Battery light turned on then engine shut off

AKA_CURTIS

MEMBER
1997 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX
3.8L
V6
2WD
AUTOMATIC
180,000 MILES

Hello, I own the car listed above GT. My battery light recently came on, didn’t think much about it because my alternator should charge it up. It shut off on me, had it jumped and it shut off again. I finally got it to Walmart for a battery change and they tested the alternator they said it was all good. My battery is still draining. My ground wire looks pretty rough, could that possibly be the issue?

PS. I did check the alternator belt, everything is tight and working well.

1 Reply

SCGRANTURISMO

MECHANIC
4,897 POSTS

Hello,

Absolutely. Having your vehicle's battery and the terminals and wires in pristine condition is absolutely essential for modern OBD2 vehicles. By modern OBD2 vehicles, I mean 1996 and newer vehicles. Modern vehicles have computers and electronics that run every system in the vehicle. All of the components run on electricity, and in fact that is the computers language. Every sensor on your vehicle's engine is designed to take something that is mechanical and convert it to electrical so that your vehicle's computer can understand what is going on. It then commands other components, i.E. Spark plugs and fuel injectors to fire or turn on with, yep, you got it electricity. Also, people like to hang on the positive side of electrical circuits, but that is only half of the circuit. Yes, the goal of any electrical circuit is to dump all available voltage across the load, but what happens after that? The trace voltage left over has to return to the battery negative terminal. The negative side of the circuit is just as important as the positive side. In fact, Honda of North America, where I received my training, taught me that, in fact, a full 75% of all automotive electrical problems are bad grounds. Also, today's vehicle's, having more and more electrical components, use the battery as a kind of electrical shock absorber. Bottom line is yes, keep all electrical connections in pristine condition.

Thanks,
Alex
2CarPros