ok, i took off the alternator off last night and before i did that i accidentaly dropped a ratched and it arc'd off of the alternator. now that i have it all put back together i went to start it this morning and it wont start. i checked the battery and it reads 12v and i tried the alternator and its at 0. is it a possible fuse that went bad? or a bigger issue.

 

My guess is a fuse

 

if the battery puts out 12 volts then wouldn't the car start on a bad alternator, i thought the alternator was there to keep the battery charged, if so then the starter might be bad.

 

thats what i thought to but my uncle called one of his buddy's who work for the city, and he said if i blew a fuse on the alternator, it still wont start. like all it does is click and thats it and sometimes if i take the key out, the idiot lights will sometimes still be on.

 

well i guess then just check the fuses and check the wire connections and let us know how it goes.

 

If all you hearis a click then the starter could of gone bad.

 

I agree with TheEngineer, if your battery is reading 12v then the car should start, the alternator just acts like a generator to charge the battery, not start the car. I have driven around with a dead alternator before, not very long, but I still did. It could quite possibly be the starter.

 

well the battery was dead, it was reading 12v but i guess its the amps that matter's. BTW it only took 8 hrs to figure that one out. and thank's ESTRAW for coming over and helping out.

 

I was going to actually say the same thing but glad you found the problem (Next time disconnect the battery ffirst but ensure you have your radio code).