car dies (battery) while driving down the highway

1994 BUICK REGAL
196 MILES • 3.8L • 6 CYL • FWD • AUTOMATIC
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HAL152TA
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ive had some issues with my car not starting or hard to start this past winter. just recently i had a lot of mjor work done to it not relating to the battery or alt. anyway. my battery gauge seems to be in the correct position and all of a sudden my car would kill while driving down the hwy, jumped it and it took right off, took it to my mechanic and had alt. and battery tested and they said all was working fine. now I dont know what else could cause this other than warning my alt.goin bad or maybe battery weak. any suggestions on how i can fix this so i dont have to worry about this problem as i am in iowa w below 0 temps. yet this happens no matter what temp it is outside. my alt. was new oct 2009 and same with battery. cant trust this car anymore? SOS
Mar 3, 2014 at 3:25 AM
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OBXAUTOMEDIC
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Hello,

Ok, I would suggest a Replacing the Battery - You said it was replaced in Oct 2009 so it is almost 4 1/2 years old and most batteries are only good for 3 - 5 years. Even though it shows good with test it could still be at it end. I always replace my batteries between 3 and 4 years and so far "knock on wood" have not been stranded do to battery problems. Another thing to look at is the belt tension is tension is not tight enough will not charge correctly. If has a tensioner watch it while vehicle is running if it is bouncing around a lot it's time to replace cause it's not keeping the correct tension on the belt and could be causing a charging problem.
Mar 3, 2014 at 3:43 AM
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HAL152TA
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great, thank you. i figured that may be the case but wanted 2nd opinion 1st.
I'm going to go do that right away as I am tired of getting stranded in this freezing weather.
thank you so much,
ill let you know if that was indeed the fix i needed.
Mar 3, 2014 at 3:50 AM
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OBXAUTOMEDIC
  • ✓Experienced Mechanic
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Also a Note for you to remember --- With batteries over 3 year old a drastic temp change will pretty much kill the battery. Say if your normal temp for this time of year is say 35 and doesn't very from that to much through the winter your battery should do fine, but lets say the temp drops to 0 or so that is enough to kill the battery and it works the same way in the opposite direction with heat.
Mar 3, 2014 at 4:11 AM
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