Do you think my battery or my alternator is bad on my 1996 GMC Jimmy?

[ShoreGirl]

Hi!

I was driving home from work tonight and after sitting in traffic I noticed my "battery light" came on, things seemed to get a little dimmer but it was dusk and hard to tell, eventually I could tell that things were definately dimming and the volts were low. I made it the rest of my trip (another 1/2 hour) home and my truck literally died in front of my house. I immediately tried to restart it and all I got was a bunch of clicking.

I don't have a ton of money to spend and I'd hate to replace the battery first if that is not the problem - unless I'll need one anyway. Do you think it is more likely to be the alternator than the battery? I thought a battery didn't slowly drain while you drove? How expensive would this repair be?

Thank you!

 

[Mark]

More likely your Jimmy's alternator. But if you can get the battery charged and take it to a parts store they can tell you for sure.

 

[Raffi]

maybe its just ure starter.or alternator . what u can do is go to a junkyard and get a used one

 

[epiphaknee]

That is a bad alternator. Your battery light came on because it knew it was not receiving enough voltage from the alternator to recharge it. Your lights continued to dim as your battery drained because the alternator was not recharging the battery. That's why you could not start your vehicle at the end of your trip. New alternator and recharge your battery while you are at it.