'99 Cadillac Deville battery/alternator problems...Please Help!?

Question

The past few days I've had every neighbor and friend I can think of look at my car, trying anything to save me from an inflated mechanic bill. This is my last hope.

I can't figure out whether I just have a bad battery or my alternator is dead/dying. When I open the door to my car, the lights do come on, but as soon as I turn the key it just dies. Sometimes I heard some weird clicking noises. I have managed to jump it a few times to get it where I was going, but as soon as I turned the car off it was dead again. The last time it went dead it was still running, but someone was testing the battery so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with it. I was told it was the alternator, but then how was I able to get home. Can the alternater gradually die out? What should I do?

Answer 1

I own a shop, and no this is not your last hope. Your last hope is taking it to someone who knows what they are doing, or you can figure this out yourself. Charge the battery, have it load tested, and replace it if its bad. Clean all the connections good, and make sure all the cables are in good condition, tight, and making a good connection. Once you establish you in fact have a good power supply, the connections are good, then you should be ok. The alternator must be tested to know if its good or bad. Jump starting a vehicle can many times cause the alternator to go bad. Remove the (-) negative battery cable, hook a test light or meter between the battery (-) negative terminal, and the (-) negative cable. If the light comes on, or you have a reading on the meter, then make sure everything in the vehicle is turned off. If the light is still on, then remove the wires from the alternator, if the light then goes out, you have a bad alternator. If the light continues to burn, remove the fuses one at a time until you find the one that makes it go off. This will be the circuit that is causing the problem. Many times a battery can have an internal short, and it is no good. One thing you can do to determine if the battery is shorted is; remove the caps on the top of the battery if it has them, turn on all the lights, heater, and have a buddy turn the switch to start & hold it there while you watch the cells in the battery. If one of them begins to boil, then that cell is no good, meaning the battery is bad.
One word of advice: Keep the neighbors out from under your hood, as they will cause more harm than good. You wouldn't let just anyone work on your home computer, so why let the neighbors work on your car? By the way; All mechanics don't have inflated bills for you. There really are some honest mechaincs in this world, and a few of them come on here to help people like you out with problems, so don't bash us too bad. We are just trying to earn a living like anyone else, and some of us even come on here and offer our knowledge for free. Bash the power company, the gas company, and the doctors & drug stores. We have to use them too... Talk about inflated bills.
Glad to help out, Good luck!!!

Answer 2

Cadillac Deville 99

Answer 3

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RE:
'99 Cadillac Deville battery/alternator problems...Please Help!?
The past few days I've had every neighbor and friend I can think of look at my car, trying anything to save me from an inflated mechanic bill. This is my last hope.

I can't figure out whether I just have a bad battery or my alternator is dead/dying. When I open the door to my car, the...

Answer 4

99 Cadillac Deville

Answer 5

Remove the cables and clean the connectors and battery posts with a wire brush or by scraping with a knife until they're shiny bright. Battery cable connectors and posts build up an oxide over time. Even though they're not corroded and don't look dirty the oxide will build up and cause them to make a bad connection. If cleaning the posts and cables doesn't fix the problem take the car to the nearest auto zone or similar parts store and have them check the battery and alternator. They'll do it for free and then you'll only have to purchase what you need without trying parts until you guess right.

Answer 6

You have to get a voltmeter and a lite tester. If the battery has 12-13 volts in the morning, it should start. If not, look at the starter. Start it w/ a jump and put it on the battery again, it should be 13.5-14. Then the alternater is working. My guess? You have a short in one of the 100 accessories in those things and it'll take a master electrician to find it.

Answer 7

you need to check all your connections real good first,then if that don't help it take it to auto zone where they can check the battery and the alternator while their on the car,it sounds like you may either have a alternator draining the power from it or the battery may be going bad,either way they can tell you what it is ,and its free,it sounds like a bad alternator to me,but i cant see or hear or check the car,have them check it then you,ll know,an alternator when its going bad will drain a battery,good luck with it.have a good new years.

Answer 8

my dash shows the battery and then a message" battery not charging" is this an alternator or bad battery. I just brought the battery 2 weeks ago at sears????

Answer 9

Cadillac 99 Deville

Answer 10

does the vehicle stop running after a jump start or run for about 10 to 20 minutes or by turning the head lights on that will be a alternator problem ,if the vehicle continues to run and after the vehicle is parked for 30 minutes try to restart the vehicle if the vehicle starts OK all day as long as the vehicle is being used it is possible it is not a battery problem ,possible cause you left a light on ,in the trunk or the glove box ,crack the trunk open slowly and see if the light is on or have someone go in to the trunk to verify ,check the glove box by cracking open slow and looking in to crack if the light is on