Battery or Stater problems

Grey Colson

Grey Colson

Administrator
Staff member
I drive my car once every other month or so...sometimes once every 3 months. About 2 years ago I replaced the battery due to it sitting for a long period of time. I believed it had a dead cell and the new battery seemed to fix it. I would hook up a small trickle charger to it every once in a while, but lately it will not start unless I jump it off.

This week I bought a battery tender in hopes it would work better. It showed a full charge today, but again, it wouldn't start unless I jumped it off. Here's my question for the Hwy Mechanic...

1. If it IS the starter, wouldn't it NOT start even if I jumped it off? It seems that either the starter is bad or it isn't, or am I wrong.

2. Since it sits for a long period of time between drives, do you think there is a dead cell in this 2 year old battery?

Last week I jumped it off and drove several miles and made 2 stops. No problem...I then made a final stop and it wouldn't re-start. It sounds like the starter to me, but I've been wrong before. :(
 
Sounds like a cable or connector problem at the battery. Could be corrosion building up.

You would actually be better off disconnecting the battery between driving periods.
 
Being GM, the first thing to do is to take those crappy side terminals off and wire brush them.

If that doesn't do it, you probably need a new battery.

Modern cars have a constant drain on the battery. Even sitting for just a couple of weeks can draw one down. You could disconnect it like Winchester said, but that can cause the computer to lose memory. Better to use a battery maintainer on it while sitting idle.

Pull the battery out and take it to any auto parts place and they can check it, but it's probably shot.
 
I'm not a mechanic but I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Ok, not really.

But ... my Ford Expedition has sat for nearly 3 months without being started and had zero problems turning right over so I tend to be suspicious of the battery issue. Especially since it is a relatively new battery. Also, if you have had it out running around and had been able to restart it a couple of times and then had to jump it another time ... something smells wrong to me for a battery issue there as well.

But then again, I'm "just a chic" so what do I know?
 
unionmom said:
I'm not a mechanic but I stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night. Ok, not really.

But ... my Ford Expedition has sat for nearly 3 months without being started and had zero problems turning right over so I tend to be suspicious of the battery issue. Especially since it is a relatively new battery. Also, if you have had it out running around and had been able to restart it a couple of times and then had to jump it another time ... something smells wrong to me for a battery issue there as well.

But then again, I'm "just a chic" so what do I know?
Click to expand...

And blind too.
 
BTW...a bad diode in the alternator can cause it to drain a battery down faster. The diodes serve as kind of a check valve for electricity; allows it to flow one way but not the other.

One fairly crude way of checking battery drain is to disconnect one of the battery cables and put a 12 volt light bulb (like a tail light bulb) in the circuit between the battery and the cable. The normal parasitic drain might cause a slight glow of the filament, but if it glows brightly you might have a problem.
 
Thanks everyone. I would rather eleminate a cheap problem before taking it to some crook who'll obviously attribute the problem to something very expensive.
 
unionmom said:
Don't we have a mechanic on here ... someone that folks spoke highly of?
Click to expand...

Well! I know when I've been snubbed!!

(Guard Dad running out of the room in tears)
 
Guard Dad said:
unionmom said:
Don't we have a mechanic on here ... someone that folks spoke highly of?
Click to expand...

Well! I know when I've been snubbed!!

(Guard Dad running out of the room in tears)
Click to expand...

Me too!

Geesh, I used to me a mechanic many years ago, doesn't that count for anything? :(
 
HEY! These guys are not important! We're talking about something serious.....MY CAR! :tapfoot2 :p

:race
 
Thankfully Fox and I had the same problem and it wasn't the starter. I took the battery in for a test and it failed. I got stuck buying a new battery and The Scream Machine lit right up and is on FIRE again! :DN

Only thing is changing the battery in the '94 Vette is a JOB. It will NOT lift out. I have to remove the side vent panel and slid it out of the side of the car! :eek: There is very little room to take off the cables. I bet there ain't enough room for a gnat to scratch his butt between the terminals and the wheel well. :BH
 
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