Well, the other day I pulled into my driveway after coming home from school. My car, a 1990 240SX, was running great at the time and had no troubles starting up. Then, about 5 minutes after I got inside I had to move my car so my dad could get out of the driveway. When I went to start it I turned the key, but nothing happened. The shoulder belt didn't move, the radio didn't turn on, and the engine didn't turn over. I thought this was wierd but I had to move my car out of the way so I just pushed it and left it outside for a couple hours. When I came back and tried to turn it on again some electrical things turned on like the e-brake light, and the shoulder belt was moving, but the lights were really dime and the belt was moving really slow. Now, a day later, the car still doesn't turn on the lights aren't as dime as they were but they aren't as bright as they should be, the belt moves faster but isn't at full speed and now the radio turns on. I really need to know what could be going on and how to fix it because I have to drive to school tomorrow. I thought it might have something to do with the huge amounts of rain that we have been having because I had been driving in puddles all day but I have no clue.

EDIT: Also the day that this all happened I heard a lot of screeching from under the hood when I first started the car, like there was a loose belt but I lifted up the hood and it they all looked fine.

 

did you check your battery and your alternator.

The squeaking could be from the rain and the belts getting a little wet

 

You think something might be wrong with the alternator causing it to not charge the battery? I will check soon, I'm waiting for it to stop pouring.

 

yea, that would be my guess... i've seen similiar "symptoms" and that was the problem - that person needed a new alternator

 

I just jump started the car and it runs fine it just has a dead battery. Is there any way that I could test the alternator to see if its bad or not? I would just drive it around to see if that charges it but at the moment I am boxed in.

 

this exact thing happened to that friend... it could be that you have a dead battery, but you also might need a new alt. I'm sure there is a way to test it, i would take it too a shop

 

Does anyone know what all goes into changing an alternator and what tools I might need? I don't exactly have the money it takes to take my car to a shop at the moment and if I can do this myself I will.

 

not much to changing an alternator. I've done it and it's pretty easy.

to remove:
1. disconnect the battery
2. disconnect the 2 lead wires and connector from the alternator
3. loosen the drive belt adjusting bolt and remove the belt
4. unscrew the alternator attaching bolts and remove the alternator

to install:
1. mount the alternator to the engine and partially tighten the attaching bolts
2. reconnect the lead wires and connector to the alternator
3. install the alternator drive belt
4. adjust the belt correctly and completely tighten the mounting bolts. (correct belt tension is about 1/4"-1/2" or 613mm play on the longest span of the drive belt)
belt too tight= alternator bearing failure
belt too loose=gradual battery discharge.
5.connect battery cable and start engine, check for proper operation

you can get the alternator tested at kragen or autozone.

 

same **** happened to me recently, everything worked perfectly electronically, but it wouldnt crank, and made a slight hum...

this happened at the gas station, but luckily i live close, so a few friends helped me push it home...

my dad and i took the battery to autozone, and the guy said it had a dead cell, so we got a new one, dropped it in, and it cranked fine and started up on the 1st try..

my radio was also slightly louder, so i guess sometimes you just need a new battery...

 

Yeah mine hummed too but the humming came from different places and I thought that was wierd. So I started the car yesterday with some help from my mom's Neon and drove it around through my favorite twisties and back. This was about 20-30 miles so I figured if the alternator was working that it would have recharged the battery enough to start but it didn't. So I guess its time for a new alternator. One last question hopefully, do you think that it would be okay to purchase a new alternator for a place like U-Pull-It or another place that sells parts off of crashed cars. I think I can pick up an alternator for like $15 so that great.

 

I'd buy brand new, but thats just me. I've seen a friend buy a used alternator and it lasted about a week and he was replacing it again.

 

Then that is what I will do. I think that I am also just going to buy a new Optima battery as well. That way I hopefully won't have to worry about this crap ever again.

 

i was having alot of battery problems too, the first thing i found was the problem was alot of corrosion on the leads. triec cleaning them and it worked for a while but they just got dirty again so i just coughed up the 5 bux for new ones. then my stereo drained the shaz out of the battery 1 day after i installed it. all i have to say is yellow top optima will give u no troubles

 

Well, I just got the car back from the shop and it turns out that the battery and alternator were just fine and the car just had a couple bad grounds. I felt stupid and I spent $100 to get it fixed.

 

To test if the alternator is working all you have to do is get the car to turn on, via jump etc., and disconnect the positive battery terminal. If the car stays on then your alternator is charging, if not, then you have to check the wiring and if it all checks out then it's just bad. I know you got your car fixed but I just thought I'd share this with you.