Batteries do crap out from time to time, but missing an oil change usually isn't enough to seize up an engine, unless you have some bad gaskets and coolant gets mixed in there with the oil. If you pull the dipstick and it looks like milkshake, you're screwed. If it's just black and funky, you're probably OK, though you should get it taken care of sooner rather than later.
But yeah, if you can hook up jumper cables and it starts and stays running until you disconnect the cables, you most likely just need a new battery and probably alternator. If your starter's shot, then yeah, it's probably not worth the effort to salvage, because (depending on the car) replacing a starter can cost almost as much as another used car. (Edit: sometimes it's just a solenoid issue; those are sort of easy to change, but I've never had to do it.)
On the other hand, a battery swap is something you could do on your own with a cheap socket wrench set and some stern warnings from a YouTube video. An alternator swap is also usually pretty simple, depending on how the belts are routed and how much shit is in the way of the mounting bolts for the alternator itself. Depends on the car, really; if we're talking about something like a 1990s Chevy Astro or Dodge Caravan, you should have plenty of space to work with to get the alternator out, but setting proper belt tension is going to be tricky after the new one is in. On newer models, you'll have less space to work with; Google it if you're considering the DIY route.
For whatever it's worth, I don't consider myself that mechanically inclined, and I had to do a battery and alternator change on my own car when I was 17 or 18 because I couldn't afford to take it to a mechanic. Then I had to do it again on the car I bought after that, in the middle of a frigging road trip. Winters in the midwest are not kind to car batteries.
To add on...if the terminals are corroded the alternator might not be giving enough juice back to the battery to keep it running. Sometimes cleaning the terminals goes a long ways too.
Very much could be just a Bad Battery, Bad Battery Terminals, Bad Leads (wires that attach to battery), and/or Bad Alternator. Replacing all those shouldn't be more than $699.
I assume it didn't run out of fuel,,, that did happen to a friend of a friend though.
If its a solenoid issues its prolly just stuck. That why whacking an busted starer with a heavy pipe often gets it working. Unsticks the switch in the solenoid. It died while running tho so my moneys on bad battery/alternator.
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Batteries do crap out from time to time, but missing an oil change usually isn't enough to seize up an engine, unless you have some bad gaskets and coolant gets mixed in there with the oil. If you pull the dipstick and it looks like milkshake, you're screwed. If it's just black and funky, you're probably OK, though you should get it taken care of sooner rather than later.
But yeah, if you can hook up jumper cables and it starts and stays running until you disconnect the cables, you most likely just need a new battery and probably alternator. If your starter's shot, then yeah, it's probably not worth the effort to salvage, because (depending on the car) replacing a starter can cost almost as much as another used car. (Edit: sometimes it's just a solenoid issue; those are sort of easy to change, but I've never had to do it.)
On the other hand, a battery swap is something you could do on your own with a cheap socket wrench set and some stern warnings from a YouTube video. An alternator swap is also usually pretty simple, depending on how the belts are routed and how much shit is in the way of the mounting bolts for the alternator itself. Depends on the car, really; if we're talking about something like a 1990s Chevy Astro or Dodge Caravan, you should have plenty of space to work with to get the alternator out, but setting proper belt tension is going to be tricky after the new one is in. On newer models, you'll have less space to work with; Google it if you're considering the DIY route.
For whatever it's worth, I don't consider myself that mechanically inclined, and I had to do a battery and alternator change on my own car when I was 17 or 18 because I couldn't afford to take it to a mechanic. Then I had to do it again on the car I bought after that, in the middle of a frigging road trip. Winters in the midwest are not kind to car batteries.
To add on...if the terminals are corroded the alternator might not be giving enough juice back to the battery to keep it running. Sometimes cleaning the terminals goes a long ways too.
Very true! A cheap voltmeter will tell a lot of the story here.
Very much could be just a Bad Battery, Bad Battery Terminals, Bad Leads (wires that attach to battery), and/or Bad Alternator. Replacing all those shouldn't be more than $699.
I assume it didn't run out of fuel,,, that did happen to a friend of a friend though.
Good luck!
If its a solenoid issues its prolly just stuck. That why whacking an busted starer with a heavy pipe often gets it working. Unsticks the switch in the solenoid. It died while running tho so my moneys on bad battery/alternator.
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