Have a 91 Grand Am, taken extremely good care of it, all belts changed in september, new battery last june, while driving last night the wipers, lights, dash lights all got either slow or very very dim, woke up this morning car won't start, won't take a jump, I am thinking alternator, starter, or hopefully(wishful thinking) a fuse. Going to try new battery, check fuses etc...... Any ideas folks, thanks a lot
2007-04-12 13:25:36 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
It sounds like an alternator problem. More then likely the battery ran completely down - sometimes jumping will not even start it when the battery is that low.
2007-04-12 13:47:27 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your alternator has probably failed on you. It quit while you were driving last night and as your battery voltage dropped the wipers and lights started to go on the blink. Consider yourself lucky that you got home with it.
You need to put your battery on a charger, preferably a slow charger and build it back up. Since its a fairly new battery it will probably be alright. Right now however it is probably nearly totally drained and a slow charge will build it back up. If you try a fast charge it probably won't take and hold any energy.
Then with a fully charged battery check or have your alternator checked with a voltmeter. Your battery will have 12 to 12.5 volts with the engine off, with the engine running you should be charging 13.9 to 14.5 volts on a GM product. If its less than 13.9, and I believe it will probably be almost the same as if the engine is off, then you will need a new alternator.
A rebuilt alternator is your best bet, buy a good quality model or get an electrical shop to overhaul your old one for you. These GM alternators are prone to failure, especially the ridiculously cheap rebuilt ones, so keep that in mind.
2007-04-12 14:29:00 · answer #2 · answered by lwjksu89 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Bad alternator. You were driving on the battery for a while and all that stuff getting dim was the battery dieing. Don't waste money on a new battery. It wouldn't make the lights dim while the engine was running. You don't even need a battery once the car is started if the alternator is working.
2007-04-12 13:34:41 · answer #3 · answered by Nomadd 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Alternator, maybe a battery. Most people don't know that a car will NOT run with a dead battery. And a alternator will NOT work if the battery is dead, even if the car is running. An alternator requires 12VDC to energize the field windings. A GENERATOR does not. Good luck
2007-04-12 14:01:36 · answer #4 · answered by rat396 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Same thing happened to my car..and as it turns out it was the altenator. Its a very simple fix an should only cost you abut 70..maybe less the core charge is all taken of. (core charge is what tey charge you until you bring back the old one.) its a simple change, I had mine out and fixed withing 10 minutes. All you need to do is disconnect your battery, take the power source from the altenator..its like a connector wire in th back. take out the 2 or 3 screws it may have take it off oput on the new one and plug everything back into it and ur good t go!!
2007-04-12 14:35:29 · answer #5 · answered by Mel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you will need a new battery and alternator .your alternator quit charging that is why everything died. you can put in a new battery and it will probably last about 2 or 3 days until everything dies again you will have to change the alternator also
2007-04-12 13:41:42 · answer #6 · answered by arctic1 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
alternator most likly.also add a extra ground always a good idea with d.c. battery type things.
2007-04-12 13:31:14 · answer #7 · answered by lcayote 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
cheap azz!! buy a 2007 chevy **** ford... chevy to da foolest
2007-04-12 13:28:23 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋