i think its alternator

[kinglui408]

ok, turned on car. headed out for work, half way my deck went out and came on, engine kinda sputtered. as i came to a stop the battery light came on real quick. i get to the store to get some food. get back to car and not even a click. call my boys for help and we jump it and starts right up. as we drive off the car sputters again, and as i give it gas nothing.

at night everything is dim, very dim, like battery dieing dim. my boy thinks its alternator. what do you all think

[Law Grandeur]

yea. is your car shifting weird? when my alty went bad my tranny wouldnt shift right, the radio would turn on and off, everything got really dim, and the car would overheat. replace it asap or you will left stranded like i was a bunch of times.

go to autozone and check your battery and alternator. have a friend follow you just in case. get a new alty belt while you are there

[DaGrk1]

that def sounds like a alternator

[Losiracer2]

pull it out and test it at autozone or something.

[nine_deuce]

What about your battery terminals? are they corroded, on tight? do they need cleaned?

[alkoholikwun]

this happened to me too, it was the alternator. my big connector (should have a big black dirt cover) at going into my alternator was loose and kept falling out, thats why i kept loosing voltage.

[AD5OS]

after you start your car use a multimeter and check the voltage at your battery.. should be something like 13-15 volts. if it is less than 12 I think that triggers the battery light.

disconnect the battery and then check the voltage of the battery and then of the positive and ground side of the car. again it should be around 12 for the battery and 13-15 for the car.

If the battery is low then either get a new battery or open it up and pour some hydrogen peroxide in there. If it is the car then you know its something to do with the car electrical system... maybe the alternator, maybe a phantom load or a short somewhere.

Also you can get some electronics cleaner at your auto part store just for electronics.. or you can use WD-40 and stray it all over your green plug that plugs into the alternator... you might see a lot of white caked on gunk in that connector that you can clean out and make sure you get it in there nice and tight.

[wed3k]

after you start your car use a multimeter and check the voltage at your battery.. should be something like 13-15 volts. if it is less than 12 I think that triggers the battery light.

disconnect the battery and then check the voltage of the battery and then of the positive and ground side of the car. again it should be around 12 for the battery and 13-15 for the car.

If the battery is low then either get a new battery or open it up and pour some hydrogen peroxide in there. If it is the car then you know its something to do with the car electrical system... maybe the alternator, maybe a phantom load or a short somewhere.

Also you can get some electronics cleaner at your auto part store just for electronics.. or you can use WD-40 and stray it all over your green plug that plugs into the alternator... you might see a lot of white caked on gunk in that connector that you can clean out and make sure you get it in there nice and tight.

pour hydrogen peroxide int he battery? it just needs straight water, otherwise you'll screw up the acidity ratio.

[Losiracer2]

this happened to me too, it was the alternator. my big connector (should have a big black dirt cover) at going into my alternator was loose and kept falling out, thats why i kept loosing voltage.

yeah the little tab on the voltage regulator broke on mine, the FIRST time I unplugged it when doing my Headgasket. So now its just ziptied on there. Its been working great! lol

[kinglui408]

aight. took out the alternator. tested it, failed, badly. like no voltage. got one at pep boys and but it in. runs great. no issues. thanks for the help

[Ghostyman]

Glad you got it fixed

Pretty much any time the car shuts down while driving, it's the alternator or a loose wire. Rarely will a dead battery cause that behavior.

[jova1993cb]

it can also be the main relay under the dash. I had it happen when I would try to start the car and the motor would turn over but not start. I tried untill it started and went where ever I was going and shut it off. I would come back and try to start it and the same thing. I would give it a couple of minutes and bump the dash and she would start. I replaced the relay and no more starting problems. as far as the battery you are supposed to use distilled or deionized water. tap water is ok as long as it isn't well water.

[kinglui408]

heard bout the relay. havent had a reason to replace it. but i thought bout it. figured if the alternator was good that would be it, but alternator was bad. so just went wit it. least my car is now running again.