I just went to Autozone and had my battery tested. I thought the battery needed replacing and the guy hooked up the machine and the battery tested bad. He also tested my alternator and told me I needed a new alternator too. I think he is just trying to get to spend money in his store and trying to rip me a new one. Anybody had the same experience. I just dont think both of them could go bad at the same time.

 

well the battery would lose it's charge if the alternator went bad, but i don't think the battery would go "bad" just dead.

i'd say worry about the alternator over the battery. make sure that is working and then you can charge up the battery and see if you are still having problems. also you have to remember if it's the stock battery it's six years old.

 

It is the stock battery. I think I will to another store and get a second opinion. I jsut started having this problem last week. After it sits overnight I go crank it up and it cuts back off. I can keep it running if I hold my foot on gas pedal and after about 5 minutes it runs fine. Doesnt do it everymoring though.

 

If your alternator is going out, i.e. it doesn't put out the right voltage/current at the right RPM, then it could ruin the battery too.
It's really hard on the battery to go from 9V (if it's dead) to 14V (when the is alternator is "working" after you've sat on the gas for a while. If it's done repeatedly it'll wear the battery down.

When you sit on the gas, the alternator is spinning fast enough to provide the proper output, whereas it should be able to provide that at idle.

Every part store I've taken a battery to (and I've taken more than a few) always needs the battery at least 80% charged for them to test it. It doesn't do any good to test a dead battery.

Is the dummy light coming on? Are there any codes generated on the computer?

6yrs isn't bad for a new battery anyway. 2nd opinions are always good too.