A dead '95 Civic battery gave unusual results. Jumpering the battery allowed
it to idle the engine, but the moment I attempted to move it forward or in
reverse, the engine would stop. Its as though the battery was too weak to
muster enough energy to propel the car, but it could idle the car. Does that
make any sense? Does the Civic have an electric fuel pump that uses up a lot
of energy when in drive? What UNDER THE HOOD things use up electrical energy
while the car is running?

Once I replaced the battery, the car was back to normal. I have no idea if
its just a weird battery problem or if the alternator needs to be replaced.
I would like to find out before taking it to a Sears, for example. If I
know the alternator is bad, I'd rather pick a Honda specialty shop.

Any hints on testing the car's ability to charge the battery, without moving
it to a Sears, for example? A friend told me there was a headlight test to
check the alternator working properly.