Not really smart in the field of automobiles but I was just curious if a loose ground could drain a battery slowly until the car actually just dies on the road.
I had noticed my blinkers blinking quite slowly the last couple weeks and yesterday my car battery seemed to just die on the road. Chugged, stalled and quit. I noticed a buzz over the radio when I used the brakes and eventually the radio and everything on the dash went dead as well. The spedometer also went crazy, going up to 120 miles the second I sped up.
Towed it into a shop and they called me today and said the battery checked out fine, as well as the alternator when the battery was unhooked. The only thing they mentioned was that I had a loose ground and didn't say much more about it. Guess I'm looking for a deeper explanation. Also a little nervous about hitting the road and getting stranded again.
2007-03-09 21:12:02 · 4 answers · asked by Tim P 2 in Cars & Transportation ➔ Maintenance & Repairs
I feel it the same that there are good reasons to be skeptical about what a mechanics shop said. However, in this case it could be true.
The car has two distinct circuits: one to charge the battery, and one to discharge it for useful purposes. If you have a loose ground on the charging circuit the alternator current cannot go through the battery terminals as much as it should. This causes a voltage increase which makes the alternator think that the battery is full and hence drive down its charging voltage. This loose-ground condition, therefore, can cause the battery to be undercharged.
2007-03-09 21:37:15 · answer #1 · answered by sciquest 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A loose ground wire would cause your battery to be undercharged from your alternator the battery is not in the circuit until the wire clamp is tight on the battery terminal.Yes you would think that your battery was slowly going flat but no it was not getting recharged.
2007-03-09 21:27:08 · answer #2 · answered by burning brightly 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Every year or so your battery cables should be removed from the battery and cleaned thoroughly with a wire brush. The battery connections gradually build up resistance and cause electrical problems. The battery is very important to maintain because many things in your car depend on it to work properly.
2007-03-09 23:31:24 · answer #3 · answered by bobweb 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
yes its possible- and kudos to the shop for honesty!! (they dont make much money on a job like this, and could have easily put in an alternator!! many places wouldn't have found the bad ground until after the alternator was mistakenly replaced)
2007-03-10 00:03:43 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
Yes,the shop was fair, and no, a loose connection cannot "drain" the battery. burning is right.
2007-03-10 00:11:43 · answer #5 · answered by Billy TK 4 · 0⤊ 3⤋