Ok, so this is going to be a little bit of a long one...
A while back (months ago) I started seeing faults of various kinds, took it to the shop, had them cleared, had the mech drive it to and from home as he is a trusted friend, and then he says it is running fine and the faults are not reappearing, so I go to pick it up and pay over $300 for his work. then it drives fine for about a week and then suddenly starts acting up - abruptly loosing power while driving, then idiot lights popping up and then would only drive about 10mph regardless of how far i pushed the gas pedal down, and then finally trouble starting and then would not turn over and run at all.
so i put a new battery in it (Platinum everstart H7 with 850CCA) and it starts up and runs with no issues.
i suspected the alternator but when it started to act up before it died, the gauges were not going haywire like i suspect they would if it were the alternator.
i feel like its good to go now but i do not trust it for a long drive....
anyone had a similar experience?
i plan to take it into a mech to have it scanned but just wanted to get any info/advice on this awesome resource.

thanks in advance for your replies -

 

Batteries are known to cause all sorts of havoc with these, if they are not in their prime. You are likely fine now.
I suggest using a battery tender at least 1-2x per month to keep it healthy.

 

thank you for the reply - do you have a battery tender you would recommend?
do you just hook it up and leave it on overnight or something? i am not familiar with battery tenders as i have never had the need for one (until now apparently)

 

I only have experience with the one I have.
its the craftsman version of the Schumacher SP1297

it tests, charges, maintains, Senses 6/12v, works on AGM, etc automatically

you can spend more but I have liked mine

i use it overnight occasionally especially after sitting for days

hardwired pigtail plugs on all my cars make plugging in easy