Happy New Year first of all. I know it sucks but my damn car just died again.

PROBLEM I-Battery/Alternator
My car wouldn't start last week and made some cranking sound when I turned the key. So I changed the battery last Friday and it worked fine over the weekend.

Today, which is 3 days later, the damn car wouldn't start again. Nothing happened when I turned the key (no cranking sound) other than the typical battery warning sound. I called AAA and had the car jumped and it runs fine now.

The battery is fresh so could it be other issues? Such as the alternator and stuff? How can I test out the alternator?


PROBLEM II-Radio

The damn radio has no sound at all. The display shows that the CD/Radio/Cassette runs fine but there is just no sound. Sometimes the sound works but as soon as I change the source (e.g. CD to Radio) the sound's gone. What could be the problem? I pulled the stereo out with the key and the wiring looked fine.

Sorry for all the questions and hope all these problems will go away when new year comes. :

Ashbury

 

So I tested the battery with a hardcore voltmeter that can also jump start your car and charge your battery from AC, the reading shows 12.4 when the engine's off and 14 when the it is turned on. So it looks like the alternator is working properly.

Then I suspected if it was the starter but the voltmeter also indicated that the battery was only 60% charged after a 15 minutes highway drive since the AAA jump start. So I ruled out the possibility that the starter was broken and assumed the battery was completely drained before the jump start.

Since my radio is broken and doesn't give out any sound, I turned the volume all the way to 30 (max) and was able to hear the typical background "noise" from the speakers, indicating that the speakers were supplied with power. Out of curiosity, I kept the volume at 30 and turn the engine & the radio off while I was sitting inside. I locked the car with the remote and I COULD STILL HEAR THE BACKGROUND NOISE even when the car's locked. IS THIS SOMETHING NORMAL? Are the speakers supposed to be on when everything's shut? Could this be draining my battery? I pulled the fuse of the radio and the background noise went away. I guess I'll leave the car in the parking lot for another 3 days and see if the battery stays charged up.

Could someone please give me some thoughts? What's wrong with my battery?!?!?!?! PLEASE PLEASE HELP ME!!! THANKS!!!!

 

I have the same problem with my radio I was wondering if you ever found out what was wrong.