Dead battery again?

Question

Just the other day, i brought my battery in to charge it. Hooked it up in the garage, and let it charge for a few hours. Its for a 2003 chevy cavalier, and its an original battery. After it was charged, the battery sat in the garage for a day and a half. With temps in the 20's, can a battery drain that quick?
I took the battery to my car and it just sat there and clicked.

Answer 1

If you left it on the concrete it can. You have to insulate it from the concrete floor. I use a double layer of cardboard. Also a cold battery will not accept or hold a full charge so warm the battery up. Also check the water level in your battery.

Answer 2

either the battery has an internal short(easiest way to check is charge up the battery and disconnect the battery from the car for the 2 weeks. If when hooking up the battery is dead, fault is internal in the battery. If battery is full of juice, then there is a drain from the car.

Answer 3

If you have way too much time you could desulphate the battery. That will likely work.

When batteries discharge a chemical reaction happens between the lead plates in the battery and the sulfuric acid. The sulphur and lead combine to form crystals of sulphate. When you recharge that battery the process is reversed, the lead from the sulphate is deposited back on the plates and the sulphur goes back into the water (sulfuric acid solution). (Look at a dead motorcycle/snowmobile/jet-ski battery, they are usually very translucent so you can see the white sulphate crystals built up on the grey lead plates.)

Fresh sulphate will dissolve easily during a normal recharge. Older more established sulphate is much harder to remove.

Since you already have a charger I recommend that you bring the battery and charger inside to warm up. Place the battery inside a plastic storage tote so that if it is cracked and leaks it will not leak onto your floors. Place the charger over a heat register and turn on the whole-house fan for 2 hours to get the charger up to room temp (never bring cold electrical devices inside and plug them in immediately, they may develop condensation and short out!). Alternatively you could use a hair-dryer on low heat to warm your battery charger.

Put the battery on a 1-3A trickle charge for 48 hours. Use the lowest setting your charger has, low rate charging is more likely to fix your battery than blasting it with 40A. Think of charging a battery like removing your appendix, 1-2A charge is equal to a slow and methodical surgeon, 40A is a shotgun, both will do the job, but I'll take my appendix to a surgeon because you might need to take several shots with a shotgun to totally remove it. Let the battery rest for a couple hours and take it to the auto parts store, ask them to load test it. If it tests good put it back in the car and be happy, if it tests weak then you can either build or buy a battery desulphator. There are DIY plans on the internet and it'll cost you $25-$30 in parts at your local radio shack (if you already fiddle with electronics and have the stuff to make electronic circuit boards).

If you want to buy a commercial desulphator the one I use is the VDC Electronics "BatteryMINDer" available at Northern Tool & Equipment. Another option is the VECTOR charger/desulphator (also available at Northern Tool).

Be forewarned it takes up to 2 weeks to desulfate a battery if it's in really bad condition. Also the Battery MINDer will only work if your battery is already charged to over 11 volts. You may have to use your other charger to bring the battery up to 11 volts before switching over to the VDC unit, or spend the extra cash and get the Vector unit.

I paid $50 for my BatteryMINDer and it has so far rescued 1 power-sports (jet-ski) battery, 1 automotive battery, 1 marine starting battery, and one deep-cycle marine battery.

If you don't have 2 weeks or more to rescue your battery, or you're not willing to gamble on your battery not having a shorted cell then just buy a new battery, they can be had for around $40 at Wal-Mart or ~$60 at an auto parts store (but don't expect a $40 battery to last you 4+ years like your OE battery did).

If the battery was good yesterday and not today then get a new battery, you have a different problem. If you have not driven that car in weeks or months the desupphating process should work.

Answer 4

Have the battery load tested or a specific gravity test in each cell (not recommended for safety reasons). Most auto part stores will do a load test free. A bad or sulfated battery will not hold a sufficient charge to start your vehicle especially in cold weather. One thing to note is that when a battery is close to the end of its life it will use water often and give off more hydrogen sulfide gas causing corrosion problems. This is also true for maintenance free lead acid batteries but to a lesser extent

Answer 5

OK first let's dispel the rumor that if you leave a battery on a concrete floor that it will drain the battery. It is false and has no scientific backing. Second your battery has been in service at least 4 years. How many years was it setting on a shelf before that? I would bet that if you took it to a parts store that does free testing (ie. Advance Auto, Auto Zone, O'Reilly Auto, or Pepboys.) they will tell you that you have a weak battery and it needs replaced.

Answer 6

The battery might not be holding a charge at all, which would mean the cells inside the battery are shoot. You could take the battery to a battery shop and have it rebuilt, but you would be better off just buying a new one. If the side of the battery is bulged out at all [ If there's any roundness to the side and not flat] then its going to be bad. Otherwise take it to a parts store and they can test it for you! Good luck!

Answer 7

If the battery was left on a concrete floor yes it can drain that quickly. but there may be more issues with the battery. you could have a bad cell in the battery. It may just need to be replaced, you should take it somewhere and have it load tested. It takes special tools to test a battery properly. many places with do this for free.

Answer 8

20º C or 20º F

check the starter connections and see if the are corroded

if that dont work battery will not hold a charge

find another battery

2nd hand one might be good for a couple more years

Answer 9

Take your battery to almost any auto store they can check it for you. I'd say it is the battery but if not then it is the alternator

Answer 10

it seems like a bad battery not holding a charge and alternator alternator belt alternator wire and fuse this might be why its dying

also the first person seems like he knows about this listen to him