Okay, so I have a 1998 4WD blazer and I went to start it after letting it sit for about a week because I was out of gas and the battery was completely dead. My battery used to die alot before I replaced it 2 years ago, so I had cables in my car... I had my neighbor help me jump it using his Tacoma and for some weird reason it wouldn't run without the cables connected to the batteries. I mean I would have immediately though my battery was garbage or my alternator was out, but I literally just replaced the alternator in December, and I took my battery out and got it charged and tested at autozone and they said its working fine (and only 2 years old in august).

Any Ideas what's going on? I've read a few other scenarios on here, but they haven't fully applied to my problem. The dude at autozone said it could be a fuse.

 

here is one scenario
https://blazerforum.com/forum/lighti...ck-help-79880/

the battery should be fully charged with a battery charger and not expect the alternator to charge it

 

Well yeah, what I was assuming was that the alternator would keep the car running after I had gotten it started. We replaced the old alternator because it was old (hadn't been replaced before) and not necessarily broken. I had a huge issue with belt squeels so I replaced a majority of the pulleys as well. But after reading that thread it seems that it's probably the battery or both, which i find extremely strange considering its such a new part and has maybe.. 3500 miles on it and the battery isn't very old as well.

 

Check your alternator and make sure it's putting out proper voltage and the ground is good. I don't recall the tests off hand but you should be able to find the alternator testing procedure via searching on the Forum.

 

I'd check the connections to the battery. The lead connections can get corroded pretty easy, and it will prevent the alternator from charging, and will cause symptoms like you're describing. Easiest to just replace the wires, because the copper wire can become corroded inside the boot, causing resistance and a poor connection.

 

Replaced the battery and it started up and stayed on. My battery light was on and noticed my battery voltage dropping pretty rapidly so I drove over to O'reilys to have my alternator tested. Sure enough the alternator they sold me a few months back was the issue.

Although I love my blazer, I've encountered nothing but problems between 115k - 150k

 

there is a reason why cars get traded at certain mileage
the same reason why OE dealers will only deal used vehicles with certain mileage
Often things like battery, alt, starter and exhaust all crap out around the same time
Once you get threw that you are usually good

 

It seems like you run into a patch every couple years where you are replacing what seems like EVERYTHING, and then it's good for awhile. Just the way it is with old cars.