Q: Car stutters, feels like wants to die when accelerating.
so recently, after my car sits for a whole day and has not been driven, the next time i start it, it seems to stutter when i accelerate almost feeling like it wants to die. in this case i thought i just needed to drive more so the battery will charge, because after i drove it for a while it stopped stuttering. but after today while driving, the battery symbol on the dash came on and my car was about to die. i can tell because it started using the radio for power. a day after i go to start it, it does not start. once i jumped the car it started but then dies later on when idling. what is the problem?
My car has 186000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
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| Alternator Replacement | $166.62 - $1297.14 | Get a Quote |
Hi There, What you are describing sounds like you may have a failing alternator. As you may know, the alternator is responsible for charging the battery while the engine runs by generating amperage and recharging the battery while the engine turns the alternator. The voltage regulator is a unit that regulates the charging of the battery by the alternator and maintaining a certain amperage while the engine runs. When the alternator is not working properly, this may result in the battery quickly losing charge and the car losing all power as you have described. You may also notice a whining sound as a result of the bearings inside the alternator begin to fail. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and inspect your charging system.
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