I'll start this off with I have 1999 SL1 and I am in process of replacing so I want to keep costs down while I select and acquire a new vehicle.

Went to start and got clicking. Had to go to work so left it.
Cme home. Checked Voltage level and batterry was low. Also seems the + positive terminal on the battery is stripped (I can go finger tight, any tighter and it pops off) After "tightening" the connector car started instantly and ran in the driveway for 20 minutes. Started it again an hour later with no help.

Next morning, nothing. Jumped it again figuring I needed more charge time. It started instantly. THEN..1 mile away it stalled out. Jumped with a portabel charge unit instantly, got halfway home and it died again. Tried to jump with my friends car and nothing.

I KNOW the connection is bad but FEAR the alternator is the bigger issue. What is the best/simplest way to test what I am up against? I don't want to dump any money into this if I can avoid but would like to be able to drive it in to the dealer rather than have to donate and tow it away.

 

Go buy another terminal end and put it on. They're only a couple of bucks. Once you get that done, if you're at an Autozone or Advance, just have them roll the ARBST tester out to your car and check your battery and charging system. You're reading way more into this than you need to. If you don't have clean, tight connections at the battery, the alternator can't do it's job.

 

That was my first plan. (I bought one, the wrong one apparently) and I can't get the original captive screw out of the cable.

I did look at the male threads on the connector and they look OK so I think the stripped threads are in the bettery itself.

Certainly doesn't hurt to try.

What would be next step after verifying connection stability? (Since that will get done quickly)

 

So I got to the car and jumped it. Started without issue.

Drove around a while and then let it idle in the driveway figuring it needed to charge the battery.

I found on this website somewhere that I should check the voltage on the battery while running with a load and it should be above the 12V of the battery. (I think it said above 14) It was 13.5. So no idea if that means the alternator is working or not.

So I shut it down. I checked the battery voltage (downstream of the bad connection, which is at leasast temporarily good) and had 12.37 V consistently so I assume that means the battery is OK.

So I went to restart and NOTHING. No internal gauges on when the key goes on and nothing when I turn the key.

What next?

 

You have got a bad connection on your positive cable. Is this a top post battery or side post? If it's side post, the way to get that bolt out is to use a flat tip screwdriver and pull the insulation off from around the end of the cable. That's what holds it in there. You can purchase new bolts at your local parts store. If the hole is messed up in the battery, your can wrap some copper wire around the bolt and reinsert it and it may tighten up. If not, then you may be SOL. If you're lucky, you can find a bolt just a little larger and thread it in slowly and cut some new threads. I've done it both ways and been successful, but you have to be patient with it. It seems like your alternator is working okay, but it will NOT be able to help the battery with a loose connection. You need a good, tight connection at the battery for the current to flow properly. If you keep jumping it, you may pop the battery and have to get one after all.

 

FIX your battery connection problem .. if that means a new battery and cable fix it.

 

What are we to do with some people?

 

I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall here.

 

I was in the process of getting the connection fixed. (Sent someone to get the part.) I was simply trying to line up the next tests in case that didn't do it because that swap was very quick and I would know in minutes if it worked (Which it appears to have done)

 

Glad to hear that you got it fixed. What exactly did you replace?