This has to be the mother of all coincidences. This morning my truck was just a little slow and hesitant to start. It had an Auto Craft Silver made by Johnson Controls battery in it, date of manufacture on it was November 2007. The truck did start though and I had to get to work and had no problems getting there, a 26 mile trip mostly on the turnpike. I went out to the parking lot on my last break around 3:30 and checked the battery voltage without the engine running, it was 10.5 volts. I used my trusty little cheapie $2.99 meter from Harbor Freight that is part of the tool kit I carry in my truck. I instantly thought it must have a dead cell. It was even slower than this morning but it did start in the parking lot and I let it run for a few minutes till I had to get back to my desk.
Now the odd coincidence is about 11:00 this morning my girlfriend calls me and says her car was also slow to start this morning but it did start and she drove it to work 4 miles from our house. She drove it across the parking lot to the grocery store to get change and a few things for the store where she works and her car would not start when she went to drive back over to her store. Her car had a Sears DieHard, I have no way to know how old it was and she does not know how old it was either. Her car, a 2003 Accord EX was always a little slow to start, but never had a dead battery until today. Her old battery had to have been at least 5 years old though.
I stopped at Autozone on my way home and got a new Duralast Gold battery for my truck. They don't stock my battery in the red top Duralast, and it was only another ten bucks anyway. I put in my new battery there in the parking lot and went to my gf's store, and checked her battery with my trusty Cen-Tech Chinese made meter, it had 12.5 volts with the engine off but still would not start the car. I jump started her car and off we went to the Autozone here in town. She bought a Duralast Gold for her car, I installed it in the parking lot and all is fine now.
Other than both batteries failing on the same day, the odd thing is this: At home I checked her new battery's voltage with my Fluke meter, with the engine off, it has 12.97 volts, engine running with no high beams and no AC running, it has 14.27 volts, and with the engine, AC and high beams all on, it has 14.0 volts at the battery terminals. This tells me her alternator and charging system are working fine.
On the new Duralast Gold battery in my truck, with my engine off I have 12.65 volts. Engine on with the AC and high beams off, I get 13.6 volts, and with the high beams, AC and radio on I get 13.6 volts then too.
The way I learned it is if your alternator is OK you should have about 14.2 volts with the engine running and the same voltage, right about 14.0 to 14.25 volts with the engine idling and the high beams and AC turned on.
I think her car is doing fine, but I wonder if I should replace my alternator. I drive a Dodge Dakota, 56 miles round trip to work 5 days a week and Dakota's are very sensitive to low or fluctuating voltage. I am really surprised and grateful that I had no problems driving today with a bad battery.
What do you guys think? Is 13.6 volts good enough or should I just replace my alternator now before it fails on me too? My truck is a 2001 Dodge Dakota, 3.9 liter V6 and it's the original alternator, has 134,900 miles on it and is 10 years old now according to the build date on the door jamb sticker.
Any ideas are appreciated here. Thanks.
Now the odd coincidence is about 11:00 this morning my girlfriend calls me and says her car was also slow to start this morning but it did start and she drove it to work 4 miles from our house. She drove it across the parking lot to the grocery store to get change and a few things for the store where she works and her car would not start when she went to drive back over to her store. Her car had a Sears DieHard, I have no way to know how old it was and she does not know how old it was either. Her car, a 2003 Accord EX was always a little slow to start, but never had a dead battery until today. Her old battery had to have been at least 5 years old though.
I stopped at Autozone on my way home and got a new Duralast Gold battery for my truck. They don't stock my battery in the red top Duralast, and it was only another ten bucks anyway. I put in my new battery there in the parking lot and went to my gf's store, and checked her battery with my trusty Cen-Tech Chinese made meter, it had 12.5 volts with the engine off but still would not start the car. I jump started her car and off we went to the Autozone here in town. She bought a Duralast Gold for her car, I installed it in the parking lot and all is fine now.
Other than both batteries failing on the same day, the odd thing is this: At home I checked her new battery's voltage with my Fluke meter, with the engine off, it has 12.97 volts, engine running with no high beams and no AC running, it has 14.27 volts, and with the engine, AC and high beams all on, it has 14.0 volts at the battery terminals. This tells me her alternator and charging system are working fine.
On the new Duralast Gold battery in my truck, with my engine off I have 12.65 volts. Engine on with the AC and high beams off, I get 13.6 volts, and with the high beams, AC and radio on I get 13.6 volts then too.
The way I learned it is if your alternator is OK you should have about 14.2 volts with the engine running and the same voltage, right about 14.0 to 14.25 volts with the engine idling and the high beams and AC turned on.
I think her car is doing fine, but I wonder if I should replace my alternator. I drive a Dodge Dakota, 56 miles round trip to work 5 days a week and Dakota's are very sensitive to low or fluctuating voltage. I am really surprised and grateful that I had no problems driving today with a bad battery.
What do you guys think? Is 13.6 volts good enough or should I just replace my alternator now before it fails on me too? My truck is a 2001 Dodge Dakota, 3.9 liter V6 and it's the original alternator, has 134,900 miles on it and is 10 years old now according to the build date on the door jamb sticker.
Any ideas are appreciated here. Thanks.