Alternator Problem?....maybe?

[poobah]

hey all.

leaving work last night, i went to my car to drive home, went to turn the key and it didn't start.. seemed like the battery was flat, so i called a mate to come jump start it but that didnt work either, his mums car probly didn't hav enough charge in the battery to crank it over. so we we went to grab another battery out of his work van and came back to give it another go. and it started.. we took his battery out(while my car was running) and put mine back on. and i drove home.

what i don't get is, how my battery got so flat in the first place when i only started it a few hours before?

the only thing that i can think of is that the alternator may be on its way out and not charging the battery?

saying that,, when we unhooked the battery while the engine was running, if the alternator was stuffed wouldn't the engine shut off? or could it just be a shit battery??

thanks in advanced!

[Jmaac]

could be either or both

put a m/meter accross the bat terminals and measure the voltage, check to see if its within spec

take your battery to supercheap and get thme to test it with an electrolyte/battery tester (or buy one ~7$)

if its near new you may be able to clean the plates with a battery conditioner of some sort...