ok, i'm pretty positive it is the alternator. basically, my batter won't hold a charge. i was driving around fri night, and my radio started going off and on, i lost all my interior lights, and my headlights went really dim. and then i got a "jump" and everything was fine. a little bit later, it did the same thing, then finally lost all power to the car and it shut off. it wouldn't start up until someone came and jumped me. after the jump, the car shut right back off when i tried to drive it. after a couple times, the car wouldn't start at all. so the next morning, i got the battery recharged and took it back to the car and it started up just fine. then the same **** happened last night. so i'm assuming its the alternator causing it, but i just want to see if it could be anything else contributing to the problem. thanks in advance

 

I'd say it's the alternator. a can with a charged battery can run around 1.5 hours with no alternator then it'll die like you say. if you have a volt meter get the car running again and measure the voltage across the battery. it should be 13-14 volts, if 11-12 you alternator is not working. I'd recommand buying a new battery too, once they die once or twice they are garbage.

 

go to autozone or something similar, and have them check your battery to see if it holds a charge, and have them check the voltage and amperage of your alternator, they do it all for free... "you can afford free right?" (some AirForce recruiter kept saying that ****... haha)

 

LOL, I really need to start typing slower and checking stuff

 

well i have a volt meter readout on the turbo timer, and when someone elses battery was "connected" to mine, it was reading like 12.5 with the car running. and with just my battery, it read low 11's, then after driving it, it started dropping slowly, it gets down to low 7 volts. after they charged the battery, i had them "test" it and it was good, but i never saw it go over 13 volts when they were testing it. also, i have an underdrive pulley on the car, so would that cause the volts to be lower than normal? and how hard is it to get the alternator pulley bolt off?

 

Your battery should read 12-12.5V with the engine off and around 13.5-14V running. Sounds like shot alternator. I'm surprised the car even ran with voltage that low, automotive ECUs normally shut down at <10V.
An underdrive pulley won't cause a lower voltage, it'll just produce less current and so charge the battery slower.

 

damn, thats really interesting, cause its run like that at 11 or so volts with the car running for about a year or so now. man, that is really fugged up. well i'll be getting the new alternator tommorrow and i'll see what its running at

 

ok, i got the new alternator on and got the battery recharged. when i first started it up, it was reading 13.5 volts. and after it warmed all the way up and the lights were turned on, it was reading high 11's low 12's at idle. when the car is actually being driven, it reads over 13. does that sound normal? i'll see how it is during the day with the lights off. well let me know what ya'll think