car starts after giving it a jump, but dies again - bad battery or alternator?
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car starts after giving it a jump, but dies again - bad battery or alternator?
Hi All,
I went to start my car this morning and it wouldn't start. I jumped the battery from another car and it immediately started (like within a minute of connecting the cables). When I started to drive the car I noticed the cruise light in the dashboard was dimming a little and when the transmission was shifting the car jerked/hesitated for a moment.
I'm wondering is this a battery issue (it is old on my car and there is some corrosion on the terminals) or could it be the alternator?
After seeing all this I immediately drove the car back home. After turning it off I went to turn on the car again and it would not start.
I went to start my car this morning and it wouldn't start. I jumped the battery from another car and it immediately started (like within a minute of connecting the cables). When I started to drive the car I noticed the cruise light in the dashboard was dimming a little and when the transmission was shifting the car jerked/hesitated for a moment.
I'm wondering is this a battery issue (it is old on my car and there is some corrosion on the terminals) or could it be the alternator?
After seeing all this I immediately drove the car back home. After turning it off I went to turn on the car again and it would not start.
#6
Yep, that is correct. Quick way to test if you have a DMM (digital multimeter): Set the meter to DC volts (or if it auto-selects between AC and DC just put it on the "volts" setting), put the red lead of the meter on the positive terminal of the battery and the black on the negative terminal. It should read about 13v at idle. Revving it pushes it up near 14v. If it doesn't do this when you rev it or the voltage stays near 12v and is falling as the car runs, you have a bad alternator. If you had a bad battery it would run okay and act normal as you drove around, but you would likely have to jump it every time you start it again.
Last edited by repairmatt; 07-29-13 at 01:07 PM.
#7
I agree with the last post: get a DVM. normal batt voltage is 12.4 to 12.6, 13.5 with alt. spinning.
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#12
Autozone or AAA can isolate the issue, then you would need to remove the component to make certain, because according to Autozone, their analysis is only 90% accurate on the car, still not bad but it could be something else.
For me it was a suspected bad alternator but when I benched it was fine then I tracked it down to a bad connector. Saved bucks that way.
Get a DVM ( digital volt meter ) it will save you more than once and well worth it.
For me it was a suspected bad alternator but when I benched it was fine then I tracked it down to a bad connector. Saved bucks that way.
Get a DVM ( digital volt meter ) it will save you more than once and well worth it.
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