Okay my battery keeps dying over and over. And when driving I see my volt meter at 8 volts....which leads me to believe that my Alternator has to be working otherwise I would stall out and die while in the middle of driving. However, once I turn my car off my battery is dead. It is not charging at all with the alternator.

when I try starting my car I just get the multiple clicking sound.

Now I don't know if it is because my alternator is bad...it is brand new and autozone said it was good. Or if because my battery is so bad that it won't charge itself. However, Autozone did say the Voltage Regulator failed the test...but the volt regulator is inside the Alternator.

So what has to be done...replace my alternator? battery? or both?

 

Battery is bad and has possibly damaged the alternator by now. The alternator is designed to maintain a battery charge, not charge a dead or shorted battery. Check your charge wire and battery cables for corrosion while you are at it.

 

Replace that battery first!

Then, if you can change your voltage regulator by itself, do it. I'm not sure if your alternator has that provision, otherwise you need a new alternator.

Also +1 on 91 1LE's comment to check for corrosion and clean your battery terminals and wiring. Replace the terminals if you suspect there may be corrosion inside the plastic covers.

 

I replaced my battery and my alternator. I will also be changing out the positive battery terminal and wiring tomorrow. I also replaced the inline fuse with a circuit breaker.

My problem seems to be fixed for the most part. However, my car runs at 9 volts on stops and low speeds. and then when I hit the gas (usually above 30 mph) I am running at 12.5 volts....so gonna fix that terminal see if that solves the problem. The terminal looks pretty crappy.

 

Hopefully that fixes your problem as you should be around 14 volts with the vehicle running.

 

Okay I changed out the positive battery terminal and I am now running at 13.5-14 volt area. This is good.

However, I put in a new accessory fuse. The old one was blown ....this fuse powers my 2 12" subs and 900 watt amp. I'm not getting this volt area anymore.. I'm driving with 11-12ish now and my car will drop to 9-10 volts at low speeds and when I shift gears.

 

 

Thanks for your informative post.

My battery is dead again....okay so my battery dies when my car sits. That means something is on in my car when the battery dies? Has to be my speakers since I seem to be having a problem with them....no lights or anything like that on.