This is the weirdest issue I've ever ran into. I pulled into a gas station to refill the tank and noticed that I went up a bit too far. I wanted to start my car to back it up, but my car wouldn't start. I then tried the radio to see if it was a battery issue and sure enough, no radio. I called AAA to jump start my car which worked. When I got home I tried to start my car and I couldn't do it. The distance from my house to the gas station is approximately 10km. The battery is new from Feb 08.

I have no idea why this issue would happen. Could it be that I just got a bad luck battery that stopped working. I googled car alternator for more information. The only way to start my car is by jump start. I desperately need help right now and can't afford to be ripped off by some cheap scape.


PS: please post frequently. I need as much information and help as possible by tomorrow night.

Sorry that I can't help anybody else. If this was a computers forum I would be of more service.

 

First make sure the battery terminals are clean, then try to start it. If they are clean & tight it's more than likely a bad battery. It happens.

Pull the battery out, take it to someplace like Autozone, PepBoys or another autoparts store that sells batteries. It may be a shorted cell or two in the battery. If you just put the battery in a year ago, it should still have some warranty to it & won't cost as much as a new battery.

If your van started with a jump, but you have no power to run the radio or lights without a jump, the battery isn't holding a charge.

 

Thanks so much for your help. Do you really think it is just a bad luck battery? I was hoping that would be it after a bit of goggling.

 

How can I be sure this isn't an alternator issue? After researching on google I would think that it is the battery because after jump starting a dead battery the alternator takes over for producing electricity right? If it was an alternator issue, the car wouldn't have started because the car couldn't have ran on the dead battery in place of the alternator for my trip home? Is this logic correct? Somebody is trying to convince me it is an alternator issue (not a mechanic looking for money).

Please reply quickly... I need this help

 

Do you have a volt meter?
Boost the van and get it running.
Put you volt meter across the + and - terminals of the battery.
You should read 13-15 volts.
If so the charging system is probably OK. Go buy a battery.

The battery in my truck died the same way without warning.
It started up fine, I drove across town to Home Depot. Ran in for 5 mins, came out, stone dead.
It wouldn't even boost.
Installed new batt and it was good to go!

 

If you think you are having a charging problem, use a DVOM and ck the charge rate at the battery. Should be 14v to 14.2v. Also make sure your battery cables are clean. No acid. If your charging rate is within specs, then the battery is the problem.

 

First, thank you everybody for your support.

The only kind of electrical measuring meter (don't know if it is a volt meter) I have is the size of a DVD. I don't know if that would work. Also, I am guessing the logic I put in the my previous post is correct.

The other person I mentioned in post #4 thinks that because it is a new battery that couldn't be the issue. He also mentioned something about swapping out a piece of carbon/granite out of the alternator???? What???? I swap out a piece of stone from the alternator for a new one to fix this issue???? That sounds too odd.

Post quickly please, I need some kind of a solution by tommorrow, preferably tonight.

 

I think we have told you all we can unless to can do some preliminary testing.
Go buy a cheap Digital multi meter (DVOM)
Radio Shack or a hardware store should have one for under $20.
OR...
See if your local auto parts store will do a free charging system test...

 

I got a digital multimeter. I tried testing the voltage with the car off putting the + and - leads on the battery itself, not the part of the car the hooks up to the battery. It said 12.51 volts DC. I tried putting the leads on the part of the car that hooks up to the battery and got the same results. I just realized my jump starting cables are too short to try a jump start. What do the tests that I just did with the battery mean? Does this mean the battery is good?

 

Thanks for all your help. The problem is fixed. I got the battery tested at Murray's. They said it was fine. I cleaned and put new nuts on the battery connector which fixed the problem. The digital multimeter was useful too because I tried it before testing. It said 12.51Volts DC with the car off.