Dead battery, right?

[hi its me alec]

So, I was about 3 blocks from home driving away and the car decided to die, the RPM just died off in a second or two after releasing the throttle. Before it did that, the interior lights dimmed and the radio started turning on and off randomly. To me, seems like a dead battery, shot alternator or battery/alternator connection problem.

The battery posts do have corrosion on them, it's pretty bad.

Also, the engine oil light came on sometime in the midst of all this. I checked the oil level and it was fine.

Any other ideas? I'm going back (with tools) to fix it tonight and just want to have all bases covered. My deadline is 7am.. street cleaning tomorrow lol.

I think it's fine though.

[jlevie]

That sounds like what happens when a car with a dead alternator is driven. The battery eventually runs down to the point that the engine electronics can no longer operate and the engine dies.

Check the simple stuff first, like the battery connections and the alternator belt. You can tell if the battery is dead by checking its voltage with a DMM. If the battery is dead, you can have it reacharged, which may be good enough to drive the car home.

[slo325i]

Usually when your alternator is bad, there should be a battery warning light on while you drive.

[george graves]

Usually when your alternator is bad, there should be a battery warning light on while you drive.

WELL! - Unless it went into an "overvolt" situation and fried all your audio equipment.

Yea, grab a box of baking soda, some ruff(150) sand paper and a set of jumper cables. Oh- and some Vaseline(I kid you not). Clean the lead terminals with the sand paper, and the same with the cables inside. Coat them with vaseline on the out side.

If you think your battery is leaking, dump half the box of baking soda into the bottom of the battery tray.

[hi its me alec]

Thanks all. That's the feedback I was looking for. :)

[AndrewBird]

^^^Those type of brushes are really handy for cleaning battery terminals and connectors. They can be had for cheap at autoparts stores.

To check and see if you alternator is dead, check the voltage at the battery with the engine running. It should be ~14V. Any less, and the alternator is dead. The battery should be somewhere between 12V-13V with he engine off.

If you're lucky, it could just be dirty terminals.

[LovableSheep]

Check all the alternator connections too. I had my alternator ground strap come loose, which caused the battery not to charge. The battery warning light didn't come on. Once the connection was tightened up, everything worked normal again.

[kid325e]

I would start with cleaning up those terminals. I would also check to make sure the corrosion hasnt' gotten into the battery cables themselves.

[hi its me alec]

The terminal is fused together.. =/

[Bimmerista]

Pour some Coke on there

[hi its me alec]

Dr. Pepper?

[devonjordan]

Dr. Pepper?

Baking soda and water?

[ethirtydavid]

I have a feeling this is a bad terminal connection issue.

[hi its me alec]

I have a feeling this is a bad terminal connection issue.

i'm beginning to agree with you. lol

[hi its me alec]

serious question though, what if i just use carb cleaner?