surely!!! if you remove a battery from a petrol engine while its running it will die!! diesel is a different story as it fires on compression where a petrol engine needs a spark!! hence the car stalling when jump leads removed, that will never happen with a diesel (compression) you can drive all day and night (if you didnt use a source that req'd electrics) use a battery tester of the type that shorts out across the poles (any garage will do it for you) but it does sound altenator.guru7001/2