[vederz]

I am going to buy the lifetime warranty alternator from Autozone seeing as it's across the street from my mechanic. He's charging me $160 to replace it which I think is very fair. Don't know what else it could be.

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

Type of car? Engine? Mileage?

Typically we recommend that people find a local rebuilder. The cost difference is tremendous. Instead of $160, you'd pay between $40 and $80.

 

[mikeeshaq]

Lifetime warranty...

Does that include the labor to replace it?

 

[Grumpy]

How old is the battery? Had your "charge/battery" light illuminated when the engine was running?

 

[Fucus-minded]

this has happened to me before...I have the battery checked and they say it is good and tell me to change the alternator... I do that and same issue...when I play around with the terminal wires I can get it to stop doing that and no problems unless it get's loose again or I put them in a lil sideways...wish I could replace those freaking posts, I think they are the issues...I have just replaced my terminals so hope that helps.

 

[vederz]

Battery is good. Re-made connections at battery posts. Good & tight. Reset codes and ran for 10 minutes at idle and high rpm. Nothing. I did get the low voltage 9318, and P103 is still in memory...but nothing else. I know if I drive it I'm gonna breakdown somewhere. I don't wanna buy parts I don't need, but sure is acting like volt/reg..alt.

 

[vederz]

Well. I went to Walmart to buy a starter type battery jumper. When I went to start the car, it wouldn't start. I finally got somebody to give me a jump, but the truck couldn't do it. When I added the battery jumper~It Started..It will only start with the battery jumper. If I take the lead off while it is running the engine dies. On Battery alone, I get no lights whatsover. I checked the terminal voltage. It is allowing 14.5 volts through and I did have the engine running.So what the Heck is going on?

 

[Grumpy]

First.....stop disconnecting/reconnecting battery power with the ignition switch ON! It's not a good idea. If you are not getting "lights" at the same time as the no cranking issue then you still have to have a bad circuit connection somewhere between the battery and the battery junction box (that's where the 30A fuse is) through to the central junction box, and then through to the starter. That'll be the "heavy" red wire. The positive battery terminal connection is only one of several. Check the ground cable as well from the battery terminal connection to the main body/engine ground connection. They've got to be clean (no corrosion) and tight.

 

[whynotthinkwhynot]

If I take the lead off while it is running the engine dies. On Battery alone, I get no lights whatsover. I checked the terminal voltage. It is allowing 14.5 volts through and I did have the engine running.So what the Heck is going on?

You have a seriously old battery. That happens with really old batteries. You'll read 12+v when you put a tester on it, but if you can have an assistant turn the key to start while you hold your voltage tester on the battery you'll see it drop to 6-8v, too low to start. That's one way to do a load test if the auto parts store guys don't know how to do it. Since your electrolyte is depleted- your battery doesn't hold "juice."

The only reason I can think that it didn't start with the jumper is due to the jumper cables and that connection to the battery. It probably wasn't good enough to handle the load. The alternator is working since you were reading 14.5v with the engine running. The battery is the problem, and that's why when you disconnect the starter battery- it dies.

 

[vederz]

Okay. I went back to basics and cleaned the battery terminals really well. That's all it turned out to be. I want to thank all of you for your advice. You guys gave me the courage to tackle all the testing. And it paid off. I figure I saved about $500. I was literally moments away from buying a new alternator. I love this car. She's purrin agin!!!