Alright heres the deal, i left my key in the on position one day so obviously when i went to start the car nothing happened. So i jumped the car and went for a short ride out in the country hoping it would recharge the battery. I later found out that didnt recharge the battery, so i got the alternator checked and the regulator was sticking. So i got a new alternator and swapped them out, then recharged the battery. after a couple days of driving my headlights started getting less bright unless i revved the car up they got bright for the amount of time the rpm's were up, after the rpm's dropped so did the brightness of the headlights. So i went and got the battery checked and it wasnt holding a charge so i got a new battery. A day has went by and now the same problems are coming up again, headlights are getting less bright, and everything inside the car that lights up is also less bright. If i have replaced both the battery and the alternator, then what should i be looking for now, what else could be wrong?

 

sounds like you burned out your new alternator

 

I would take the car to somewhere that can check it with the car running and see what they think. Maybe the new parts are bad or its a wiring issue. Maybe the connections are clicking and need cleaned.

 

sounds like an alternator problem. take it out and get it tested.

 

Make sure you have good/clean connections. Also, check the line coming from the alternator to the battery, maybe this is posssibly bad preventing the alternator from charging the battery.

 

true. i just bought some universal battery terminals and rewired my connections. it made a noticeable difference and it cost 5 bucks.

 

Ok, so i have been paying close attention to the battery gauge. When i am in park all the lights and ervything are bright as can be. the needle is also at the top, close to 18 volts. When i put the car in gear or or reverse the everything dims down and the needle goes under 12 volts??? I dont understand, help!?

 

first off. your alternator is not designed to charge your battery up from a dead state. it is there to maintain the charge on the battery and to power everything once the car is running.

If you didn't charge the battery to full with a battery charger and let the alt do all the work, you would have killed the alt. As for when idleing. your car idles fast when not in gear. so when you put it in gear the RPM drops. when it drops the alt does not turn as fast. if it gets to slow for the alt, it will not put out the power. so what you are seeing at under 12 volts is most likely the alt not putting out power anymore.

 

If your lights flicker when you step on the gas,could be your coil.My02