battery help!
 

hello, i bought a battery like a month ago and my car wasnt starting up so i jumpstarted it with my dads car and it seemed to be running strong while i took it for a short lap around the block. the very next morning i try to start my car and it wont start. it also changed from a small repeated clicking sound, to a one solid click followed by silence. my friend told me that it could be the alternator not charging the car as i drove. but if it died on me overnight while the car was off, could it still be the alternator?

thanks =]

-samo

yes.. it could be your battery's amp level is below what is required to start the car.. or there is parasitic drain on your electrical system.

Yeah, the jump start may have given enough juice for your battery to stay alive for your drive around the block, but the alternator wasn't recharging the battery.

If you have access to a voltmeter, check the following link:
http://www3.telus.net/chemelec/Proje...Alternator.htm

yes the alternator is done. go to E d m o n d s S t a r t e r s a n d A l t e r n a t o r s

Why would you tell the guy it's the alternator without any diagnostic info? That's just bad advice.

You know peferctly well it could be a parasitic drain, bad connection (batt., alt., starter), bad alternator, etc. - hell, it could be a defective battery.

OP, check the alternator with a voltmeter first or get it diagnosed before randomly replacing parts.

this could be a battery not holding charge

not the alternator...

try it with another battery first before dumping $$$ for a new alternator

thanks for ur help guys! i'm leaning towards it being parasitic drain actually, i dont feel as though its the alternator. i got a sound system that could be draining power as the car is off, but i'll investigate it. i also fergot to mention that prior to the battery dying i hadnt driven the car in 2 weeks -_-

-samo

best way to find where the power drained to, and fix it. if you don't find the problem, you can just put a kill switch at the battery, unplug it when you are not drving, if it still drain power, then you have a bad battery that doesn't hold the charge even it's a new battery. it's one of the effected batterys.

What kind of car?
Based on your description of problems I'd be having the battery checked out and the alternator checked out. Here's an easy trouble free test for you to do. If you don't have a multimeter.
1) Jump start the car.
2) Let run for a few minutes.
3) Is your check gauges or check engine light on? (if so equipped)
4) If so your alternator is pooched and possibly your battery. (if not equipped with this feature proceed to next step)
5) Turn on an accessory like the heater or lights.
6) Continue to run engine and wait till engine stalls.
7) If it stalls (and your car is an otherwise sound running car) then your alternator is not supplying enough power to charge the battery keep everything going.
Basically your engine is running only on the reserve capacitance of the battery and when that is depleted it will stall.
If you have a multimeter or can borrow one just check for voltage at the battery while its running and it should be between 13.5 and 14.5 volts dc.

seems familiar to what happened to me:lol when your key is turned to "ON", does it seem like your car's interior lighting has no power? for example, my clock was faded and nothing on the cluster lit up. i checked the battery with a voltmeter and it seemed to read okay. turns out, it was just loose battery terminals:lol as for the ticking noises, starters do that when you're low on battery, i believe. correct me if i'm wrong, create a flow chart! :)

yeah turned out to be a small draw from the alarm system and capacitors, as i dont drive my car often. got it figured out now. thanks everyone! :)

Good to hear you got it sorted out without having to replace anything.