hanes manual to do some trouble checking.
It was running until sunday. It'd turn, start, run till it warmed up (very erratic), then stall. Yesterday, I went to work on it, but it won't start, doesn't even try to. The starter will turn the engine, but it seems like there is no spark. Covered the basics dist/cap/rotor/wires/plugs all checked out fine, fuel run well. I checked most of the vaccum system, so far, so good.
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Alternators are cheap, like $20 or something
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uh jigga what?
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Might have been $50, this was early summer 🙂 I just typed the first number that came to mind and sounded like what I might have paid. Actually, it wasnt even in the summer, the one I got in the summer was free cause the one that died was still under warrenty (good ol' Nappa). My memory strains to remember things that happened more than a year ago 🙁

18 years old, going on 50.... lol
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Alternators are cheap, like $20 or something
Click to expand...
uh jigga what?
Click to expand...


Maybe if you go to U-Pull-It and yank any old alternator out of some old POS, with no warranty, yeah.

But a brand new alternator isn't anywhere near 20$. 😛

You can find rebuilt ones for like 50-60 I suppose.
 
Well, I'm gonna go get it jumped and measure the voltage across the battery. WE'll see what happens. Also, if the voltage is a little low, how long will a new battery last in a car with a so-so alternator?
 
well I had a friend try to start it. it wouldn;t start. So I am assumming the battery was drained. What do you guys think? I'm thinking about having it towed to sears and have them put a new battery in it. Will they be able to check my alternator do you think? Or should I just have it towed to the dealership and have them deal with it in case its an alternator problem? Not sure here.
thanks.
 
Replaceing a battery is super simple. Do it yourself. not pay $50 have your car towed, then another $30 to have someone install a new battery.

<edit>
Are the wires tight? The connector tight? the battery terminals clean? the connection to the starter clean?
 
Originally posted by: Pepsi90919
Alternators are cheap, like $20 or something
Click to expand...
uh jigga what?
Click to expand...

Its about that much for lifetime warrantied one from Autozone for my friend's 65 Mustang. He's already gone through 3. I think the cam in the motor is shaking them to pieces🙂
 
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