Hello. So I drive a Volvo 244 '79. My battery went out and I put in a new one, that worked fine for a few days then it went dead again. So then I figured it was the alternator, but when I tried to jump it the car still wouldn't start. I took out the battery and put it on a charger and filled it back up. So then I reinstalled it, turned the key once and all my power came up, then turned it to start the engine and I heard a click and lost all power. So then I unhooked the battery and reattached it, tried again and the same thing, power came on but once I tried to start it there was that click and then I lost power. So i know my alternator is bad, but I need to get the thing running at least long enough to get it to the mechanic who can switch out the alternator. Any ideas what I can do? Thanks,

-Sean

 

I would have it towed. Same thing happened to me and I tried to make it to the shop. The car died in the left turn lane and I had to call AAA from my cell. Meanwhile I blocked traffic for 20 minutes.

Starting out with fully charged battery and bad alt might get you 1 mile or might get you 10 miles. Meanwhile you're killing the battery, which is not a deep cycle battery, just a starting battery.

 

Go downhill.

 

i made it 20 miles on a bad alt and a full charge. But I went straight to a volvo mechanic to change my alt. I may have been lucky so don't take it for granted. Make sure you have them check your started too. Never can be too careful.

 

Clean and tighten your battery terminals and make sure your battery is fully charged. When you get it started measure the voltage across your battery terminals. Should be 13.8-14.4v

 

Gee, it's not that hard to change an alternator.