Battery problems?

mazda323 · Oct 7, 2004

Well I've bought the Corolla and thanks out to everyone who helped me.

I'm trying to get rid of the mazda now, however the battery, starter or altenator is giving me a fit.

Here's the scope. I tried starting the car two days ago however there wasn't enough juice in the battery to crank the engine.

I got a boost and drove the car for about a half hour. I stopped the car and turned it off. It started without a problem again.

The next morning I tried to start the car, but again there wasn't enough juice in the battery to turn the engine over.

So once again I got a boost and drove it for about 30 minutes to charge the battery. I stopped the car and turned it off. It started again without a problem.

You guessed it, this morning I went to start it and once again no juice to turn the engine over.

I have an idea of what might be wrong, but I could really use someone's help here.

It seems like the charge in the battery slips away at night.

Could it possibly be a bad battery or altenator or starter?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

W.T.McGlynn · Oct 7, 2004

#1.Battery will not hold a charge.
(Internal short)
#2.Altenator has a bad Diode and
is draining the Battery.
#3.Both of the above.

I would think the starter is OK.
You need an induction Amp meter to see what the load is on the Starter.

Auto Zone should check it all for free.
Sears will charge you to check it.
Best of Luck....

94MaxGXE · Oct 7, 2004

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Rick in PA · Oct 7, 2004

If you have a voltmeter, check the charging voltage. With the motor running it should be something like 13.5 or so volts.

If the voltage doesn't jump up when you start it, that's a charging system problem. Make sure the alternator belt is tight (not slipping). If the belt's tight, it's probably a alternator/regulator problem.

If the voltage jumps up when you start it, sounds like a battery problem.

eljefino · Oct 7, 2004

You could also have something screwy like a glovebox light that won't turn off, running your battery down.

disconnect a cable when you park it, reconnect the next morning. If the battery's good you have a parasitic draw somewhere. Pulling fuses in an orderly fashion will narrow down the problem.

Matt_S · Oct 7, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by eljefino:
You could also have something screwy like a glovebox light that won't turn off, running your battery down.

disconnect a cable when you park it, reconnect the next morning. If the battery's good you have a parasitic draw somewhere. Pulling fuses in an orderly fashion will narrow down the problem.

...and buy a multimeter that can test for current. As you pull the fuses, put the leads of the ammeter across the fuse terminals and look for current draw. Multimeters can be had for relatively cheap and are very useful for auto and household stuff.

mazda323 · Oct 9, 2004

The thing that I don't understand is that the car is able to start after I've boosted it and ran it for a half hour. I'm able to turn the engine off and started it again. Howevere, if I wait an hour or two it will not start.

confused?

BTW I've bought a multimeter. what do I do know?

Not the Autorx Frank · Oct 9, 2004

Sure sounds like a bad battery to me...........

Ugly3 · Oct 9, 2004

Full charge the battery with an automatic battery charger and load test the battery. This will eliminate one possible source of the problem.

outrun · Oct 10, 2004

Go to Pep Boys or AutoZone and see if they can free load test your battery.

A midtronics unit is handy for that.

The most concise way is a Sabre test that will check for drains, alternator output, and dead spots in your starter.

If it is the battery i beg you not to be cheap and get a good battery!

DieHard Gold & SUV(the other DH's are garbage), Interstate Megatron, etc

Mike_dup1 · Oct 15, 2004

If all you want is to sell the car, go to Walmart and buy the biggest (cold crankiing amp's CCA) one you can get for it and be done with it. Just got one for a my plow truck 800cca for aroudn $60.

What you describe it exactly how a worn out battery behaves.

1 FMF · Oct 15, 2004

quote:

Originally posted by mazda323:
The thing that I don't understand is that the car is able to start after I've boosted it and ran it for a half hour. I'm able to turn the engine off and started it again. Howevere, if I wait an hour or two it will not start.

confused?

BTW I've bought a multimeter. what do I do know?

the reason the car will start again shortly afterward is because there is a surface charge on the battery. You need to remove the surface charge- easiest way is waiting overnight with the battery disconnected- to measure it's state correctly. If you go to howstuffworks.com read up on batteries- automotive deep cycle and charging. That will explain everything, far better than I care to type here

With the meter, have the car running at fast idle like 1500 rpms or more. Put one lead from meter to + battery terminal, other lead to - batt. terminal. If you see less than 13.0 to 13.5 volts then you have a bad alternator and/or voltage regulator, depending on what the car has.

In the morning before you start the car, or after it's been sitting for 6 hours, check the battery. A fully charged battery shows 12.6 volts. If it's around 12.3 - 12.4 volts, then battery is at 80% charge. Less than 12.2 the battery is weak and needs a charge.

From your description, the symptoms are common for a battery at the end of it's life. I think you just need a new battery.

To check for a constant drain on the battery, which is kinda hard today with alarm and stereo systems always pulling juice, what you can do is this: have car off and disconnect - cable going to battery. Set your meter, if possible, to measure current in milliamps. Connect one lead from meter to battery cable that was going to battery, and other lead to battery - terminal. Note the current measurement. I'm guessing if it's over 0.25 amp, or 250 mA, then there's a problem. Also be aware that when you first connect the meter to measure the current draw, there might be a small arc and current spike which will throw the meter into a fit if you have it on a milliamp scale. That is normal. You might have to put it on a larger scale, like to 20A, then switch it to read milliamps.

kenw · Oct 19, 2004

I'm with Mike. dying batery.

buy the biggest CCA, largest physical sized that will fit, cheapest, longest non-prorated warranty battery you can. Then expect to replace them every 2 years regardless.

I bought one at HiLo/O'Reilly years ago and haven't paid for a new one yet...

Battery problems?

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