Rant: the guy at the parts store saved me $80 with one question

Was about to drop $140 on a new alternator for my 2004 Civic after it died at a gas station off I-75. The counter guy, maybe 60, asked if I checked the battery terminals before I blamed the alternator. Told him the multimeter said 11.9V with the car off, so yeah it was bad. He said 'cool, now check the ground strap from the block to the frame.' Sure enough it was corroded to almost nothing, cleaned it with a wire brush for 5 minutes and the car fired right up. That was 3 weeks ago and it's been solid since. Has anyone else had a bad ground mimic a dying part like that?

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stellafisher23d ago

If the battery terminals were fine, that same ground could've been eating your starter too, huh?