So this morning i get into my car on my way to work just like any other day. Car started just fine and was driving as usual. Then at lunch time i went to have a ciggarette in the car with just the radio on and not the engine. Everything was normal and cool until only the subwoofer was working and the speakers just dropped. I was like WTF?! So i shut the radio off then back on and now nothing is working?? I then move the keys to the off position and then back to the radio position , still nothing.. After that i tried to start the car, and nothing!!can it be the battery? i mean all the lights in the car are working. When i turned on my headlights, only the right side seems to be working. Then i tried to start the car again and the right back window just opens by itself..PLEASE SOMEONE HELP ME!!

 

Sounds like a dead battery. I would also have your alternator tested.

 

Thanks so much. Yep battery is shot AAA just confirmed

 

Now that the car is working, you might want to have Autozone or the like test the alternator as well.

Can't hurt!

 

I'm new to the Alternator thing, might you be able to explain what one has to do with the other?
Thanks so much.

 

an alternator is what holds the charge.

 

Fortunately we have a Mechanical Engineer on board, thats me.

The alternator is a generator. It works like a Hydroelectric plant, where when water flows past the turbine, the rotation causes the middle rotating shaft to cause a magnetic field. This field is induced onto the coils, creating a current, whether it be AC or DC. In the case of the alternator, the voltage created is DC, and is usually at about 14.2 Volts. It is higher than 12 V in order that the battery can be charged efficiently. Now instead of water driving the shaft, the crank pulley drives the alternator pulley. Thats why AEM and others have pulley kits, since their pulleys are much lighter, the mass moment of inertia of the rotating pulley is much less, so less energy is dissispated in trying to rotate the pulley and more is given to the actual rotating shaft - conservation of energy, the apple didnt fall for nothing!

Even though the alternator pulley doesnt give you much, it is still significant.

Currently i am looking for a good crank pulley, there are some really cheap and light ones on Ebay, but i am sceptical about the cheaper ones, this is smthing i dont want to f*@k with; this is the crank pulley, vibrations can really damage your engine at those RPM's. but at the same time i think to myself, how hard can these things be to machine, i mean i could probably do it, and if its made of the same material then why not?

Sorry to go off track a little, but its coincidence that i'm looking for answers to this too.

 

Could you be any futher off?

 

Thanks guys!!

 

You killed the car with second hand smoke.

 

yeah it's happened to me a few times.....turn on radio for an hr....and the car wont start......it really pisses me off.....until i manage to totally kill the battery and get a yellow top optima, i keep a coleman powermate booster just in case....

 

Hey..I noticed something wrong with my car too. I have a Clifford alarm, and lately the range has gotten worse. I put in a new battery on the remote...but the thing just keeps beeping...like if its outta range. But the Car is standing right in front of me. I have a feeling it might be the car's battery. Is it?

 

What alarm is it? Model? If your car has a proximity sensor. It will continue to beep. Especially when it gets cold. It should only do this when it's armed. All of the older Cliffords had this problem. You would have to change the sensitivity every time the wheather changes.

 

i don't think i was completely off, sorry i'm not a mechanical engineer but didn't see u with any input

 

well you stated that teh alternator holds a charge, when in fact the battery holds charges and the alt Charges the battery!

 

thanks for clearing it up for me, i always heard that if ur car doesn't start but the battery is good, it's the alternator thats not taking the charge from the battery.

 

Where did you hear that from?

 

an old mechanic

 

No, no, no, no, and no!

The alternator only send a current/voltage/charge, whatever you like it to be called, to the battery, it sends power to the battery, it charges the battery! You dont send power to your utility company, they send it to you!