lately i've been having a variety of issues, some of which are still confusing me a bit. here's my story:

a week and a half ago my battery discharge light came on while i was driving. this worried me a bit so i hit the cut off switch for the subs, turned off the cd player and fan. pretty much tried to cut down battery use as much as i could. at that point i couldn't do anything about it since i was commuting to my summer class. after class i have to get right to work, no time in between to get car repairs done. i drove from school to uni-mart (to pick up lunch) with no problems, but when i tried to start the car after that, no go. it just wasn't having any part of that. luckily a guy i work with pulled up to the uni-mart right at that instant, so he was able to jump me so i could get over to work. after work i got home fine, but on the way home the abs light came on in addition to the battery light. i pulled it in the carport because my girlfriend was bringing over an AC battery charger so i could leave it plugged in over night. the next day i took my dad's car to class/work then drove my car to my girl's place so her dad and i could take a look. we tested the battery and it was needing replaced, but when we took the alternator off and apart we found other issues. we replaced a few parts in it for bout $8 (beats buying a new one!). the car at this point was working okay, no problems. [edit -- i did buy a new battery as well, as noted in a post below]

i start to drive it then a day or two later (i was away for a few days) and the abs light comes on again. no battery discharge light, just the abs. i'm not sure how this relates to the picture, but occationally i noticed my subs cutting out. i don't know if it was just a lose connection in the back or if something else was happening, but either way it happened a few times. the abs light has been coming on for a day or two now and sometimes goes away, along with the subs coming back after they cut out a little bit later.

now we're up to monday night leaving my girlfriend's house. i turn on the car to find that there are no headlights. when i pop the hood and check, they're both dead. two silverstars down the drain. the only ones working at this point are the high beams... and i'm not about to drive home with that being my only light source. so i get the headlights out of her old tahoe and put them in mine so i can go home. i'm using those and the high beams between cars. then on the highway i went to use my high beams and nope, no go. guess what? 2 more silverstars burned out. make that 4 now.

right now the car is at my girl's house again so her dad and i can work on it again (he has every tool and item ever). any thoughts?

 

get a new battery or check the condition of yours...

 

whoops, i must have forgotten to put that in. i did get a new battery in addition to the replacement parts for the alternator. is it possible i'm dealing with voltage spikes?