thebreakfast.info
General Discussions => Spunk => Topic started by: Drew_Kingsley on September 24, 2008, 09:02:08 am
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The good old "loose battery cable".
Good thing we ain\'t mechanics here.
mechanics.info
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After a thorough inspection and several recommendations of stuff to have fixed soon (not relating to the problem at hand), my friendly neighborhood mechanic tightened a loose battery cable and sent me on my way at no charge.
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Mr. Kingsley, how did this finally end up? Left on a wallyworld side street? mechanics? sold to a young blind couple?
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its not a fuse. trust me.
its happened to me at least 3 times. once 5 miles out of bonnaroo
its about 150 for the part and about 100 for the labor give or take.
the car will run fine as soon as its replaced assuming there is nothing else wrong with it.
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its the alternator.
when its at the point you described that means that its about to die completely.
get it fixed immediately (tonight) or your going to be stranded somewhere.
they are easy to install your self on most cars. all you need is a socket wrench set and you will save your self 50 to a hundge in labor.
Oddly enough, I just drove home from work (New Haven to Wallingford) without a problem. I\'m still taking it to the mechanic, obviously, but at least my car isn\'t sitting on the side of 91 with smoke coming out of the hood. Hopefully, unless it\'s something really small like a blown fuse, it\'s the alternator, which sounds cheap and simple enough have repaired.
Alternator cheap....hate to break it to you...not so much...cost be 300 bucks on my old maxima...OUCH! Good Luck and it was nice to see you on Saturday...the wedding was a super good time!
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its the alternator.
when its at the point you described that means that its about to die completely.
get it fixed immediately (tonight) or your going to be stranded somewhere.
they are easy to install your self on most cars. all you need is a socket wrench set and you will save your self 50 to a hundge in labor.
Oddly enough, I just drove home from work (New Haven to Wallingford) without a problem. I\'m still taking it to the mechanic, obviously, but at least my car isn\'t sitting on the side of 91 with smoke coming out of the hood. Hopefully, unless it\'s something really small like a blown fuse, it\'s the alternator, which sounds cheap and simple enough have repaired.
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its the alternator.
when its at the point you described that means that its about to die completely.
get it fixed immediately (tonight) or your going to be stranded somewhere.
they are easy to install your self on most cars. all you need is a socket wrench set and you will save your self 50 to a hundge in labor.
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beat me to it spaceman.
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don\'t forget to check your headlight fluid. that\'s typically the cause of 90% of all problems with cars.
yes but that is only 30% of the time.
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yea, that\'s what was the matter with your passenger side mirror, right dave? rotfl
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don\'t forget to check your headlight fluid. that\'s typically the cause of 90% of all problems with cars.
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Thanks guys.
While the obvious solution is that I need a new car, the likely solution that I can (pretty much) afford is the alternator.
For the record "Ick" is a good name. We call mine the "BST" ever since a near-fatal trip to Virginia resulted in the decision that my car runs on "blood, sweat and tears". I get the feeling the BST is about to join White Lightning and the War Machine in my graveyard of vehicles.
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Here is another reply from some of the tapers
"Without knowing what year and model car anything suggested will just be a guess. Could be anything from a bad brake sensor shorting (insulation rubbed off creating a ground) to the driver just associating the symptoms with braking when it could be something as simple as a belt slipping, ie when he isn\'t accelerating the alternator belt slips and the voltage drops until he either accelerates again or the belt quits slipping and starts spinning the alternator again.
Easiest way to check whether the brakes are involved or it\'s just a slipping belt, have him start the car (while in his driveway, work parking lot etc, leave the car in park while doing the following), bring the RPMs up to about 2500 and let off the gas without touching the brake pedal, if the symptoms present then its not the brakes but something in the electrical system. Have him bring the revs back up but this time depress the brake pedal after letting off the gas, if the symptoms present this time where they didn\'t before, then it is something to do with the brakes but the electrical system is still involved. If that\'s the case, have him take it to his mechanic."
I just posted the year and make so perhaps it will yield better responses.
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Alternator on it\'s way out.
Battery or both.
Loose alternator belt.
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Also, too, the alternator. My last car (1978 Pontiac SunBird aka DeathBox) did the same thing till it just crapped out right at my house. Turns out the alternator stopped working. Check that.
Good luck.
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What kind of vehicle?
1995 Buick Skylark... sounds more like a punchline than an answer, but it\'s true. And believe it or not, it has run fine for all 143,636 miles put on it up until this morning. Assuming the Lark can make it, I\'m bringing it to a mechanic this afternoon.
I had this car. We called it the "Ick" as all but those letters had fallen off the back of the car.
Here is 1 suggestion from the other board
"tell him to check the firewall-to-dashboard ground wire connection."
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What kind of vehicle?
1995 Buick Skylark... sounds more like a punchline than an answer, but it\'s true. And believe it or not, it has run fine for all 143,636 miles put on it up until this morning. Assuming the Lark can make it, I\'m bringing it to a mechanic this afternoon.
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I posted your question to another board. ill let you know if they have any ideas
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battery might have corrosion on the terminals.
possibly an electronic short is occurring from a low battery.
I had this problem on a Galant I owned. Use to drop in idle and almost stall. It was something electronic.
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You need a new battery, yours is dying. (just a guess... i don\'t know ****\'bout cars)
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What kind of vehicle?
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maybe a fuse??...but I really don\'t know what im talking about so...look at your fuses and see if one is blown or something
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Here\'s a car problem that I\'d like to understand a little better before I drive home tonight:
Whenever I step on the brake, the battery seems to drain; the digital clock fades a little bit and the radio cuts out for just a moment.
Any ideas?