cars not holding charge keeps dying even after jump start

**MWAKU** · 28-11-2012 10:56 PM

so was driving today, saw some random lights come on, SRS for a bit, went off, turned the car off parked. drove again later, airbag lights came on, then went off, ignored it, drove to my friends house, parked there for abit, noticed my headunit was off. so turned off the car, then the car wouldnt start again. note the drives were from green valley -> parramatta, then parra back to GV, so not short drives. whole time from parra back to GV i could hear my engine, sounded louder? and kinda weird?

car kept making the machine gun noise when trying to crank, lol, so tried to start it a few times, then jump start it nothing. left my car there came back an hour later and jump started it again went fine. drove for about 10mins, car starts playing up, speedo comes on and off, headunit goes on n off, OEM din goes on and off, and lights start popping all over the cluster. get to a red light, car starts bailing, so drove again and then the car died after gear 2. pulled over.

jump started again (had my friend follow me home), left it there for abit running, turned on my HIDS, car turned off. so connected the cables again, left it for abit , started the car, headlights, again turned off. so jump started again, drove, and only left it on parkers, made it 15mins, going up a hill to a red light, then car died again.

pushed the car into a small street, did the same things again and again, car just kept dying. after a while, got it going and made it safely home!

sitting in my drive way, cars running OK, put on the HIDS, car didn't turn off. ok whatever, so just turned off the car, left it as is.

What do you think is the problem?

Battery? Alternator?

Im assuming the alternators buck

**dc2r-0636** · 28-11-2012 11:01 PM

Just had this problem couple months back..

Alternator shit it's self, and needed a new earth wire from battery to chassis

All up bout $250?

Just get it reco'd

**MWAKU** · 28-11-2012 11:05 PM

yea thought so

hmmm gotta drive it too the mechanic so risky. can't stand it dieing on me again full having to push it n shit lol. how much does a BN alternator cost? is it easy to install?

should i also get a new battery?

**dc2r-0636** · 28-11-2012 11:08 PM

I never looked into getting a brand spanker coz oem was like $1500 (for dc2) and aftermarket is prbz shit quality..

**dc2r-0636** · 28-11-2012 11:09 PM

On a B series it's do able but head fuk to get out n in. k series would be easier i assume..

I got a new battery a week before I got my alternator rebuilt coz i thought that was fukd but yeh.
Upto u.

**MWAKU** · 28-11-2012 11:16 PM

hmm will getting a new battery do any difference if its the alternator thats fried? like will it make a difference now? be able to actually drive places for a bit, eg. to atleast a mechanic?

**eg5civic** · 29-11-2012 04:58 AM

Same thing happened in my ute daily, picked it up from smash repairs (i got rear ended), drive off from the place, cruising down a hill, ute starts getting shakey, just dies on the spot, tried jumping it, we'd get it started then remove the leads car dies again. The alternator was farked, basically its not giving out enough voltage to run the car let alone keep the battery charged, so itd last for 20-30 seconds then everything shuts down.

You could get a new battery or charge your old one, but your going to drain it pretty quickly while driving and you might just end up stuck inbetween home and mechanics.
My opinion, take it off yourself and get it reco'd if you know how to remove it, or a confident doing it, if not, tow it to a mechanics

**dc2r-0636** · 29-11-2012 06:34 AM

Originally Posted by MWAKU

hmm will getting a new battery do any difference if its the alternator thats fried? like will it make a difference now? be able to actually drive places for a bit, eg. to atleast a mechanic?

Yeh it did for me. I changed it to a brand new battery and the problem went away for a day or two. I was wrapped thought it was just the battery but yeh it was the alternator

**mocchi** · 29-11-2012 07:09 AM

what car is it

**.Dave** · 29-11-2012 08:22 AM

new battery will give you some life, as said maybe a day or so, (depending on how much you use, like lights headunit aircon etc) but because its not being charged by alternator itll end up the same as the other battery eventually, i got a reconditioned one for my pulsar for 90 bucks...

**trism** · 29-11-2012 08:23 AM

Sounds like your alternator isnt charging.

Could be a fuxxed alternator, could be a fuxxed regulator, could be something as simple as a ground wire come loose.

Have you got, or do you have access to a multimeter? If you dont have one, go down to repco/autobarn/supercheap etc etc and pick one up. Jump start the car, and let it idle over for 20 minutes, then put the multimeter across the terminals, and see what the voltage is.

If its any less than about 13.8, you know there is a problem.

**eLtrix** · 29-11-2012 09:40 AM

Just replace your alternator first. There's no point in replacing your battery because chances are it is fine but it is just drained cause your alternator couldn't charge it up. Just take it to your local mechanic and they can charge it up to full for like $10 bucks, or just start it again with the new alternator and you'll be right!

From there you can judge if you really want a new battery.

As for cost of an alternator... nfi.