97 grand am, battery and abs light

[fb9q]

I started the car, a V6 1997 Pontiac Grand Am SE, to leave work and the battery light was on. Whenever I gave the car gas, the battery light would go off. Whenever I was stopped with the engine running the battery light would come on, then it would go off again when I gave the car gas. Eventually the ABS light came on and stayed on. About 10-15 minutes later the airbag light came on and stayed on as well. Not too soon after this, all the warning lights came on and blinked around, then the car died. Someone tried to jump-start the car for me, but as soon as the jumper cables were removed, the car died. I'm thinking it could be the alternator or the computer. Any suggestions? Thanks!

[GTP Dad]

Your problem may be two fold. First, I would say that your battery is dead. You will probably need to replace it. Secondly, you either need an new alternator or to tighten/replace the belt. My best guess would be that the alternator is also bad since the car died when the jumper cables were removed. Take the alternator to autozone or advance and have it tested. If it is not bad check all battery connections and grounds to make sure they are good. Bad battery leads can cause similar problems. Please post what the problem turned out to be once you get it solved.

[Slade901]

I agree with a bad alternator. The light went OFF when you put more gas because the alternator will spin faster and try to provide just enough current for the light to turn off.

Same thing happened to our car. The battery was depleted and so I just re-charged the battery for about 3-4 hours with my $50 battery/starter charger. Took the alternator out and tested it Autozone and confirmed it is bad and got a new one and it fixed the problem.