Ezroni

1997 SC300

i was driving down Great Highway with my friend yesterday when i noticed my battery light turned on, so i turned my headlights off (6000K HIDs; it was foggy and raining earlier in the day) and the batt. light went away. i soon forgot about it (i should've paid more attention, I know).. all was well until later in the day when i left for work and noticed my deck was turning on and off and the battery light came on again, as well as the ABS light!

at a red light, i decided to turn my car off and back on again to hopefully "reset" the battery (i'm still new to cars so i didn't know if this was wise or not) but all that happened was my car dying and not being able to turn on again. fast forward to AAA coming to help me move out of the busy intersection... the gentleman from AAA told me that the problem was not the battery but rather the alternator was shot. he made me test this by removing the jumper cables and asking me to turn the car on, let it idle for a few minutes, and turn my headlights on. the battery light turned on as soon as i turned the headlights on and the car started sounding like it was dying which "confirmed" Mr. AAA's suspicions that it's an alternator problem

long story short, how can I tell if it's a problem with my battery vs. alternator? and is the stock 80 amps for a '97 SC300 enough to handle 6000K HIDs, upgraded stereo (nothing crazy, no subs), and bluetooth navigation? i've seen 200+ amps for sale but only on ebay and I don't know how good of quality alternators those are

cliffs:
-1997 SC300
-battery light turns on
-all is well until i leave for work
-battery light on again, deck turns off and on again several times
-ABS light turns on
-shut off car to try to reset battery (prob not the smartest thing to do)
-car dies
-AAA guy says it's not the battery, it's the alternator
-80 amps enough power for a few aftermarket accessories?

Blkexcoupe

iTrader: (8)

You can't reset a battery by turning the car on and off. The battery only has 1 job, and that is to start the car. Once the engine is started the alternator powers everything and recharges the battery. Just change out the alternator and the battery and you should be good. A bad alternator does damage to the battery too. You might be able to recharge the battery and still use it if the battery is fairly new. If the battery is a couple of years old, then chances are there will already be damage.

80 amps should be able to power your simple mods with no problem. My car has HID headlights and fogs, a full sound system with 3 amplifiers, and 2 air compressors to fill the tank of my air suspension. I'm still using my stock alternator.

Savager

Yea that's sounds like a bad alternator. If u have spare time, you can check DIY there is article about how to repair alternator for really cheap (not sure if it's gonna help in this case).
But if you don't want to hassle, then just buy new one and toss it in.

Ezroni

thanks fellas

i'll be safe and replace them both. battery is from 2013. better safe than sorry