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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 12:08 AM
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car started losing charge BAD and dropped to 8 volts, the headlights dimmed, but it was running still and idled even without feathering or anything

is it a just pure dead battery or are there some sensors or grounds i should check???

help its unstartable without a jump lol and i'm in a parking garage
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 01:22 AM
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could it be the alternator clip?
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 06:26 AM
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Charge the battery to full with a battery charger. Then load test the battery. If the battery is good, then move on to the alternator.
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 09:31 AM
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+1 to that
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 10:54 AM
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ok, i'm kinda in the whole college dorm situation so my garage is at home, can i do that at o'reillys?
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 01:31 PM
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Autozone/Advance/etc both provide free battery load testing and alternator testing
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 03:12 PM
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I would say its probably a loose ground/not good enough of a ground!
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 03:37 PM
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how many grounds are there?
2 behind the head, one starter ground, and the two ribbon grounds below the power steering?
so 5?
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Old Nov 8, 2007 | 03:48 PM
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Ewww this is going to get messy. Worst come to worst try unplugging stuff like the cruise control, radio, ect and see if the battery drains over a couple of days with stuff like that unplugged.
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 12:41 AM
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well idk if this is gonna fix the whole problem, but my battery was in fact DEAD, and the wire on my alternator was loose/stripped so i bought new of both, and if it won't charge now...i'll start attacking grounds, i dont listen to the radio/use cruisecontrol/have ac so i could unplug those, my drivers side window is messed up if that could be causing it
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Old Nov 9, 2007 | 01:25 AM
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Well the CC and ABS stuff that works off the brake pedal is normally closed so if those modules are messed up it will drain powere even with key off. It isn't likey but super easy to test and get out of the way. Just a thought. Keep posting. We can get this solved.

I put a lock washer on my alt excitor washer and that stopped it from coming loose anymore.
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