real quick not-starting up question

[slothonaleash]

Hey all, for the last couple of days my car has been showing the battery light, but it's very dim for whatever reason. The car was starting up fine until this morning, after my car had been sitting for around 6 hours, i tried to start the car and the starter cranked but it wouldn't start, and the starter cranking got slower and slower. I jump started and now everything is working correctly but the batt. light is still dimly lit and I'm afraid I won't be able to start again.

Question is... would this be a problem with my battery or alternator? All accessories are working fine including lights even when the car wouldn't start.

[DaPCWiz]

Hey all, for the last couple of days my car has been showing the battery light, but it's very dim for whatever reason. The car was starting up fine until this morning, after my car had been sitting for around 6 hours, i tried to start the car and the starter cranked but it wouldn't start, and the starter cranking got slower and slower. I jump started and now everything is working correctly but the batt. light is still dimly lit and I'm afraid I won't be able to start again.

Question is... would this be a problem with my battery or alternator? All accessories are working fine including lights even when the car wouldn't start.

Is the brake light lit too? Battery + Brake = alternator dying.

Sounds to me like your battery is shot because your alternator isn't charging it right and your alternator isn't quite dead but on its way out.

Take it to a local shop that can load test both for you, or use a multimeter and see what your battery and alt are putting out.

[slothonaleash]

hmm. just took a drive home and noticed the headlights getting dim and the stereo shut off when i came to a stop. When I got home I checked out the voltage on the battery and it read 11.96 while the car was sitting with everything off... So I'm guessing (and hoping) that it's the battery that's dying right now.

By the way: brake light on the dash is not lit

[KiLLeR2001]

Bad battery or bad chassis grounding.

[SqueekyClean]

11.96 is low.

Just buy a new battery. It's a simple and obvious sign. Unless it is a new battery that you just put in. But if you can't remember when the last time you changed the battery, Then it's probably it.

[160Z]

Check you battery water levels. Top up if they're low and check your earth straps from the -terminal to the body and the earth strap to the engine. Make sure they're grounded properly by taking them off and cleaning the connectors then put it back together nice and tight. If it's a grounding problem your accelerator cable becomes the earth strap and will become pretty hot!

If the problem persists, make sure it's not your starter. If you try to start and the engine starts turning slowly, check if the hooter works properly. If the hooter is nice and loud, then it's not the starter.

Then you should have the battery checked for dead cells. It takes 10 seconds for a mechanic to check it. Otherwise open the filler cap on all the cells, pull HT lead off the ignition coil and have some one turn the ignition and hold it on for 10-15 seconds while you watch the battery water in each cell. If you see air bubbles in anyone of them then that cell is dead and you need a new battery. If there's no bubbles then it's probably your alternator.