how do you know if it is the alternator or battery that is broken.i charged my battery and went for a drive but the next day the car would not start.can you check to see if the alternator is working or if the battery is holding its charge>
2007-03-13 10:55:59 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
this is easy! and just 1 tool, step 1, get the car running, step 2 ,take the wrench and take the + cable off the battery, if the car stays running, the alternate is good, and the battery is bad, step 3, if the car stales and dies the alternate is bad ! * note, all batteries after 5 years the life is over, if you get 6 years , you got trouble like you got now.
2007-03-13 13:43:58 · answer #1 · answered by greghemmert 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
if you have a multi meter also called a voltometer, then you can check the output of the alternator. When the car is running set the two tips of the multimeter on the Pos and Neg terminals of the alternator. They should be mark as plus and min like the battery. If you are getting right around 12V (Volts) out of the alternator then your good on that. if you get no voltage then its the alternator. If you are only getting a few volts, then its either your groung wire is not grounded correctly, the belts might be too loose or too worn, or the alternator is broken. As for the battery, you will need a load tester. Id have to bee there to show you that but heres a second way. Charge the battery to 12V and test it to make sure its there. Once it has reached 12V go and check the charge every hour or two after charging. If it has dropped since the first charge and continues to do so, then its your batteries. You just got all that from an Army certified mechanic. If people can trust their lives to my skills you can trust me on this. Give it a shot, mechanics is fun.
2007-03-13 11:51:32 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
Take a volt meter. put the leads across the battery, a fully charged battery will read between 12 and 12.5 volts. Start the car the voltage should read 13.5 to 14.5 that means your alternator is good. Your battery could be discharging by something that stays on or it's just dying, with the battery fully charged and if you can take a reading at the same time that your starting the engine it should read about 7-9 volts if it drops much below that check all the connections to the starter or change your battery.
2007-03-13 11:13:50 · answer #3 · answered by Curious George 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
yes...there is equipment available to test both. likely as not the alternator is failing and killing the battery, or has killed it to the point that it will not longer hold a charge
2007-03-13 11:00:26 · answer #4 · answered by malemute1 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
kwik fit are doing free battery testing.... how long have you had your battery if over 4 years then battery might be the problem. also look at car manual as newer cars have a device that lets you know that its the battery...
2007-03-13 11:02:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Take it to Autozone or an O'reilly auto parts store and they will check both to see which one is failing for free
2007-03-13 11:02:03 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
take it to your local auto parts store they will test it for you and tell you if they are bad. or at least they do in our town
2007-03-13 11:04:39 · answer #7 · answered by raven1 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋