Lost all power...help

[98chevycav]

Hey yall,

I have a 98 Chevy Cav and I recently recieved a recall letter for the ignition circuit thermal events but I haven't gotten the repair done yet. Well since yesterday morning my car will not start. I lost all power in my car yesterday morning, I recieved a jump and it started. I know it's not battery related because I have a new battery. So I went home and left the car running for less than 30 mins while I got prepared to go to a meeting (afraid that it wouldn't start if I shut it off) After my meeting the car lost all power again after I shut it off. Could this ignition problem be the cause of losing all power in my car??

Oh and I haven't gotten the Anti-Theftlock to unlock, freakin' dealer want's to charge me $100 for that....could this cause the engine to lock up??

Thanks,
Jae

[public]

You may have a bad Alternator. With a jump they can run for a pretty good while in the daytime before the battery is too dead to provide spark. At night they can only run for 10-15 minutes on a jump due to the drain from the headlights. Good Luck.

[98chevycav]

Originally Posted by public

You may have a bad Alternator. With a jump they can run for a pretty good while in the daytime before the battery is too dead to provide spark. At night they can only run for 10-15 minutes on a jump due to the drain from the headlights. Good Luck.

It could be, but my intuition is telling it's not....I just recently got a new battery...the charge on both the new battery and the alternator were both at good levels respectively. But I'm definetly not anywhere near being an expert. I hope my cavi can hold on until the 2nd...gettin her a tune-up n' everything. Strange thing is after the first jump I haven't needed a jump...it's almost like she just needed a rest for a few hours, opened the door I saw power and she started right up


Thanks,
Jae

[public]

A "NEW" battery will run a car for about 30-45 minutes in the day or 10-15 at night. The alternator needs to be load tested. Most parts stores will do this for free. The battery is only there to start the car. Once started it is the alternator that provides all of the electricity for recharging the battery and running the engine, radio, lights, etc... Good Luck.