Finally got the car running again, now the damn thing wont start everytime i cut it off, its like it doesn't have enough juice to turn the starter, i can jump it and run it and everything fine, also when i go to turn the headlights on it dies, and wont restart, im thinking the alternator is bad, and is not recharging the battery, and turning the head lights on is taken the juice it has left and dies, im sooooo getting rid of this damn car, as soon as i get everything right, ANY SUGGESTIONS???????



Josh

 

sounds like a minor problem to me. these cars are great cars for the money but sometimes have electrical problems. it might be the alternator or it might be the battery. might be the spark plugs, it might be several reasons. give the 411 man, like do you hear clicking sounds at all when turning the key? does it caugh at all? did you try applying gas while starting? is it an automatic? how much mileage does it have?

i think if you go to get it checked out for free at a mechanic, or gas station, they'll tell you for free exactly what's wrong with it.

 

alternator 100%.

An alternator is going to go bad on any car that is used man, that's the stupidest reason I've heard ever for ditching a car. I've had two tibs, virtually no problems with either one, just have to take care of them.

 

you otta probably get your battery checked out... i don't know, but i think auto parts stores will check your battery for you free? i don't know though. if your battery is good then you should check to see if your battery is receiving a charge after you jump start the car (remove the jump box before testing for an acurate reading). a multimeter would help. if you don't have a multimeter i guess you could jump the car and let it idle, & if it dies then either you have a bad alternator or a circuit problem (including fuses)... i would say to start with the above first & then go from there..

other opinions would help cause maybe there's a better way of going about it.

 

No.
The alternator is going bad, but is not completely dead (yet).
Get it replaced asap, otherwise my advice to you is that you can probably drive around in the day time, but don't use the radio, ac, heat, and definitely not the headlights.

 

maybe his alternator is bad, but without any diagnosis he might be replacing a part for nothing. i suggest he start with the basics before breaking out the wallet.

can your car run @ all for a decent period of time?

 

when you turn on the key to ON possition (engine stoped) is little battery lamp ON?

Check alternator. Start the car, turn OFF accesories and measure voltage on the battery, should be about 14V.

Before changing alternator I highly recommend charging the battery and checking the batter. Bad battery can kill new alternator (happened to me 2 times - both new alternators went off trying to charge almost empty battery)

 

Dude, don't bad mouth it. It's a 1997. That means it's 8 years old. ANY 8 year old car will have some minor issues and stuff failing on it. Nothing is good forever.

 

^^^ true, it's almost like brake pads - you need to change it in some periods of time

 

Heh, it's like saying your horse is worthless and shooting it because it caught a cold.