auto repair ?

[MadReefer]

My 2004 van has a problem starting. I jumped it 3 days ago and it starts up but reluctantly. I was told cars won't start if its the starter or altenator no matter what. Just wondering if anyones if that is true. I think its still the original battery, which is an easy fix.

 

[Hawkeye]

my alternator died on me once. I got jumped at a gas station in front of the holland tunnel. It was a hot miserable humid day. At the time we lived in the city and I only had 1 kid. We rolled the windows down and waited 30 minutes - then tried to make it into the city before rush hour started. As I'm going down the tunnel (it's a decline, then later an incline) all the lights in the car went out and I came to a complete halt in the middle somewhere - grinding traffic to a halt and later they shut the entire tunnel down (inbound to the city) in order to get the tow truck (which was on the ny side) to drive in and save us. It made a 3 point turn in the tunnel and tried to jump us. So that one day when you were hearing "broken vehicle in the holland tunnel" - that was me...

I would think it's your battery if you can still start it. I had no problems starting the car but the alternator was not charging the battery.

 

[mikem]

Try using a battery out of another car to see if it's a battery.

 

[njhcnwk]

Your car will still start if the alternator is defective. The alternator charges the battery but has no bearing on starting the car. If you have a voltmeter it's quite easy to determine if it's bad battery or defective alternator. Easiest thing to do would be to swap batteries with a known good battery and go from there. If it does turn out to be alternator give me a shout, I MAY consider working for frags

 

[Audi0s]

I can help too, Im a mechanic. May also be a bad starter, was the car going click click before starting or was it totally dead? If your alternators messed up youd probably have a red battery light on the dash. (But not always) Usually, once you disconnect the jumper cables and the car dies, its an alternator.

 

[9supratt4]

I learned a neat trick....With the car running....disconnect the negative battery cable...if the car dies, it's your alternator...if it continues to run it's the battery or the starter.

When the starter goes....you will notice a draining nosie from the starter until it just stops working ;D

 

[njhcnwk]

I learned a neat trick....With the car running....disconnect the negative battery cable...if the car dies, it's your alternator...if it continues to run it's the battery or the starter.

I believe you mean the Positive battery cable. An excellant trick, but can cause alternator damage if the alternator is good.

 

[redfishbluefish]

A 2004 with its original battery……you need a new battery!


I’d plop in a new battery and take it from there. Either way, a 5-6 year old battery, you need a new battery.

 

[Audi0s]

I wouldnt be pulling off the cables for any amoun of time, youre really streesing the alternator that way. Theres no reserve capacity to work with if theres no battery in the system. Normal battery life is about 4 years.

 

[youpey]

i once had an issue like this. it turns out my battery connection was not properly working because there was so much gunk (technical term ) on the battery posts. i cleaned off the posts and it started right up.

dont know if this is your issue too but something work checking out. be careful if that is it though, that i believe that gunk is acid and can/will burn your skin

 

[ds4x4]

look at the Voltmeter in the Dash.. If it's not reading around the 14volt mark your alt is shot.. but get the battery checked at Advance auto or Napa for free .. i mean it is an older battery