Battery or Alternator?

[Passion 4 Speed]

My battery just went out when i tried to turn on the car, even after a battery jump car still turns off like a couple of seconds after i remove the jumper cables and wont start back up again. Theres a check engine light on, but the battery light was never on while i was driving i dont know how these 1g models let u know if ur alternator is bad either way i plan on buying a battery this friday, but the thing is if my alternator is bad this thing is gonna happen all over again and would be a waste of money. the part that really sucks is that i only have enough to buy a battery! oo well i jus hope its the battery
any ideas??

 

[CurtTSI]

Could be either the battery or alternator. Be sure to have the battery tested before buying a new one. It could be that it is just discharged due to a bad alternator. You could also jump start the car and measure the voltage between the positive and negitive battery terminals. If the voltage is lower, when the engine is running, the alternator is bad. I think that you can buy a rebuilt alternator for about $75 exchanged or I will sell you a new, never installed, 75A mitsubishi alternator for $75 shipped.

 

[evotuner]

Sounds like the alternator is bad. If your alternator is good, when you took the jumper cables off it should have kept running. If you start any car, you can actually disconnect the battery and the car will still run, because you are running off the alternator.

 

[Passion 4 Speed]

hey, i jus bought a brand new battery from pep boys ( 70 bucks) put it on and the car runs better than before.. it use to have a really bad idle, but since i put on this new battery the idle has improved and acceleration too.. thats wierd to me. but ne ways after awhile the car starting problems became normal takes a while to start... sometimes i notice this when the car has been off for a while or hot.But it starts up good when its reall cool or a long time shut off. Clues of a bad alternator or a bad starter..? jus did a fresh tune up! "CEL" was gone until i was driving up around 50-60mph range..its ok tho tomm im taking it to the dealer i bought it from because i have a 30 day warranty on both engine and tranny, so imma be a biocth about that.... And more on the idle speed, when i give it gas and hold it steady above 1000 rpms the rev jus goes up and down slowly in a pattern or a loop could this be the ISC that commonly goes wrong? sorry about all the ?'s im learning more about this car.. but i would like all help i could i get so i can tell the dealer what to aim for instead of all day trying to figure out whats wrong.
thanks a lot!

 

[ericismyname]

when my altternator was going bad like 4 lights stayed contiusly on and i drove for like a week like that not knowing whaat was wrong.after it finally didmnt run i jumped it, itd run for like 1 minute hten die again.

i had oreilys test battery n alternator. both bad, got both from them, lifetime warranty for battery. anyway that is that.

messed up idle on 1gs is common. Check for quick fixes on IDLE SURGE . Also Check your ECU capaciters. Chances are they are leaking. Take our your ECU and smell it..smeels lik rotton fish. Then its leaking. This stuff can be fou nd at www.vfaq.com . Good luck. 1gs are alot of work.

 

[streetraceboi]

could have also been the alternator fuse...

 

[Passion 4 Speed]

bad idle solved, what they did was replaced the worn out oxygen sensor and did something with the tp sensor.. they told me that they are gonna replace the sensor becuase its bad so i gotta go back to them. but now the car idles perfect and calm! alternator checked out fine too..today was a good day thanks for all the advice!!

 

[Passion 4 Speed]

hey eric did all the lights that stayed on were bright? cause my lights stay on too but they're very dim like hard 2 see. but when i give it gas it goes away.. is this normal or is it telling me i need a new alt?

 

[ericismyname]

That is what mine did. it was like 4 lights ont he bottom i cant rember which ones for sure. sometimes they dimmed sometimes they got brighter...also when your alternator is abou to die when u press on the brakes, your sterio will cut out. mine only lasted like less then a day once it started doing that. I ended up needing a new alternator and battery. Alternator is kind of pain to replace cuase i had to take off fender. get it tested soon becuase it SUX ghaving ur car die in the middle of the road and having to have it pushed bya bunch of people. Anyway good luck. Save urself embaressment .

*edit*

i now read that u got ur alternator checked. says its okay? did u test battery too? If you cant figure it out. Id try buying alternator then replacing it and seeing if it works and if nothing has changed just return it for all ur money. But it really soundsl ike ur alternator going out.

 

[Passion 4 Speed]

yea imma buy a new alternator then just to get that worry out of the way, this is the only thing i dont like about buying a used car cause u really dont know what u are getting into..=/. plus i had that experience too and yes it does suck! And it does look like a pain to take out the altnator even the drive belts! but ne ways thanks a lot for ur help u jus saved me from pushing my car from the road!

 

[ericismyname]

Buy one that is rebuilt and has a lifetime warranty. They will charge u a hefty core charge but u get it back when u return your dead one.

 

[skye]

in my 2g the park brake light stayed on when the alternator went bad... *shrug*

 

[Passion 4 Speed]

Yup i bought a rebuilt one for 130 cash, and it was a b*cth to remove and to place back! took me about 3 hours becuase i didnt have the right wrench to move out the top bolt. but yea after all that cursing... put the new one etc. car runs good, no dim lights! well ne ways thanks for the help!

 

[GSTSleeper]

Sounds like the alternator is bad. If your alternator is good, when you took the jumper cables off it should have kept running. If you start any car, you can actually disconnect the battery and the car will still run, because you are running off the alternator.

WHOA!!!!

yea and FRY the shit out of your computer...im pretty sure your car hates you now...


a battery is a shock absorber and helps reduce voltage spikes that will destroy your modules....

 

[ben90tsi]

Yeah ist it the other way around? You can take off the alternator belt and the car will still run, thats what a lot of guys do at the trak because they think driving the extra belt takes away power. Disconnecting your battery while the car is running is a bad idea id say.

 

[GSTSleeper]

.....don't take of either.


your alternator puts out 14+ volts...without it ur car wouldn't last long since ur battery puts out 12.68v at 100% charge.