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This was so weird. First I heard kind of a whining noise when not pressing hard on accelerator (like when coasting or lightly pressing.) Then the power steering went out and I had to fight to turn the wheel. Then the radio started turning on and off, all these indicator lights came on the dashboard, then the dashboard would sometimes go completely dark. Thankfully I made it home. Turned off the car and tried starting it again and it didn't start! Cleaned battery terminals, didn't help. Hooked up jump starter and the car did start. Power steering works while the jump starter is hooked up, but when disconnected no power steering. Tested voltage of battery, seems like it's not charging, voltage slightly dropping as the car runs.
Mechanic's not open til Monday so I'm stuck for the weekend. Any guesses as to what's going on? Anything I can look at to try to figure it out? Thank you!
It definitely seems significant that the power steering works when the jump starter is hooked up to the battery, and doesn't work when not hooked up.
It makes sense that if the alternator is not able to charge the battery, then the electronic systems would start to shut down as the battery voltage drops.
Once thought we had bad battery, but the problem was a slight oil leak. It dripped on the belt causing tha alternator pulley to slip.
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