click..DEAD!...nothing.., gotta love when ur car dont work first thing in the morning Options

[Valo666]

This morning i got up early to go out and head to work for 8am. So i went down to the garage at 6:50ish to get the car warmed up. So i hit my alarm, doors didnt sound like they unlocked. So i checked and they were unlocked any ways. Go to start up the car, the chime is going, the lights are on, etc. Turn the key and all i hear is a big CLICK! then all the lights go off completely and then nothing happens. So i take the key out, let it sit for a min, no lights, then all of a sudden it was like some one turned on a lightswitch, cuz then all my power came back. So i flicked the switch on my gauges to check my voltage, it was at around 10.2V. So i rolled the car back, went up stairs, wokeup sarah, came back down and got her 2 help me boost. So i hooked up the jumper cabels, went to go turn it over, CLICK!..went dead, then nothing.....so i tryed again, CLICK, then it started to crank. So it finaly turned over, i drove to work, didnt hit a single red light on the way there, get to work, go to pull into a parking spot but there was a big mound of snow, so i reveresed out of the spot, went to go throw it into first again, didnt come close to stalling, and DEAD!....all my lights go off, engine cuts out, and just every thing dies.

So my car is now sittin on my hoist at work for the weekend. Im taking a train home to Toronto tomorrow morning so i can pickup my parents old van for the week so i have somethin 2 drive. But any ideas of what could b causing it?? My battery is like 8 months old or so, so i doubt thats the problem. I talked to my friend at work and he said it might b an alternator problem. Im thinkin this might b what it is because in the last 2 weeks ive had this ratteling sound when ever my car is driving and running at about 2000rpm or higher and it was coming from the side of the engine where the belts are. So im guessin i may have blown my alternator.

Any ideas?? It was working fine yesterday, but then somehow over night the battery drained out completly, well..enough to get down to less then 9V. Im gonna get a new alternator any ways just because i dont think mine has been changed since 1994 or in 185xxxkm.

[LewFX]

i got one of those too if u need it!

[Valo666]

spare alternator?...nah its ok...by the time i get the $ sent to u, u ship it to me, i can get me a brand new one here for pretty cheap through my buddy at toyota in about 3 days.

[presure2]

yup, alternator is bad, man.

[GriffGirl]

I JUST finished going through the exact same thing w/my g/f's Jetta. It's totally the alternator. Get your battery checked too when you're done installing the alternator, if the battery got drained dry it'll be worthless too. Ours was only 2 months old and we had to replace it again (thanks, special warranty at Autozone!)

[Valo666]

checked and cleaned battery today, it was fine. So new Alt is coming tomorrow.

[trdproven]

Sounds like your alternator, your description sounds exactly like my problem before with my Camry.

I assume you felt like your car drained out of power at the last second(s).

This post has been edited by trdproven: Jan 10, 2008 - 4:26 AM

[TRD_GT]

i remember when that happened to me, on my way back from work at 11pm,not a single red light or hiccup from the car,pull over at a petrol station to buy cigarettes and next thing,click,car refused to start,i was at that petrol station for 4 and a half hours because the nearest breakdown recovery van was 300miles away stuck in traffic..!! and i had to be at work for 6am the following morning, me and my car had temporarily lost our friendship..

[Valo666]

i got the new alternator into the car in a record time. It took me 10 min to take the alt out, reinstall the alt and get it running. Its running fine now. so hopefully there will be no more hickups.

[soven]

reading close to 14v when car is running?