Alright so a couple of weeks ago I was running errands and probably parked my car about 4 or 5 times. Each time I left the place I was at the car turned on perfectly fine, then at the final place where I was at the car wouldn't turn on anymore. It cranked really slow as if I had left the stereo or lights on or something (I didn't).
I got someone to give me a jump and the car turned on right away. The car then ran fine for the next couple of days. Then one morning it happened again! The car wouldn't turn on and it would crank slowly then slow down even more.
I took the battery out and decided to go get it charged at autozone. The guy told me my battery was at 80% and charged it completely for me.
The following day I put the battery back in my car and the car fires right up. I turn it on and off a couple of times and each time it turns on quickly. I left to run some errands in my other car and come back later that day and decide to take the car out for a spin...
The car turns on fine and I take it out of the alley in the back of my house, I get to the corner of the street and alley and turn it off because I had to go back in the house to get something. Once I get back to the car I try to start it up again and it cranks slowly and won't turn on! :fm: I jump started it and just parked it in my back yard again.
A few days go by and when I attempted to turn the car back on and all I got was really fast clicking. I then thought that maybe my alternator was bad so I jump started my car again but this time I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery once it started and it stayed on! My understanding is that if the car would have turned off then my alternator was bad, but it if stayed on then it was probably my battery.
I've been really busy so another few days go by (it's now today, Saturday) and I go out and check my battery with a multimeter. The battery read 11.9 volts. I jump start the car again and the battery jumps up to about 13.9-14.2 volts. I leave it on for a while and then finally turn it back off. I proceed to turn it back on and it turns on like normal. I try it about 2 more times and it does so without a problem. Then I wait about 5 minutes and try again and the car once again cranks very slowly BUT manages to turn on.
Now before I go buy another battery I want to make sure my alternator is working fine, so besides disconnecting the negative terminal on the battery how do I check the volts on the alternator? What cables should I tap into? If you have pics that would help.
I'll go out in a bit and check the battery's volts again (it's now been about an hour since I last turned the car off).
Sorry for the long read but thanks for any help. :beer:
EDIT: Alright so I just went out and checked the battery and it's sitting at 11.9 volts again. My understanding is that a normal battery should sit at least at 12.4 volts correct? My battery is an optima blue top btw.
I got someone to give me a jump and the car turned on right away. The car then ran fine for the next couple of days. Then one morning it happened again! The car wouldn't turn on and it would crank slowly then slow down even more.
I took the battery out and decided to go get it charged at autozone. The guy told me my battery was at 80% and charged it completely for me.
The following day I put the battery back in my car and the car fires right up. I turn it on and off a couple of times and each time it turns on quickly. I left to run some errands in my other car and come back later that day and decide to take the car out for a spin...
The car turns on fine and I take it out of the alley in the back of my house, I get to the corner of the street and alley and turn it off because I had to go back in the house to get something. Once I get back to the car I try to start it up again and it cranks slowly and won't turn on! :fm: I jump started it and just parked it in my back yard again.
A few days go by and when I attempted to turn the car back on and all I got was really fast clicking. I then thought that maybe my alternator was bad so I jump started my car again but this time I disconnected the negative terminal on the battery once it started and it stayed on! My understanding is that if the car would have turned off then my alternator was bad, but it if stayed on then it was probably my battery.
I've been really busy so another few days go by (it's now today, Saturday) and I go out and check my battery with a multimeter. The battery read 11.9 volts. I jump start the car again and the battery jumps up to about 13.9-14.2 volts. I leave it on for a while and then finally turn it back off. I proceed to turn it back on and it turns on like normal. I try it about 2 more times and it does so without a problem. Then I wait about 5 minutes and try again and the car once again cranks very slowly BUT manages to turn on.
Now before I go buy another battery I want to make sure my alternator is working fine, so besides disconnecting the negative terminal on the battery how do I check the volts on the alternator? What cables should I tap into? If you have pics that would help.
I'll go out in a bit and check the battery's volts again (it's now been about an hour since I last turned the car off).
Sorry for the long read but thanks for any help. :beer:
EDIT: Alright so I just went out and checked the battery and it's sitting at 11.9 volts again. My understanding is that a normal battery should sit at least at 12.4 volts correct? My battery is an optima blue top btw.
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