i already went through two alternators..it seemed like both went out on me cause all the warning lights came on...the second one i got was charging up to 16 volts when i drove the car..and that one died..so i decided just to buy a new alternator from auto zone instead of the junkyard..put it in and went to work..had a friend try to jump it when i was at work...he told me it started and he let it sit for 30 minutes..then tried to drive it..as soon as he turned the steering wheel while backing out the car died..he had to go so i told him that i'll look at it when i get off work..got back opened the door..no power to anything at all...could it just be a bad battery?!

 

one more thing that i forgot..they started it up a second time and let it sit...after a while it slowing died..

 

sounds like the alt is not plugged in or is bad.

what is the voltage on the volt meter?

 

they told me that when they started it up it read 13-14..pretty good right..today when i checked up on it the battery was bad i think..the sides werent flat..they had bulges..so i put my old battery back in and turned the key..i keep hearing this buzzing noies..im thinking bad battery still..but i dont really know..plz help...

 

here are some pictures of the battery

 

looks like a battery that has been way overcharged

 

yeah..when i got my second alternator from the junkyard i was going all the way up to 16 volts..but now with my new alternator and old battery im running pretty good..but its acts funny...sometimes the volts drop from 14 to alittle under 12 and i hear a buzzing noise...then it'll up back to 14 after a while...whys that?!

 

anything above 15 volts is very bad

 

i found that out after the second alternator..but now im wondering about the buzzing noise and why the volts play around..

 

Also, the alternator you got from autozone was probably not new. It was probably a remanufactured one. Which, IMO, are hit and miss. I've had to go through 3 or 4 just to get 1 good one more times than I care to admit... Next time, I'm just buying the brushes and doing it myself.

 

so do i really have to worry about it dropping and jumping back to where it belongs?!

 

actually not re-manufactured, but rather rebuilt.

Re-manufactured: everything taken apart, and any part not in original tolerances is replaced.

Re-built: everything broken replaced.

Autozone is known for selling rebuilt alternators. I typically have only seen one out of three Autozone alts actually be in good condition.

 

also ,if you are so inclined,check your phone book for an auto electric specialist,they will usually rebuild one for a very nominal fee,(my local guy charges $25) and they always work right! same with starters by the way.

 

No.. I was right.. Re-Manufactured. All of the ones I've had fail said "reman" on them. And I typically don't go to autozone anymore for that kind of stuff... but, every time I did. It had a sticker than said "reman" on it.

 

if the shape returns to normal will the battery be good again?!