88 sunbird Battery wont charge :(

Hopefully you guys can help me with this one..

Ok so i recently acquired a 88 sunbird from a friend, he hasnt had this car for a while so we dont really know what the last guy did to it...

Anyways the battery will not charge from the alternator, as long as the battery is charged i can start it and drive it.. just after 2-3 times of starting it the battery goes dead and i have to recharge it on a home charger.

So of course the 1st thing i did was take it to autozone had them check both the battery and the alternator... the test came out saying that both were working outstandingly well.

So despite my own worries i decided to take a 10 gauge wire and run it strait from the alternator to the battery(to rule out wiring problems). This didnt help a bit!

I'm currently lost becuase ive had a few "buddy" mechanics tell me that the battery has got to be faulty... however i do not feel like buying a new battery till ive completely ruled this one as a goner.

ANY help will be greatly appreciated and thanx in advace. :)

If the alternator will run the vehicle when the battery is dead then the alternator is good. An alternator only maintains a battery and if the battery is not recharging itself then it needs changed. A battery continually recharges itself through a chemical reaction. If that reaction does not work properly then it needs replaced. I suggest you change the battery with a new one.

Also check for a corroded connections at the battery and the alternator and check to see if there is a short by checking for current flow when everything is shut off. You may have a glove box light or trunk light that is staying on and draining the battery.

Thanx dad :)

Yea im prolly just gunna have to quit being a cheap-@$$ and go buy a new battery.

Anyways thanx for your reply and if anyone else has any suggestions that dont require me to buy a battery... fell free to :)

Oh yea and i already cleaned all the grounds/terminals.