I couple weeks ago i replaced a 3 year old battery in my grand am which has the quad 4 in it. Everything was going great until today. I start up my car and the battery light came on. The ampmeter is only reading 8, it usually is around 13. The dash lights are dimmer, blicker lights are now slower than before, windows are slower, etc.... Could my alternator be going out or could i have got a bad battery?
anyone input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Sounds like a bad alternator. You could also make sure that the recharging cable things are plugged in all the way.
The light indicates a problem in charging the battery, not the charge in the battery. Check cables and connections before replacing an alternator. And when you change the alternator, it's 3 bolts, a shop will charge you $300, you can buy one for around $40. Easy money.
Check the output of the alternator with a multimeter, should be well over 12 volts, if not, it will need replacement.
Agree with Seeray. The bottom bolt sucks. I also lean to your alternator being bad, or perhaps a loose cable.
Also, did you check to see that the battery was fully charged before installing it? If it was drained pretty well from sitting on the shelf, it stresses the charging system to the point that it will destroy new alts.
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