# I was driving and my car just died?

**URL:** <https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589>\
**Category:** Maintenance/Repairs\
**Tags:** mustang, ford\
**Created:** [September 3, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589 "2010-09-03T03:53:03Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![fshano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dec6dc/32.png) [@fshano](https://community.cartalk.com/u/fshano)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/1 "2010-09-03T03:53:03Z")

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when i jump it she starts but when i take the cables off she dies???help please

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:30am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/2 "2010-09-03T04:30:07Z")

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You probably need a new alternator - and probably a new battery.

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**Author:** ![fshano](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dec6dc/32.png) [@fshano](https://community.cartalk.com/u/fshano)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 4:44am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/3 "2010-09-03T04:44:12Z")

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that what i thought thank u could it really be any thing eles the car was running fine earlier today it happened out of no where

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**Author:** ![UncleTurbo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e9a140/32.png) [@UncleTurbo](https://community.cartalk.com/u/UncleTurbo)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 10:51am UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/4 "2010-09-03T10:51:05Z")

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Car batteries die suddenly. They short out internally and sometimes there isn’t much warning. Get a new battry, and have the alternator and charging system checked out.

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**Author:** ![cigroller](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c68b51/32.png) [@cigroller](https://community.cartalk.com/u/cigroller)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:07pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/5 "2010-09-03T12:07:27Z")

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That’s pretty much it. UncleTurbo (below) is right about the sequence - get a fully charged battery in there and then have the charging system checked. If you’re lucky it is just a sudden battery death.

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**Author:** ![mcparadise](https://sea1.discourse-cdn.com/cartalk/user_avatar/community.cartalk.com/mcparadise/32/32_2.png) [@mcparadise](https://community.cartalk.com/u/mcparadise)\
**Post date:** [September 3, 2010, 12:08pm UTC](https://community.cartalk.com/t/i-was-driving-and-my-car-just-died/54589/6 "2010-09-03T12:08:40Z")

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Have the alternator and the battery tested. One or both is probably bad.

Don’t guess, test. Most parts stores will test these components at no cost.