My battery light came on and all my shit started to die, speedo and odo read zero despite me riding down the road, then the car began to die all together
I figured it was the alternator, so I got a new battery and stuck it in and got my multimeter. I put the leads onto the battery terminals and it read about 13ish volts. I had my brother flip on the high beams, activate the wipers, turn on caution indicators, turn on the radio and air conditioning, etc. but the reading didn't drop any.
Wouldn't my voltage reading on the multimeter drop when all that stuff got turned on if my alternator was bad?
I was going to test the alternator itself but I can't reach the positive terminal to place the red lead from my multimeter on it to test it.
Could it be a wiring harness issue? Or maybe a bad coil?
>>15441125
>I figured it was the alternator,
>so I got a new battery
K
>>15441132
My old battery was dead and 2 weeks away from the end of its warranty anyway. It was a cheapo from WalMart.
Either way, I wouldn't have been able to start the car with a dead battery.
>>15441138
>Either way, I wouldn't have been able to start the car with a dead battery
confirmed for knowing nothing about cars
the alternator starts the car, you wasted your money
>>15441144
>confirmed for knowing nothing about cars
>the alternator starts the car
You're a fucking mong and should give /mlp/ a shot instead of shitting up /o/ with your retardation.
>you wasted your money
>2 weeks away from the end of its warranty
I got it for free, nigger. WalMart has a free battery exchange as long as your warranty is still valid. I literally just took my old one in, they scanned the label on the battery, verified me with my driver's license, and had me sign off on the new one. No money spent.
>>15441158
well you wasted time then
why did you get a new battery if your alternator is the problem?
>>15441170
How the fuck else am I going to start my car to see what's wrong with it?
Protip: The battery starts the car. That's its job. Dead battery = no starty. I had to start the car so I could test my alternator to see if that was the issue.
it probably was just the battery terminal clamps
>>15441184
>How the fuck else am I going to start my car to see what's wrong with it
Jumper cables
>>15441186
I'll clean them off with a wire brush just to make sure but I'm not positive that's the issue.
>>15441125
Run the engine above idle for several minutes. I've seen alternators work fine cold and then magically die at operating temperature.
Either way, your alternator is the problem and should be replaced.
>>15441144
>the alernator starts the car
>>15441138
Just because there is no charge doesn't mean it needs replaced. You really need to do some research. You could have bought the alternator with the money you wasted on a battery.
>>15441125
This should clear things up.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=rLDgQg6bq7o
