I am having car trouble,and I am resorting here for advise. It will only start with a jump off another vehicle,then it would run fine.Then that evening I was going to work and my lights started to dim,and it was losing power,as in not wanting to excelerate.I pulled over,put it in park,looked under the hood,didnt see anything going on,and when I got back in,the shifter was lodged.I used my key on the gear shifter to get it in drive,and I parked it up.Got a ride home and the next day, when I jumped it off,it ran FINE...(??)
I thought it was the altinator,but when I took the cable off the battery,it didnt die.I also put new terminals and a new battery.If its not the altinator,what could it be? Does it matter which terminal you take off to test that?(pos. or neg.)

okay it sounds like your alternater is going...and it does matter..you want to disconnect the battery entirly to make sure that no juice from the battery is going to the alternater....your can drive a car without a battery, but you cannot drive one without an alternater...the fact that your lights started to dim shows that the battery was being drained of power, which your alternater keeps your batter charged for such things as headlights, radio, wipers, and so on...try replacing your alternater..I can practically guarentee that its your alternater.....

I would agree with the last post. You can run off the battery for quite a while, but head lights and the heater blower motor take a lot of energy. You're alternator may be working a little but not enough to keep up with everything at the same time. Good luck, if I lived closer I would put it on for nothing.

OK,I will try to disconnect both post and see what happens.But will the altinator also make my gear shift lodge like it did?

First thing to do is (have a cute mechanincally-inclined guy) clean the battery connections -they sell wire brushes at the auto store for that -rinse them well afterward -sometimes a corroded connection can seem like something else. If you have an extra can of Coke, pour that on the connections after cleaning what you can -it will get rid of stuff you couldn't reach -then rinse well -also wear safety glasses and try not to face the battery directly when possible -and have plenty of running water nearby -they can explode. Dry the battery with a disposable cloth -reconnect everything (don't rub your eyes throughout this whole process -and wash your hands well afterward).

A battery will actually slightly charge itself by chemical reaction, so the overnight thing might be explained by that.

The shifter -I'm assuming it's an automatic -can seem to be stuck if you are parked on an incline -the car's weight will resist you moving the lever.

If you have an "auto zone" nearby, they will test your charging system for free. If they say the battery needs to be removed, smile a lot and tell them you don't know how to remove it and they will.

If you are going to keep the car, start saving for an alternator, battery, and voltage regulator, anyway. If the battery is OK, and you need the alternator, you might as well throw in a regulator. They say it's best to replace all three at once. but "they" aren't as poor as me.

If they're all OK, and you find it was just corroded connections, then you'll have saved money for the next thing that goes wrong.

If none of the above work Kajun, you might have someone check the voltage regulator. If it is starting to go you can get erratic voltages running through your electrical system.

E,I already replaced the battery,the ternimals and the starter,so I know it is not that,but i haven't had the altinator tested,that may be the best "next" thing.I sure hate to put MORE money in this car,but if that is all it is,I may have to,I was just worried it was the transmission,because when the lights started dimming,there was no power,I was going about 5 miles an hour(a cat passed me,BTW)
I will see what I can do and get back to everyone,THANKS SOOOO MUCH!

Oh,I work on my own car most of the time...I aint skered,LOTI

Oh,it IS automatic..

Yer so bad -women who work on cars rock! (You said "park" -which is why I assumed automatic -but when I put my VW in park, it means putting it in second and putting my "parking rock" behind or in front of the wheel -depending on the incline.)

Good point about the regulator above.
The free charging system check at auto zone (some others do it, too) will test whether the alternator is charging, and at what voltage -hence the voltage regulator. They will also usually loan you tools.

If you just got a new battery and the alternator/regulator is/are bad, then it will run for a while off the battery and you will again experience the same thing as it ruins this battery, also. As the voltage decreases, the spark produced by the spark plugs will be weaker -burning fuel less efficiently and effectively "later" in the cycle -the car will slow down and everything will dim.

Normally, the alternator actually produces too much voltage -which is then "regulated" to about 14.4 volts to charge the 12 volt battery and run the car. The battery is only for starting or powering things when the vehicle is not running -such as the hazards or the stereo -but will run the car until it dies if it is not being charged.

If the alternator is fine, the regulator might not be allowing enough - or any -voltage through -or as dude above pointed out -might work erratically -not consistently enough to charge.
If the alternator is bad and the regulator is fine, there will still not be enough voltage.
If the alternator is fine, the voltage regulator might also be allowing too much voltage through -but this would make your lights very bright and make your battery boil over. (not to mention any number of wierd combinations of things -but these are the basics). Just because you can disconnect the battery and run the car, doesn't mean everything is OK -it might be just OK enough to fool you.

An alternator is about $100, and a regulator between $10 and $50(round about) -both are normally quite easy to replace -just disconnect the battery first!...and don't over-tighten the alternator belt. If it is the alternator, I'd replace both, as the low voltage can make the regulator fail faster, even if it works now -if it is the regulator, you could prolly get away with just replacing it alone.

OK,I will take it to Auto Zone and get it tested.Thanks for the reply and I also asked someone and he told me it could be the computer shutting the transmission down.I can afford the altinator,but not a transmission overhaul :(
PLUS,my cars' parts are pretty expensive,it's an Acura and i just repaced the distibutor which was 416.00 for the part! I about S**T,but I had to have it.

If you lived closer,and put it on,I would gladly pay you for your time...Thanks :)

Which is why I drive a VW BUS!!! Air, spark, gas and compression -it's just that simple -and give me a standard I can run-start if necessary.

Computers don't belong in cars. I had one with a computer once -thing acted like I was about to be sucked up by the mother ship and probed by aliens (not really, LTL) -various things would blink on and off at various times -the car would stop and not start for a while -then mysteriously be able to run again.
...and why the :::: would anyone link a computer to a transmission??? We pay these geeks too much to be doing stupid stuff like that. I don't need a car that parallel-parks itself and breaks down every 10,000 miles.

Do you have OnStar? Maybe some bored or disgruntled OnStar employee is sending wierd signals via satellite??????

If you can change a battery you can do the other stuff -they are the easiest jobs possible.

If you get too frustrated -go to THESAMBA (dot com) -and look for a nice VW bus in your area!!!!!

That said, a Cajun country girl in an Acura is kinda cool.

No...No Onstar.If I break down,I go get my Toyota Blazer and pull my car home,LOL...Just have to get a ride home and someone to steer.I think the reason for computers in cars is so the people working on cars can hook it up to thier computer and see what problems are going on(?)I agree they don't need all that,but you know how technology is...it's technical.

Could be any number of things including battery, alternator, ground or supply issue, some of these you have ruled out already as no goes that i read but the ground and supply issue might still be at hand. Good luck i work on my own car too and it a pain. :( I just rebuilt my distributor cap last year in Nov. :D

That would have been better than 416.00 for a new one,OH WELL :/

OK,so,what's the best car wax on the market?
There is too many to chose from.
And does anyone know what air freshners actually WORK??

As Far as wax goes, I use turtle wax...I think that is one of the good ones out there...but then agian thats what I have always use and its never let me down...

Now for air freshners, I have a spray I bought at auto zone, It called new car scent...thing works miricals...In a matter of seconds your whole car will smell like new car scent and all it takes is one spray and it will smell like that for days...the can looks like a little bottle of ozium..

the best thing to do for your car is to have it waxed -then sealed with a sealer wax -it might cost you, but then you won't have to wax it for like a year and a half -ask a reputable detailer -you can get the stuff yourself, but make sure you wax it well first with a carnauba wax.

Oh Kajunqueen, I wouldn't charge, I love to work on cars for friends. It relax's me and I enjoy fixing and rebuilding them. ya ever have a car question feel free to ask. good luck

Meguiars is the best wax ever, IMHO

yeah that is some good wax too...

I often wonder about turtle wax. How does one extract wax from a turtle anyway?

lol, thats a good question...

But what about BABY oil?
*grabs grand daughter and holds her close*

You wring them out of course Kajun!