But my car needs to be jumpstarted almost daily. Alternator checks out fine. We then took the car to firestone and they checked battery and said its borderline of being a bad battery.. (whatever that means).. Any suggetions on what the problem could be. Or what to do/check.
2006-09-27 11:19:27 · 18 answers · asked by yournotalone 6 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
The best solution is to take it to AutoZone and say, "Hey guys, you check this battery and it checks out fine, but that tells me your equipment is bad, because I have to jumpstart my car daily, and I had it checked elsewhere, and they say, it's almost completely shot. Give me a new battery on this warranty, K?"
2006-09-27 11:22:35 · answer #1 · answered by The Crow 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Usually when the battery is newer but is "challenged" AND the alternator is supposedly charging, there is most likely a parasitic drain on the battery.
Some things to do with a FULLY CHARGED battery (do that first when it is out of the car.)
Connect the NEGATIVE lead to the battery. Then place the positive lead of an ammeter (see meters at Radio Shack--get a 20 amp ammeter) on the + of the battery and the black lead of the ammeter on the red cable. Check the drain. Car alarms, radios, and computers have a little drain. It should be less than 250 milliamps. Make sure hood lights are off and doors are closed with all accessories off. If there is current flowing, this will destroy the battery no matter if it is new or charging when the car is running. A mechanic will have to diagnose which circuit is causing the drain and fix it.
For the next test, connect both battery cables securely. The voltage should be 12.6V. Less than 12V means a bad battery. Have a friend start the car and measure the battery voltage. It should be 10V or more during starter motor operation. If it is less, the battery is bad.
When the car is running, measure the voltage on the battery. GM cars with weak alternators make about 13.7V. Normal cars make 14.7V. Anything more than 15V is overcharging and will damage the battery permanently. Anything less than 13.6V is NOT charging the battery.
Good luck. Radioshack has digital meters that measure current and voltage. Sears does too--the Craftsman meters are quite reasonably priced and work well.
2006-09-27 11:28:47 · answer #2 · answered by DellXPSBuyer 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Interstate Battery Autozone
2017-01-05 09:42:33 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
checking the battery is fine, but there is more then 1 test to do on a battery. First there is a voltage check( this is to check the voltage)
Next there is the draw test( the test that sees if the battery is holding a charge.
Do this to find out.
First have the battery charged.
Next disconnect the battery over night. If it is taking a charge but not holding it, it will drawn over night, meaning you do need a new battery.
It is possable something is on, glove box light, trunk light, something wired to the battery hot, something that is on all the time. Some people wire a radio amp hot to the battery and it is on all the time and draining the battery.
But in this case I think it is the former.
2006-09-27 11:26:27 · answer #4 · answered by goldwing127959 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The battery is or has lost the capability to fully charge it's self to full. Batterys that recharg have a memory and after a while they will only charge to a certain point do to the memory of the baterry being drained to low to many times. So now the battery is unable to start the car because the "CDold Cranking Power" is insufisant to give out the amount of power needed to kick the starter over.. After a jump it will run because it is being charged as the car runs but again it is not powerful enough to start it... U need a new battery. Get one that has the HIGHEST CCP= Cold Cranking Power. Then u should be cool.
2006-09-27 11:24:58 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Autozone has a reputation for selling bad auto parts- even if they're considered brand new. They may have very well sold you a bad battery 1 year ago. You should go elsewhere and purchase a new one or get your battery recharged- who knows much longer that will last. You might consider looking in the yellow pages for car mechanics that specialize in electricity. There could be a malfunction somewhere in your electrical system that could be draining your battery overnight. Has anyone tried to replace a headlight/tail light? Did someone recently install a radio/ CD player? These things could be reasons why your car is acting up.
2006-09-27 11:27:54 · answer #6 · answered by Suz E. Home BAKER 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Firestone Car Battery
2016-11-07 02:17:32 · answer #7 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you have a "cell" in youre battery that is slowly going bad. this problem will not improve only get worse. go back to autozone and speak to the manager saying that firestone tested the battery and had a different opinion on the matter. you may be out of luck though. when buying a battery you get what you pay for. use INTERSTATE batteries. they cost a little more but are made to a better level of quality.
2006-09-27 11:30:40 · answer #8 · answered by Cars 4 Sale 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Pay a pro to check your vehicle out. Autozone does not know s*h*i*t. Battery may be good and you may have a short in system that is draining your battery over night. Maybe alternator is going bad and not charging fully under load? So once again please dont be cheap. In the long run you will be spending more time and money if you dont have it checked out right?
2006-09-27 18:32:24 · answer #9 · answered by j001solis001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well, now you need a tie breaker. Go with the result of 2 out of 3. Autozone has as much a chance of being wrong as does Walmart.
2016-03-17 03:22:41 · answer #10 · answered by Sylvia 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋