Hey guys, here's yet another technical question...
The other day, what I THOUGHT to be a starter problem ends up being either a battery and/or an alternator problem. A friend of mine charged up my battery with some cables and after about a minute or two my car turned on with NO problem. I drove it around for a few minutes and then parked it again. The next day, I came out to turn on my car and it was dead again. Same repeated clicking when I turn the key all the way. I can tell the interior lights were dimmer than the day before when my friend charged my battery up.
My battery is only 2-3 years old, at the most. I am NOT running anything in my car that would be taking excessive amounts of juice from my battery. I'm not sure how old my alternator is, it's the same alternator that was in the car back when I bought it in 2003-2004. For all I know, the alternator COULD be as old as the car itself (about 17 years).
For you experts, do the signs seem to be saying it's an alternator problem or a battery problem?
If it's the alternator, would anyone here happen to have any type of manuals or instructions on the easiest way to go about getting to and removing the alternator? I don't think it's as hard as a starter, but I heard you have to go from under the car to get the alternator out, is this 100% the only way?
Thanks in advance for any help! =)