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Car died, not sure why.
Comahawk
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So, my 02 Saturn SL1 decided to die last night at a restaurant.
I went to meet my wife after work at a local diner. After our meal I went outside and my car would not turn over, it wouldn't even attempt to crank or show any signs of having power, except for my stereo clock working. This seemed odd to me, but having my wife's car there we decided to try to boost mine, which worked. I let the car run a couple of minutes and then got her to follow me on the way home.
About 5km later, I noticed my headlights were flickering on the road ahead, which was quickly followed by my car completely losing power (again, radio clock was on), luckily I was able to pull over without any difficulty. Same problem as before, turning the ignition won't cause the car to crank and no signs of power. So now my car is sitting on the side of the highway until later, when I can get it towed.
What I need to know is what can be causing this?
My worry is that the electrical system is fried, as it doesn't seem likely that it is a battery issue, as there was not the usual ticking noise a dead/dying battery gives off, nor did the car give any warning of being low on power/any other issues (no light/check engine).
I went to meet my wife after work at a local diner. After our meal I went outside and my car would not turn over, it wouldn't even attempt to crank or show any signs of having power, except for my stereo clock working. This seemed odd to me, but having my wife's car there we decided to try to boost mine, which worked. I let the car run a couple of minutes and then got her to follow me on the way home.
About 5km later, I noticed my headlights were flickering on the road ahead, which was quickly followed by my car completely losing power (again, radio clock was on), luckily I was able to pull over without any difficulty. Same problem as before, turning the ignition won't cause the car to crank and no signs of power. So now my car is sitting on the side of the highway until later, when I can get it towed.
What I need to know is what can be causing this?
My worry is that the electrical system is fried, as it doesn't seem likely that it is a battery issue, as there was not the usual ticking noise a dead/dying battery gives off, nor did the car give any warning of being low on power/any other issues (no light/check engine).
Comahawk on
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Its job is to basically keep the electricity flowing and keep your battery charged once your car is started, so you aren't continually running down the battery while you drive. That's why, if it's bad, you can jump-start the car but it will soon die again.
Edit: you should realize that your car doesn't need a lot of power to run. The current draw comes from incidentals: headlights, heater fan, etc. If you have to drive with limited juice, turn every peripheral you can off. A car with a fully charged battery and a junk alternator can run hundreds of miles before the battery is drained. Keep this in mind if you try to limp home, or to someplace that can help you out.
I had an alternator die in a car of mine, and never got a warning light or anything. All the lights slowly got more and more dim, with whole systems slowly dying one-by-one until I couldn't move the car any more.
As other people have said get the alternator looked at as well, but from personal experience the battery was not so great.
The battery is relatively new, less than two years old, so I don't think it is that. After having a look my brother, father and I are thinking it is the alternator and I will be removing it on monday (earliest I can get around to it) to have it bench tested.
Never assume that just because it's new that it works. When you pull the alternator, pull the battery. Have em both tested.
I went out and bought a brand new Everstart battery about two years ago (Yes, they're no Duralast, but for the money they can't be beat), and started having troubles with my power a year after that. Turns out one of the cells was damaged and got replaced free. However, the catch here is that I though because it was new it was good, and checked every single other aspect of my electrical system before just getting the battery tested.