The car would not crank this am...it has been a week since I started it. I used a jump box and got it started, but as soon as I took the jump box off the battery, car died. What does that mean...bad alternator?

 

Check your terminals for corrosion, clean them and reinstall. If thats not it, have the battery tested, may have a dead cell. When you know the battery is good, then look at the alternator and regulator. Most often its the simple things.

 

I know that usually if you want to know if its the battery or the alternator you get the car runnng and then disconnect the positive battery cable. If the car keeps running, the alternator is good, if it dies, then the alternator is bad (gerally speaking). And the reason your battery was dead is probably because the alterntor isn't doing its job! The problem with completely draining a battery like that is that sometimes it can cause the battery to develop dead cells. I'd take the alternator off and take it to your local autoparts store. They can check it for you for free and tell you if it is working or not. Once you get a good alternator on the car the battery will charge back up.

 

Thanks...will let you know what I find out.