car dies.. battery or altinator problem??

[TypeR]

heres ma problem.my car wouldnt start so i boast it up from another car. after like 20 minutes i shut it off and it wouldnt turn back on..

wat could be the problem?is it because im not leting it idle long enough for the altinator to recharge it? or is my battery just dead or alinator not workin?

[Boost Infested]

its the alternator. its not charging. but put a charger on it first or have your battery tested.

[drj21]

take it in to checker auto or auto zone or something like that and they will test both your alternator and battery for free.. then you know what to fix..
:) :)

[TypeR]

plz dont let it be the alternator. the car been seatin 3 days in the cold im hoping its the battery.

someone told me i gota drive the car or make it idle longer so the altenator could charge it.:confused:

[hjr]

if you get it going and take it for a good drive it should charge up the battery. if the alt. dead the car will die and wont charge. but its easiest to take it to a shop to get tested. it should be free.

[Zero102]

Uhhh... for what it's worth, it really sounds like the battery to me.
If you boost it, how long will it run for?

See, if the alternator is not charging, and the battery is completely dead, if you just boost it, then unhook the cables, it should run for at MOST 5-10 minutes.

However, if it is the battery, and you boost it, it should run for as long as you want, until you shut it off, then since the battery is dead, it will not start again.

Been there, done that, twice.

If it IS the battery, change it right away before you kill your alternator too!
A battery that will no longer hold charge, will usually draw all the power it can geat, loading your alternator right up to the nuts, works the hell out of it, and if you keep running it like that, it will cause your alternator to burn up/fail.

An easy to double check is, unhook one of the wires from the battery, preferably the negative, then put a battery charger on it for 30-40 mins, then try to start it. If it starts, then your battery is holding some charge, and it could be the alternator. It should at least turn over a few times if the battery is alright. However, if it does not, then it is the battery.

In order for most shops to test the battery, they will tell you to charge it, then bring it in for testing.

[CRX-R]

Originally posted by Boost Infested
its the alternator. its not charging. but put a charger on it first or have your battery tested.

Could be either Jack, he doesn't really give enough info...

[TypeR]

ill try dat but see the thing is i neva had that problem before its only last wekeend cuz it was freezing cold like -30 degrees

[CRX-R]

Originally posted by TypeR
ill try dat but see the thing is i neva had that problem before its only last wekeend cuz it was freezing cold like -30 degrees

It's the Battery...

[TypeR]

so cant i recharge the battery or the alternator recharge it?

[CRX-R]

no, chances are you need a new one, but if you have a charger. Try hooking it up over night

[jamiecolton]

Originally posted by Boost Infested
its the alternator. its not charging. but put a charger on it first or have your battery tested.

I doubt it. If it was your alternator, then your car wouldn't keep running. Sounds like your battery isn't accepting a charge, but as your car is running, the alternator is supplying the power the car needs as long as it runs.

Here's what you can do yourself:
Buy, or borrow a multimeter, check the voltage of the battery. A healthy battery should read around 13-13.5 volts, then boost your car so it's running, remove the booster cables so the car is independently running, then check the voltage. It should be around 14-15V, but only if your battery is being charged by your alternator. Your alternator doesn't always run, it's charges the battery only when it needs to, so try turning your wipers on, rear defrost, anything just to draw a load to make sure your alternator is doing it's job.

So if you get a low voltage reading below 12V(or even 13V) when your car is off, then I'm pretty sure it's your battery.

-----
Also, Charging a dead battery by just running the car is a bad idea. Your alternator puts out about 30amps and is hard on a battery to bring it from dead to charge. A battery charger that charges at 2amps left overnight is the best. A nice slow charge is always healthy on a battery.

------
One more thing, if you have a bad alternator (which it doesn't sound like) if you let it go and it's only doing half the job(as in charging your battery less then required), it can kill not only your battery, but also your starter. A starter is a motor like any other electrical motor. If it gets less then the voltage then it's designed for(12v) then it will burn out.

[ACURA44]

it sounds like the battery is dead and a longer drive might help but it wont fix it you will need to get a new battery. if you want i can test the system for you just pm me

[ACURA44]

never mind it would take a little long for you to get to my shop lol im in Calgary

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by ACURA44
never mind it would take a little long for you to get to my shop lol im in Calgary

Also, the thread is 7 weeks old. I'm sure he's got it figured by now.