# Car turns off while driving but still drives all dash lights on **URL:** \ **Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\ **Tags:** chevrolet, malibu, lights\ **Created:** [September 18, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109 "2020-09-18T11:31:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Marcus-21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Marcus-21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marcus-21)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 11:31am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/1 "2020-09-18T11:31:52Z")
I have a 2009 chevy malibu LS 2.4L. The car will run fine but after driving a few min the radio dies and all the dash lights turn on. The power steering turns off as well making it hard to turn the wheel and when making a turn the steering wheel jerks. Then my car completley turned off with the anti theft light on. Any advice please. Here’s a video to what happened right before car turned itself off. [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRhXiWmWYHs) ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:47pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/2 "2020-09-18T12:47:05Z")
Sounds like the alternator is not charging the battery, you drove it until the battery ran down and the car died. But that is a guess from someone who hasn’t done any tests. Don’t just change the alternator and battery based on this. Get the problem diagnosed first. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus-21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Marcus-21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marcus-21)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 12:56pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/3 "2020-09-18T12:56:51Z")
I just changed the alternator because it did this before and it solved the problem briefly ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/4 "2020-09-18T13:17:15Z")
So one of 3 things happening… the alternator you bought just failed… A fusible link just failed… Or the computer that drives the alternator’s field circuit to turn the alternator on has a problem… Maybe this is related to the bad radio install? ---
**Author:** ![oldnotdeadyet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a6a055/32.png) [@oldnotdeadyet](https://community.cartalk.com/u/oldnotdeadyet)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:29pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/5 "2020-09-18T13:29:41Z")
I could not tell by your video…were your headlights getting dimmer and dimmer before everything quit completely? ---
**Author:** ![Marcus-21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Marcus-21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marcus-21)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/6 "2020-09-18T13:39:04Z")
I didn’t notice them getting dimmer if they actually were ---
**Author:** ![Marcus-21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Marcus-21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marcus-21)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 1:40pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/7 "2020-09-18T13:40:17Z")
I bought the alternator off of Amazon, maybe I need a better one. ---
**Author:** ![Mustangman](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mustangman/32/44130_2.png) [@Mustangman](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Mustangman)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 2:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/8 "2020-09-18T14:43:28Z")
It isn’t where you bought it so much as where it came from. I use Rockauto to find the part number and sometimes order off Amazon. RA shows a range of parts that can vary in price by a factor of 3. Can you really believe that $100 alternator is as good as the $300 one? Clearly it isn’t and professionals won’t use them. ---
**Author:** ![Marcus-21](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/74df32/32.png) [@Marcus-21](https://community.cartalk.com/u/Marcus-21)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/9 "2020-09-18T16:25:12Z")
Update\* I went to autozone they said my battery was no good they gave me a new one under the warranty I had. I installed it and car started up just fine. So I went back and bought a alternator from them with lifetime warranty. I’ll install it today see how this goes ---
**Author:** ![jtsanders](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/c2a13f/32.png) [@jtsanders](https://community.cartalk.com/u/jtsanders)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 4:43pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/10 "2020-09-18T16:43:25Z")
IMO, you should have waited to see if battery works before buying another alternator. Your money, your choice. ---
**Author:** ![ledhed75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f6c823/32.png) [@ledhed75](https://community.cartalk.com/u/ledhed75)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2020, 6:39pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/car-turns-off-while-driving-but-still-drives-all-dash-lights-on/170109/11 "2020-09-18T18:39:44Z")
Could also be a problem with the ignition switch.