Battery Help Please!

[c a m a r o]

my battery stays on 9 volts, and the engine wont turn over, i jumpstarted it but that only got me four blocks down, the lights turned off and steering locked while the engine still ran. can someone please tell me if it is my battery dead, or my alternator? i thought it was my alternator at first but wouldnt the car not run if the alternator is broken?

[KC Ron Carter]

Battery must measure 13 volts unloaded and 12 volts with a load.

Alternator out put must be 14 volts minumum when charging and 14.25 volts if a new regulator is installed.

A battery can only be tested when charged.

Later,

[c a m a r o]

Originally Posted by KC Ron Carter

Battery must measure 13 volts unloaded and 12 volts with a load.

Alternator out put must be 14 volts minumum when charging and 14.25 volts if a new regulator is installed.

A battery can only be tested when charged.

Later,

how do i know what my alternator is putting out, and how can i change that? btw, can the alternator get fucked up if wires short-circuit? see, my friend was fuckin around with my stereo, and he short-circuited a wire for a second, after that the battery stopped charging. my engine doesnt have a pcu. so can that be the reason why the battery is dead, or the alternator is not charging? another reason could be cuz im a newbie with stickshift, and the car stalls a lot, so i start the car frequently. the battery was reading 15-16 volts that morning.

[lwsurf84]

what is the best battery you can buy?

[disco192]

Optima is the best battery money can buy. (yellow or red top)

Take your car to any auto parts store and they can test your alternator/battery. I would recoment O'Reileys because they will do it without taking the battery out.

If you have to replace your alternator, i would recomend a Bosch.

[disco192]

It sounds to me like your friend is an idiot. He might have messed with your ignition wire in your radio which could have fried a few circuits or a fuse. I am not too familiar with the electrical system of a camaro.

But in a radio there is a power wire, ground wire, ignition (12v+ in when ingition is on, turns on radio), speaker wires, dimmer, remote (12v+ out to amp), and power antenna. Im not sure how the ignition works on the camaro, but it may go through some sort of computer if you have an alarm or what not, im just guessing.

I would just take off all the battery terminals and reconnect them, it may be as simple as a connection issue. Take off the terminals and clean off the positive real well with a wire brush and make sure it is good and tight when you put it back on.

If that doesnt work i would bring my ass over to O'reileys and ask them. Those guys know their shit, well the ones i know do.

Good luck

[c a m a r o]

would that alternator fit an '84 305ci camaro z28?