So for the past 3 days, my car keeps dying. Ill go out to start it in the morning but the battery will be near dead. I know that its not the battery because it is a brand new Optima Red Top that I bought this summer. One theory I have is that it could be due to the AEM True Power Pullies that I have on it right now but Im not sure. Today when I left work, I needed a friend to jump my car for me so I could go home. We jumped the car and it started fine. I drove probably less than a mile and I noticed that my lights kept getting dimmer and dimmer. I came to a stop sign and when I started to move again I looked down and my instrument cluster was all dim and the Spedo wasnt going up. All of a sudden, it bouced up and then went back down and bounced up and went back down. The battery light never came on tho. What do you think the problem is? I checked my terminals and they were loose so I tried to tighten them up but they would only tighten soo much and they were still a little loose. Now my car s sitting in a parking lot because I dont want to drive it and “hurt” it. Any help is greatly appreciated.
i had same exact prob, check alt
How do you check an Alt?
autozone, they test it for free, of just buy a new one, the same exact problem happened to me and it was the alt.
…if u buy a new alt, and its not the prob(which im sure u can find out about 1 hour after install) u can bring it back.
Sounds like an alternator problem yea
Although did you notice if your battery light was on whe you drove it?
battery light was NOT on when I drove it. Is there any way to test it while it is in the car?
those pullies aint helping, but i would also bet money on the alternator is beat.
You dont think that it could be the battery terminal things? Its just weird.
I had the same problem a while ago… loose battery terminals
or loose/ corroded ground…
pull the battery terminals off and clean the inside with some fine sandpaper… 240 - 400. Do the same on the battery. Put a small amount of grease inside the connectors and on the battery terminals Connections have to be TIGHT.
ya I have one of those tool things that clean the terminals. I just need to find some of the beefy terminals and do the swap in the parking lot.
alts intermittant brushes r warn its time to replace
which is it? The alt or the Terminals?
Start with the terminals… If you clean them up and the problem purists then move on to the alternator…
And see you at work tomorrow.
:hay:
im betting alt
I agree with you on that.
same thing happened to me not too long ago, it was the alternator. it may be something simple like everyone else is saying, the terminals or a loose ground. to see if the alt is good, take your battery out and try to start the car. if it starts, then it’s not the alternator, but your battery would then be shot.
like i told u, check your self proclaimed “loose ground” that is the proble i promise
how do you put the “beefier” terminals on? Anyone wanna do a detailed explanation?
Cut the old ones off, strip the wires, screw the new ones on. That’s it. Just make sure you buy the right size for your wires before you cut the old ones off, or else you’ll find yourself walking to the parts store to get a different set.
Ask me how I know…
advanced auto sells brand new wires with terminals allready on them, but id change the alt first.