99 Cutlass

My daughter's 99 Cutlass died on the highway, the engine starte running worse and worse, all the dash lights came on and it just shut off. On jumping it with my pickup it started right up but on removing the jumper cables it runs about 4-5 seconds and dies again. The batter cables appear clean and tight.
What do you think? The alternator? She told me like the day before the battery light had started coming on and that the light was doing that for a little while.:shakehead

Does sound like its not charging and the battery is completely dead.

I have now changed the alternator, it appears to be working fine. However who knows, the battery light is not on but now the check engine light is on. Why is that?

Also, the air conditioning was not working. So I bought a large can or 134A refriderant that comes with a hose and a guage. The can also contains sealer. My thinking was that if there is a leak the sealant will stop the leak at the same time. When I connected the hose the pressure was way low around 15, I managed to get it up to the good area at around 45, and it still blows warm. Anyone have any ideas?

I have now changed the alternator, it appears to be working fine. However who knows, the battery light is not on but now the check engine light is on. Why is that?


hiya i read in the manual that if you disconect the positive battry lead for 30 seconds or more this cleares the codes on the service engine light

On the newer cars the Alt has to have a 12v field all of the time... If the battery is dead or does not provide the field the car will simply shut off..

In a case like this you would want to have the system tested, bot a load test on the battery and an Alt test to see if its functioning within range...

as for the codes... Autozone and or Advance will read them for free

Also, the air conditioning was not working. So I bought a large can or 134A refriderant that comes with a hose and a guage. The can also contains sealer. My thinking was that if there is a leak the sealant will stop the leak at the same time. When I connected the hose the pressure was way low around 15, I managed to get it up to the good area at around 45, and it still blows warm. Anyone have any ideas?

Welcome to AF !!

Sometimes they just go low and dont have any leaks. Some sealers are so good they clog up the parts inside the AC system and cause it to not work. Tho it still just could be low on refrig.

This too will probley need check out by a qualified technician and checked for trouble codes.


hiya i read in the manual that if you disconect the positive battry lead for 30 seconds or more this cleares the codes on the service engine light

This is not true on ODB II automobiles, you could leave it off for 30 days and it'll still be on. :disappoin