'97 talon esi. srs and battery light come on right away then car dies

[Matt Maclean]

The car was sitting for awhile. So when i went to start the car the battery was dead. I went and got a new one and after that the srs light is always on and battery light until my car dies.
any ideas? thanks.

[Paul Pigar]

could be alternator is hooped, grab multimeter then start vehicle check if alternator is charging...should be around 14v

[Matt Maclean]

will do thanks

[Ryan Coft]

Definitely sounds like alternator

[Vanessa Brake]

What does the srs light mean. Mines been on since I bought my car

[Richard Clark]

SRS is your airbags.

[John Hartman]

supplemental restraint system(aka airbags, as per Rich)  and the bad thing is you need a fancier code reader/scan tool for that, as its not part of OBD2 compliance.  ABS, SRS and other chassis things are not emissions related so the OEMs don't have to give you easy access to that stuff.

+1 for alternator.

They seem to go in pairs on these cars.

[Drew Sale]

john, what kind of code reader would someone need to get these codes?

[John Hartman]

either a factory one, or a costly aftermarket one that a shop would buy.  Something in the $1500-$10,000 range.