getchastuff

Last night I was driving home and all of a sudden my eps light starts flashing. I pulled over to turn the car off hoping that if I restarted the engine the eps light would go off. When I tried to turn the car back on it would not start. The motor would not even turn over. It was like the battery had all of a sudden died. I had to have my car towed to my house. This morning I had a mechanic test the battery and it showed that the battery was pretty much dead. I am charging the battery as we speak and will put it back in the car in a couple of hours. I have no idea why the battery would be dead. Has anyone experienced anything like this or would any of the electronic experts have any idea what could have caused this? Also i drive my car everyday so my battery could not have lost its charge that way and I did not leave my lights on either. On a sidenote right before the light started to flash I took a quick turn and got some bumpsteer. Could this have anything to do with it?

Wesmaster

Bad alternator.

getchastuff

My car is only 1 year old with 21000 miles on it. Why would my alternator go bad so soon?

Wesmaster

Just a malfunction, not a wear item...covered under warranty...it happens (never heard of it on an S though).

getchastuff

Once I charge the battery do you think that I will have enough juice to go to the dealer without this happening again? My dealer is a 45 minute drive from where I live. Also do you think that the dealer would have this part in stock or would they have to order it? Reason why I ask is because I was planning a road trip to philly tomorrow night and need my car back by then.

Wesmaster

Not sure about the juice, you might make it, but I'd bet they won't have it in stock...overnight shipping is the best you'll get.

TXRacer

It's either a bad battery or bad alternator; if you can charge the battery up to full and it seems to hold for a while, your problem is the alternator. The things just go bad on occasion; it's unlikely you did anything to cause it.

I'd call the dealer and ask if (a) they have an alternator, (b) if driving 45 minutes without one is safe, and

getchastuff

Thanks for the help. I was worried it might be something more serious.

matrix

After your battery is charged, start the car and measure the voltage across the battery. The alternator should push the voltage up between 13.8V-14.2V. If is below 12.7V, your alternator is not charging and you are running on the battery alone.

andrewewing

If you don't use your lights, radioo, A/C etc. and just drive the car in daylight you can run on a fully charged battery for several hours. I've done it.