Q: I bought a new battery and my car worked at first, but now it won't even start?
I have a 2 year old, used, 2006 Dodge Stratus. It's been through country roads and back roads and hit a few bumps in the road. It lost its battery cover (cover on front left wheel) and we tried another battery. I just bought a new battery, the third one, and it worked for one day. It is cold and my car is weathered but there should be no problem with the battery. It has plenty of oil, and a quarter tank of gas, fluids are all filled up. No noise is made when trying to start.
My car has 127000 miles.
My car's transmission is unknown to me.
Recommended Services
| Alternator Replacement | $166.62 - $1297.14 | Get a Quote |
This may be a sign of a failing voltage regulator or 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. I would recommend having an expert from YourMechanic come to your location to diagnose and repair your charging system.
Get an instant quote for your car
Our certified mechanics come to you ・Backed by 12-month, 12,000-mile guarantee・Fair and transparent pricing