94 prizm, wont start

[jfrosty42]

i drove the car 5 hours before it wouldnt start. it doesnt even try to turn over. its not the battery. its not the starter. the car just makes a slight whine noise, nothing loud... any ideas?

[krazykirb]

i drove the car 5 hours before it wouldnt start. it doesnt even try to turn over. its not the battery. its not the starter. the car just makes a slight whine noise, nothing loud... any ideas?

How sure are you that it's not the battery? Check to see if you can have your lights on, the radio on and the windshield wipers, all going at the same time. If not, then it's your battery. You say it's not the starter? That pretty much leaves the alternator as a possible culprit. Unless you didn't put any oil and your engine is fried!! Hope this isn't the case.

Perform the test I mentioned above (there are other ways of testing the battery, this is just a quick way), If you find that the battery is dead, temporarily borrow a fully charged battery and try to turn the car on. If the car turns on....while the car is still running....remove the negative terminal (black wire) from the battery... if the car shuts off, the problem is your alternator, otherwise you simply have a bad battery.

good luck!