Is my battery dead or alternator? What do you guys think?

[tigglebitties]

So other day I washed my car next day car is dead, only wierd thing I noticed was the fact that my antilock break light was on after I washed it. So I take it home turn off my car. Next day it's dead. Well it was dead and cold I left it for a day and now I jump start my car have y car idle for 10 minutes on it's own then I start to drive it and it goes about 10 feet then car shows me check engine like flickers then dies. Soo fun pushing my car. So is it my battery is dead, my alternator is screwed, or what? cause if my battery is frozen I wouldn't have gotten the initial jump would I?

 

[DSMcamaro]

Its your alternator thats bad. The battery can still hold a charge since you were able to start it and I assume you had it running with the jumper cables off for 10 min. It might not be a bad idea to replace both though if your battery isnt that new anyways. You could also buy a voltage tester and test you battery.

 

[femmeDSM]

Yeah, I'm going with Alternator, as well.
As mentioned, if the battery was able to hold any charge, even long enough to drive it a few feet, your battery is okay for now. However, running a car (even for a few minutes) on a battery alone will quickly put a lot of wear on the battery. I would be prepared to replace both.

 

[zimus]

i would have say alternator as well, the battery is just for starting the car after that it runs off the altternator.voltage tester a must have that way you dont have to guess you can see whats its doing.

 

[Old Mitsu Tech]

Just for argument's sake, did you pull a voltage test on the battery with the engine running?

Let us know the results

 

[supermariobros]

Ya its your alternater, I had the same thing happen to my car.

 

[wcpierson]

i had the same problem with my car 2 weeks ago...check the voltage at the battery once u get it jumped if its around 12 volts then you are running straight off the power from the battery and that means your alternator is shot(that was my problem) but if you are running 14 volts at the battery with the car running then its your battery....check your fusible link first

 

[exile]

Same thing happened to me last month, apparently ever since I replaced the alternator I've been hearing about how crappy my new one is. If you can avoid it, don't get the "Worldwide" alternator from Adv.AutoParts.

 

[awdtalontsi1992]

Sounds like a classic case of dead alternator. Bag it. Tag it. Sell it to the butcher in the store.

 

[ALLBoostAWD]

Remove them both and take them to an Auto parts store ie: Advanced auto or Auto Zone and they can test both of them for you. And no you dont have to buy from them and yes it is FREE!!