So, I've tried to find something similar but can't

hear are my symptoms:
- One night the battery light came on and I noticed the RPM's started fluctuating when I had the car idling.
- The next day I was in a hurry n had no time to fix the issue so I drove to and from work...RPM's still fluctuating and battery light still on. Yet, when I was coming off the freeway, I lost all power. All of a sudden the tacometer read all 0 and the stereo faded out n shut off. I continued to drive it to work and it was jerking ALOT so I had to be in 3rd gear going like 20 mph...
- It won't start up right after these issues occur but it will start after its sat for a while.
- The problems don't start until the car is warmed up. When its cold it runs fine.
- We replaced the battery and it worked fine for a few days and now its happening again.


Half of me thinks its the alternator. If its the alternator why would the car be jerking alot? What about the ignition switch? Since the problems occur when car is warm?

Thanx so much for your help.

 

i'm leaning toward alternator also. get it tested first at autozone. when there isn't enough current to power the coil it will start to misfire.

 

The alternator sounds like a posibility. Are your battery cables in good shape. Check that the connection and wire from the alternator to the battery is in good shape.

You can take the car to autozone and have them test the alternator/battery.

The easiest thing to do would be to get the car running and take it to autozone. You will probably have to charge the battery. They can test the alternator/battery for free.

 

You should probably also have the ELD (electronic load detector) circuit checked . The easiest way ive found to do this is to unplug the green/white wire in the 4 wire terminal in the back of the alternator, reconnect the plug to the alternator and see if you have a charge.If not alternator, if it charges either a fuse is blown or you have a bad ELD circuit.

 

Loss of tachometer suggests an ignition problem, since ignition signal drives tachometer.

Coil is usual culprit, but ignitor is also possible. The DIY section has diagnositic procedure to determine coil or ignitor.

good luck