Ask a stupid automotive question

[Hoofhearted]

(06-09-2015, 07:10 PM)Nebuchadnezzar Wrote: Yeah, cars these days suck big time.

Old cars, if my battery was dead after driving the car or the headlights started to become dim, I knew I needed a new Altenator. To check and make sure, I would get the car started and unhook the battery, if the car stalled, the Altenator was bad and needed to be replaced. If it stayed running, I had to find the problem in the electrical system.

Now, if you unhook the battery while the car is running, you can do all kinds of bad things to your car. Things like fry the computer or burn out your Altenator, lol. I know these things are supposed to be better for the car and stuff but man, it was so much easier long ago.

Much easier to test the battery with a volt meter. If your getting around 14 volts, you're alternator is good so would likely need a battery.