Do you have a Bad Battery or Alternator?

One of the questions we were asked was “How do I know if I need a new battery or a new alternator?” or maybe I need both! Welcome to Mercie J Auto care where compassion and craftsmanship come together. I’m Rick Smith, master certified technician. It’s a little tough to tell without testing equipment, but the alternator we need to test to see if it’s producing the right voltage and to see if it has any bad diodes. One of the things you can do that’s kind simple is turn your key on, the battery light should illuminate and if you start it and the battery light goes out then probably your alternator is OK. If your car is starting but you think maybe your battery is weak, here’s a little tip. Start it, stop it, start it, stop it. A healthy battery will start your car about 12 times easily. If by the time you get to eight, nine, ten times and it starts to crank over slower or quits cranking, the battery is probably weak. Doesn’t mean your alternator is good, but it does mean your batteries weak. Be prepared, now you need to jumpstart it. So those are a couple of simple little tips you can do to kind of give you an idea without test equipment. To know for sure, it has to be tested with equipment to make sure it’s right. I hope this has been informational to you thanks for watching until next time safe travels and blessings to you!