Battery dieing overnight?
#284442
November 24, 2008 04:48 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 04:48 pm UTC
|
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,279 GTA
Mike Petro
OP
Insane Member
|
OP
Insane Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 3,279
GTA
|
Sunday morning my battery was randomly dead. It's an old battery so I swapped it out for the one in my Eclipse. Started up fine after. I didn't drive it around after verifying that it started.
This morning, went to start it. Battery was dead.
I don't get it. CD deck is an aftermarket one which doesn't shut off when the car is off, but instead you need to hold down "source" for it to shut off. I did that.
Lights were all off, everything I know of was off.
I remember one day last week on my way home, crwaling on the 403 in rush hour traffic, my dash lights went dim for a couple seconds, and radio turned off, then back on and everything was normal.
Could this be an alternator problem? Does the alternator hold the charge in the battery when the car isn't on?
'15 VW GTI Autobahn '10 Mitsubishi EVO GSR - SOLD '97 Eclipse Spyder - RIP. Oct 1/11
|
|
|
Re: Battery dieing overnight?
[Re: Mike Petro]
#284467
November 24, 2008 06:57 pm UTC
November 24, 2008 06:57 pm UTC
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,322 Loc: Loc:
Rob Strelecki
morum foderator
|
morum foderator
Senior Member, with Far TOO Much Time on Their Hands
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,322
Loc: Loc:
|
If the overnight charge doesn't help, then the battery is garbage. That is of course assuming all of your connections are fine. If your battery is charged you don't need an alternator to run (although you might have some strange electrical behaviour, dash lights and such, due to a bad alt - but the motor should run fine).
An important point to note is that a dead battery subjected to freezing temperatures will freeze and crack internally, and it will no longer hold a charge. Also, a battery should never be stored on a concrete surface.
|
|
|
Re: Battery dieing overnight?
[Re: Mark Bondy]
#284503
November 25, 2008 12:29 am UTC
November 25, 2008 12:29 am UTC
|
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 7,503 Trenton, On, Canada.
Ghislain Goudreau
Senior Member, with Far TOO Much Time on Their Hands
|
Senior Member, with Far TOO Much Time on Their Hands
Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 7,503
Trenton, On, Canada.
|
Also, you might want to make sure the alternator is doing it's job to keep the battery charged while the car is running. Test the voltage at the battery WITH the car running, should be around 14v or higher. If not, you may have an alternator problem. Chabing!!! We should remember that an Alt is not made to recharge a Battery but to operate the Engine and accessories and "keep the Battery charged". That is it. Recharging a fully drained Battery takes time and can't be done with a 20 minutes drive. It takes a good old Battery charger a few hours to do so. A weak Battery will put a strain on an Alt and might help send it to an early grave. Heck, take the Alt in for testing when you get that new Battery. That dieing Alt might of speed up your Battery's fate. Ghislain.
Rouge!!!
|
|
|
Re: Battery dieing overnight?
[Re: Mike Petro]
#284544
November 25, 2008 04:04 pm UTC
November 25, 2008 04:04 pm UTC
|
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,322 Loc: Loc:
Rob Strelecki
morum foderator
|
morum foderator
Senior Member, with Far TOO Much Time on Their Hands
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,322
Loc: Loc:
|
The trickle charger has a gauge on it and this morning, the gauge wasn't much above 5... 5 what? AMPS? They usually show the amperage that the battery is drawing to charge, so a lower number is a better charge. I think 5 is too much. After an overnight charge mine would be just above 1. Crappy tire is good for testing. It does sounds like the battery is not holding a charge. You could check this pretty easily with a voltmeter. Test the voltage with the battery off the charger. Since it was just on the charger it might be a bit above the normal ~12.5v, but wait for it to drop down. If it keeps on dropping down much below 12.5v, then you've confirmed that the battery is toast.
Last edited by Rob Strelecki; November 25, 2008 04:11 pm UTC. Reason: to add
|
|
|
Re: Battery dieing overnight?
[Re: Mike Petro]
#284657
November 26, 2008 09:01 pm UTC
November 26, 2008 09:01 pm UTC
|
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 313 Saint John New Brunswick
Scotty Mac
Serious Member
|
Serious Member
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 313
Saint John New Brunswick
|
Is the battery bloated or swollen? Do the sides bulge out at all? This is a good sign of a battery that has been overcharged or has a bad cell. Mine is bulged and it can randomly lose charge overnight. My regulator went in my alternator and it put out so much voltage that it blew all the bulbs in the car and swelled the battery. Replaced the alternator but the battery is still sketchy.
'92 Laser AWD Turbo
It won't give up, It wants me dead God damn this noise inside my head
|
|
|
|
|