ok...so right now my car is sitting in my backyard...cause well it is...its not on the road, lets leave it at that but anyways i start it up every 3 days or so to let it run for a little bit and it seems like when i do it kinda sputters, now i figure that maybe its cause its cold out and it needs time to warm up...but then to i also realized that when i throw the lights on, while its sputering it seems like the lights fade in and out (my headlamps, my interior lights) etc. anyone have any ideas as what it could be?
also i'm looking at 17" rims...what size am i looking for...or do you guys suggest its a 95 cavalier...thanks.
It sounds like your battery is dying, how long have you been doing this? and how long do you let it run? You might try starting the car and letting it run a good 30 to 45 minutes and see if that solves the problem.
It's not the battery. If it was, the engine would probably not turn and the alternator would cover the problem. check your alternator. check the output. It's not working properly.
Gilles
2.3 Ho
i agree prolly the alt. make sure your belts are tight too
Has to be the alternator, i had the same prob. with my car when it was sittin last year for a couple months
Alot of parts stores will test your charging system for free if you can take your car to them, you might take it for a quick drive down to one.
I'd bet its your alternator. The alternator has a voltage regulator, resulting in a stable power flow. Since it isn't functioning properly thats why your lights fade in and out, as well as the hard starts.
P.S. I'm an apprentice so I'm not just taking a shot in the dark here
are you idoling to low? thats kind of what it really sounds like
also try holding the gas to the motor revs up for a little while to see what it does. see it you are blowing black smoke, blue smoke, or have a friend sit back there to see it there is much exaust pressure coming out the tail pipe. also check your intake, plugs, wires ect. just make sure you warm that baby up and give it some gas a few times to make sure you don't just have some gunk that collected somewhere
sometimes when a car sits certain things on it just go south. like the gas getting old and stuff.
but like I said, it sounds like an idoling problem. always check the cheap stuff first
