timeline of issue:
-battery light comes on
-AutoZone employee says to replace the alternator
-car won't start at night, so I get a friend to jump start it
-while driving home the car starts to die. lights are flickering and the car won't go past 20mph and slowly comes to a crawl
-try to jump-start the car again and it won't start. just a clicking noise.
-The next day I buy an alternator and get a mechanic to replace it.
-mechanic jump-starts the battery and the car starts
-pull out of the parking lot and the car still won't go above 20mph.
-the mechanic drove it for a while before it slowed down to a crawl
-turn the car off for a while and then turn it back on. same results except the crawl part happened faster.
-The next day I get the car towed to my mechanic. He drives it around and it sounds somewhat like a bus and smells.
-There were no check engine lights during any of this
While the car hasn't officially been diagnosed yet, my mechanic says it could be one of the cats. I'm just trying to paint the picture of how a bad alternator could ruin a cat.
Does anyone have any ideas?
