latly my car has been acting up. the volts have been rather low, the gauge reads just above the first white line. sometimes itll go up to just above middle. anyway today it wouldnt start. i have a brand new optima red top in it now. its still reading low on the volt gauge. could it be my alt not charging? any help will b really great cause im no good with electronics.
matt

 

Were those readings you said while the car was running? If so, thats FAR too low and could very well be the alternator. YOu can have it tested for free at Autozone.

 

if u crank ur car and then pull the pos cable off and the car dies then it is ur alt

 

ill have to try that. last weekens i got an optima red top and the gauge in the car has been reading 13 volts ever since. the battery that was in the car was only like a year and a hlf old but it was some crappy costco name. so im hopin maybe it was just a shot battery.
matt