I was just driving back from the store tonight and while I was making the 15 min drive home I noticed a few things. First, as soon as I turned the key to start, I noticed it turned very slowly as if the battery was about to die…As I was driving I then noticed the dashboard lights were becoming more and more dim, then the radio began to flicker and turned off. A few moments later the Anti Lock brakes light turned on, and I noticed the engine was a bit hesitating as I changed gears. Finally my power windows were a drag going up and as I pulled into my parking spot, the car basically died. I tried to start it as soon as I turned it off, but nothing.
I feel that my battery just wasn’t charging, and the whole time i drove it slowly just died.
its a 1991 sabb 900
Did you intend to ask a question?
Why is my battery draining as I drive and not recharging? Is it an alternator issue? Wiring gone bad? Nothing was left on to drain the battery. What could be possible causes?
A bad battery can kill the alternator and vice versa. I’ve had batteries and an alternator that were fine the night before and failed the next day.
How old is the battery? Are the connections clean? Once a battery is partially discharged, it is difficult for an alternator to fully recharge it. What kind of driving do you do? Short trips will drain a battery and not give a chance to charge it. I use a Battery Tender to keep the battery fully charged on a 93 Caprice that gets driven 2 or 3k a year.
Have the battery tested at Autozone, Advance Auto or similar. If possible, have the alternator tested also.
Ed B.
You have;
A- dead battery
B- bad alternator
C- both
If you have a charger, hook it up to the battery and see if it takes and holds a charge. If it doesn’t the battery is dead and the alternator was putting juice into the battery but it wasn’t taking the charge.
If the battery takes and holds a charge it could be OK and your alternator isn’t putting out a charge.
Sometimes you hit the jackpot and both go bad at once. A weak battery puts more “pressure” on the alternator and it overheats and can burn out. Unless you’ve replaced it before the Alternator is 20 years old and not bad life from an alternator. If the battery is 3+ years old it just might had said its time is up.
If you try to jump start the car and it won’t work that is more evidence of a bad battery. Driving the car more with a bad battery might just kill the alternator if it is still good. Cheapest fix and best for the car is to get a ride to WalMart of an Auto Parts store and get a new battery. Put it in the car and then take the car back to the auto store to test the alternator. Unless the battery is only 1 or 2 years old, that’s what I’d do.
You could also have a bad connection or cable.