I had a new battery and alternator put in a little over a week ago because as I'm drivinng my check guages lights up and the battery power meter starts dropping really fast. I brought it to my mechanic and he said there were two loose wires connected to the alternator. He tightened them and every thing was running smooth until twenty minutes ago! has this happened to anybody? I have the car for a year and a half without any problems and this started happening out of nowhere.

Any help would really be appreciated.

Thank you,

Mase.

See if your wires running off the battery are hot. Still make sure the wires on your alternator are tight.

Thanks for the input. I will check this out tomorrow.

Good rule of thumb with this situation is to clean EVERY electrical connection you can find that has anything to do with the charging system, hell, do it even if it doesn't, and put dielectric grease on it. that might just narrow it down right off the bat.

focus especially on the battery cables...pull the boots off and clean em REAL well.

your probably running off the battery because the alternator went out.

I would check the oil level to make sure that it is right. Too much oil can get on to your spark plugs and cause the bat charge light to come on and cause your car to die. This sit sounds familiar cause it happened to my 97 bonneville. i did every thing you did. Then I checked the plugs they were covered with burnt oil. I couldn't smell it.

Had another alternator put in and it ran great for about a month, BUT it shut off again yesterday!!!! This is really frustrating.

It is possible to get a alternator bad from the box....if you got it new or rebuilt. If you got a junkyard one...those are always a crapshoot. Take both the battery and the alternator to get them checked and have the battery charged. If all is good with both, put them back on the car, and immediately take it to either advance or autozone for a free charging system check. Things may pass on the bench, but also fail when in the "real world", i.e. heatsoak, moisture, etc...

All five Pontiacs I've owned have needed to have the battery cables replaced. Typically the positive cable corrodes inside its protective red rubber sheath, throughout its length. You can't see this unless you slit the protective insulation and peel it back along its length.

You might have the same problem. I had carefully cleaned all of the battery terminals and clamps using a small soft wire brush on a Dremel tool. It made no difference, because the problem was corrosion of the positive cable along its length. Replacing the positive cable was the only fix.

In each case, I'd replaced the battery, then the alternator, and kept getting stranded with a car that wouldn't start.