after i pulled over to see what was up with my cd player flickering on and off,my battery died. i think it is the alternator, but my cables were very corroded and may have caused a bad connection. im not sure, but as of right now i got the cables clean. i will try to start it up again after it sits a while since we gave it some extra juice from my friends pickup. what do you guys think the problem is, an help is appreciated.

 

when the alternator goes out the engine runs off of the battery until its drained.
then the gauges will die the headlights dim and the engine will sputter and then die.
on the other hand a car will still run with a dead battery..you just have to pop the clutch or jump start the battery.
if you still cant figure it out..
take the battery all the way out and hook the jumper cables straight to the battery cables.
then try starting the motor.
if it still runs after you disconect the jumper cables then its just the battery but if it dies then its the alternator.
hth

 

yes it could be the alternator or the belt. if the belt comes off it will do the same thing but that this is easy to replace. what kinda car you have and maybe i can give you a pic out of my manual

 

well if you had bad connections the car might have just died because of that. If your alternator is shot, your lights would dim, the horn wouldn't work as welll, and your Battery light in the guage cluster would be on. (it goes on when your battery begins to supply the power for the whole car) I've snapped 2 alternator belts... not fun. Fairly easy to fix if you have a jack (be quiet, you know who you are! i got it didn't I?)

If the belt is still on, and you have decent connections, it could be a bad ground or alternator. SOmetimes you can bang the alternator and it will get going for a little bit. BEst thing is to charge your battery up and try it again.

As for the radio........ mine goes on and off sometimes, the radio fuse under the steering column is kinda loose and it never snugs up, so my **** always cuts out

 

if you need an alternator i got one and am willing to sell for cheap

 

it was the alternator, its been replaced now

 

Just a quick warning to anyone reading this thread...

If you disconect the battery while the engine is running you WILL fry the alternator. The alternator needs a battery to discharge into, if it doesn't have it, it will "volt up" and cook the diodes.

 

HEre is the easiest way to check if it is your alternator.

1ST: Start car
2ND: Disconnect NEG from batt

If car dies your alt is bad

 

When my alt died I would be able to run all day (If I didn't have to use headlights, or windshield wipers...ect) on a single charge on the stock size battery. From that experience I would conclude that the engine/ecu uses reletivley little power.

That's smart that you unplug the alt when you race. A lot of folks don't even think of that. Pro racers have larger batteries and also have swiches inside the car to do the same thing. They even have electric water pumps so the blades of the pump don't take any HP from the engine... talk about hard core!