I TURNED OFF MY CAR AND NOW IT DOESNT START IS IT THE BATTERY OR ALTERNATER MY BOYFRIEND HOOKED UP WITH CABLES?

If your battery was totally drained you need to charge it. Once you get a jump dont turn your car off for about 45 mins. Try it again and see what happens. If your car turns off during those 45 thaen you might need a new alternator. A very easy way to do a first check to determine if your alternator is bad is have your bf jump the car then disconnect the batter cable (positive) from your battery and if your car turns off then your alt is bad. If it stays on then that is a good sign of a good alt. More than likely you probably left a light on and drained your bat. Or maybe it is time for a new bat. All the above is simple for your bf to check it himself. Also take it to a close by parts store and they should check it for free. Good luck.

I doubt it's your alternator. Since your battery is obviously run down (it won't crank or start) and your car started when your boyfriend jumped it I'm thinking it's your battery. If your alternator was shot there would be no electricity to run your engine. Also most cars have an Alternator light on their dash board is that lit up? It's a dummy light to tell you the alternator is not charging your battery. If that is not happening. Take the battery out of the car and go down to Pep Boys, AutoZone, Walmart, Sears or any big car part retailer and they can test your battery for you. You can also buy a cheap battery tester. Go to any place that sells boats and ask for a trolling motor battery tester ($5 or $6 ) if your local auto store doesn't have one. It will tell you right away if your battery is the problem. If you know someone with a battery charger, put it on the charger. If it doesn't take a charge your battery is blown. Also check the water in your battery. There are usually two small caps on top of the battery pry them off carefully (acid in there) and look to see if the water comes near the top. If your battery ran out of water it will cook and die. Lots of people never check the water level in their battery and their batteries die a premature life as a result. Batteries need water; check it at least once a year. (use distilled water if you don't want the fully white stuff all over your terminals, tap water has trace minerals in it which reacts with the acid causing the white fully stuff on terminals, you can remove most of it with baking soda and water and pouring it on the fluffy terminals and scrubbing it with a wire brush. If you have a dehumidifier take the water out of that, that is distilled water.

Well, to get this straight here. Your boyfriend helped you jumpstart

the car and it started. After you left and drove around a while or

some time later, the car will not start once again.

It could be a number of things. Anything from corroded battery connections ( the ones you can and can't see without cleaning the terminals well), to an alternator or more. You might want to get it

running , keep all unnecessary items off, like radio, etc.. and take

it straight to a service shop for diagnosis and a fix. Replacing components you are unsure of is just a waste of money i

Good Luck to you...

Did you drain the battery by leaving a light or something on, once you jump the battery you need to leave the vehicle running for a while for the alternator to recharge the battery. If you did that your alternator may be to blame for not recharging the battery. Most auto parts places offer free testing of your entire charging system.

Jump start the car with the battery connected. once the car is running, disconnect the positive battery cable. If the car dies, its the alternator. If it keeps running, have the battery checked at the parts store.

If you could get a hold of a multimeter and measure the voltage accross the battery. You could easilly find out.

If it's under 12v when the car is off You need a battery.

When the car is running, you should get 14v. If not You need an alternator

There are many ways to see what is wrong, when you try to start it does it do a clicking sound? Does it do absolutly nothing, do you have lights come on when you turn the key, and what kind of car is it. these factors need to be added into it. but if you CAN start it and drive it go to the nearest Auto zone they can test your battery and alternator for free.

it sounds like battery,did he have battery cables off? did he put them on backwards? did he leave something unhooked?does your lights work? lot of ifs