help! electrical problem, car stops dead

hi guys. ive had the battey for four years, and my alarm would go off randomly for the past month or so. i thought the alarm was too sensitive. not so, i went to the drive-in with my girl, watched some movie, and after a red battery showed up on my dashboard. i drove to her house car shut off, along with my stereo. next morning went to boost, no luck, so i bought a battery, thinking it was this...the battery is in but the light on the dashboard wont go away. so i went to autozone, and tested the battery and alternator, he said it was around 11 amps/wats, too low.

he then mentioned that i have some aftermarket parts including: angel eyes, 2x 8 inch subs, navigation, some gauges, and some led tails (which are displayed on the dash, because the LCM hasnt been reflashed)..he told me to get a high amp alternator if i was going to replace it but I CANT SEEM TO FIND A HIGHER AMP. please help.

i tried the unplugging the negative terminal and it shuts right off..im guessing its the alternator.

Originally Posted by NaZty NaZe One!

hi guys. ive had the battey for four years, and my alarm would go off randomly for the past month or so. i thought the alarm was too sensitive. not so, i went to the drive-in with my girl, watched some movie, and after a red battery showed up on my dashboard. i drove to her house car shut off, along with my stereo. next morning went to boost, no luck, so i bought a battery, thinking it was this...the battery is in but the light on the dashboard wont go away. so i went to autozone, and tested the battery and alternator, he said it was around 11 amps/wats, too low.

he then mentioned that i have some aftermarket parts including: angel eyes, 2x 8 inch subs, navigation, some gauges, and some led tails (which are displayed on the dash, because the LCM hasnt been reflashed)..he told me to get a high amp alternator if i was going to replace it but I CANT SEEM TO FIND A HIGHER AMP. please help.

i tried the unplugging the negative terminal and it shuts right off..im guessing its the alternator.

I'll help as I can...and since I don't know your issue, it'll be more diagnostic things I'd do...right or wrong as they may be! I'm fine with others correcting, refining what I think.

11 amps/wats? That's when the car was running? And are you sure that's not voltage?

If they just put new battery in and it's reading 11 amps, and you've driven it a lot on the highway without all your stuff on, then it should be 14 volts plus or minus while running and when off, it should read around 12.5 volts, plus or minus a little.

If you got new battery, and it's reading volts, then I'd say the new battery might not be charged yet. They generally come new, kind of low on power.

That said, if you do a lot of short drives, lots of ons and offs, and play your music loud when off or idling a lot, you could have been robbing your car of a lot of power. Result is that the alt, probably showing its age, is running more like a charger and less like an alternator. The more it has to work, the sooner it will fail. They don't have to fail, but a lot here do, so that's still 'on the table.' When battery is dying, alt works more, and so, wouldn't be unlikely for the two to go 'sort of' together.

Check belts/pulleys too.

I'd probably go remanned alt if needed and skip the attempt to just replace voltage regulator, on outside chance the alt's bearings are going...rare, but not unknown. We're all seeing the mileage now. (Notice all the pulley threads we've been having? They're only 4 years or so, maybe, and considering the work they do, that's great!)

Anyway, one step at a time. Start with fully charged new battery you have...monitor voltage closely with cluster test...both with car off and on, and report numbers back here...for starters.

If you have multimeter, search youtube for instructions and test battery/alt yourself directly.

Check grounds/'Plus' terminal and grn. lug by drug bin for corrosion/tightness.

Make sure your cables are really attached. Pull up on them.

Monitor closely and report back.

HTH...and a bump for you. Hopefully someone that really hates me and everything I stand for (and I stand for plenty!), and knows more than me, will give you the real story!

BTW, red battery light usually does mean alternator, I'm pretty sure, so look closely at that too...start with just connections, but you've got to get into this pretty soon or you'll get stranded...I can just tell!

Doug