Cutlass Ciara Alternator?

KINGHUDS

MEMBER
1993 OLDSMOBILE CUTLASS
6 CYL
2WD
AUTOMATIC
190 MILES

Car battery had been dead for a week, got it jumped and it ran fine until I got to a long stop light where it died. Jumped it again to drive it back, again ran fine until I sat idling in the parking lot.
Haven't gone to check voltages, but just wanted to confirm that this is likely a battery/alternator problem, or is there something else I should look into?

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,870 POSTS

Yup, you can confirm a generator problem by measuring battery voltage while the engine is running. It must be between 13.75 and 14.75 volts. This design, used since 1987 model, has an extremely high failure rate. What many professionals are finding out is to reduce the number of repeat failures you should replace the battery at the same time. It will work fine in older cars, but as they age, they lose their ability to dampen the huge voltage spikes these generators produce.