Guest moishier Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Hi, I left a map light on and it drained the battery. I jumped it and it started no problem. I left it running and drove around for 15 minutes, turned it off and it was able to restart. However, I then left it off for a day and the battery drained out. I checked to see if there was anything draining it and everything was off. So I boosted it again without a problem and left it for another day and and again the same thing happened, the battery lost it's charge. I suspect the battery needs to be replaced. Is that the right conclusion or is it likely something else? Thanks, Moshe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest turboroo Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 first how old is the battery? if its over three years old and not a quality battery it might be best to change it. before you do that you never mentioned charging it back up. it would take a lot of driving to get it mostly charged. it is far better to use a real charger to get it fully charged. also most chargers will help determine if it is still good or just marginal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest azbret Posted July 29, 2003 Share Posted July 29, 2003 Have you tested to see if you have a short draining the battery. Using a meter you can test to see a short at one of the battery terminals. If you find a short you can start to remove fuses one at a time to detect what electrical circuit the short is on. If that doesn't work the short is before the fuses...Bret Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moishier Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 If I had to make a choice would it be the battery or the alternator that is the problem? The reason why I don't think it is the alternator is because once i boost it it can run no problem. If the alternator was bad, wouldn't it not run even after a boost? On the other hand, the alternator does not seem to have been replaced in a while - if ever - and the battery seems fairly new (hard to tell but it does not seem to have too much wear on it). It's a car someone just gave me so I have no clue as to the age of the parts. I can only guess. The choice is basically to either go to Auto Zone first thing in the morning before work and get a battery or leave it for a mechanic to get the alternator done. Any ideas or educated guesses? Thanks, Moshe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moosens Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Moshe,is this the sedan or another car? Either way as one person mentioned it'd be best to spend on a good little charger that charges slow like 1-2 amps that has a meter and shows you if its good.The BatteryTender goes for around $19.95.and it's automatic so you won't overcharge it.They also make one that's not automatic for around $12 if I remember right.Long slow charge is best. Or just cough up for a good new battery as long as your amp meter shows you're charging around 12.5-14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest moishier Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Hi Paul, It's actually another car someone gave me. So you don't think it is the alternator, based on the facts and story? Moshe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest GeneralDisorder Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 get your multimeter and test for continuity between ground (frame of the car), and the positive battery terminal. If you get nothing, then there are NO open circuits, and thus the battery could not be draining. Clean off the top of the battery as well - it's possible to drain a battery from discharge accross the dirt and grime on top between the terminals. I buy used batterys at the junk yards personally, they recondition them, and they are LOTS cheaper. It is also possible to de-calcinate a lead acid battery - it takes some interesting electronics to do it, but plans can be found online. I would like to try that someday. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tomrhere Posted July 30, 2003 Share Posted July 30, 2003 Had a few batteries give up the ghost from being totally drained, even with a couple of days on the trickle charger...Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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