Had car trouble with our little Blue Toyota Yaris.


We had planned to go to the YMCA for a good workout then running errands afterwards.
We live in a small town (about 542 people) nestled in a hollow in the West Virginia mountains.
Nothings really "local" so we try to combine stuff while we're out.
We planned on making 8 or 9 stops not including the Y.
After a good workout we headed out to Martins to pick up some Bison and fish, next stop was PetSmart, my wife wanted to pick up cat harnesses so she can take our cats for walks (that's gonna be a whole 'nuther thread).

Anyway, when we got in the Yaris, I turned the key and nothing.
The radio worked and the dash lit up but I didn't hear even a click.
Never heard of a battery just quitting like that before, usually there's some kinda warning. Like it sounds weak when it cranks or something.
I turned on the lights and if I put my face against the head light I could see a dim orange glow.
Yup, it's the battery.
Got a jump and she started right up.
The steering was hard but as the car got moving, it eased up. I later found out it has electric power steering.
We called the local (local to home that is) garage and told them we'd like to drop the car off.
I know a battery's easy to change but I also wanted them to check out the charging system too.

When we got home I fired up the grill and cooked the bison.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Did you check the cables first? Dirty cables will cause a car to act just like you described. Don't have to be real corroded sometimes just a little will do it. Or if they are just a tad loose same thing.

Like you I'm accustomed to batteries giving you "fair warning" but over the last 20 years I've noticed they more often die a sudden death. I've made it my practice to automatically change them out at the four year point. That may be premature but I've never been stranded since I adopted that habit.

The battery in the wifes 5 year old Rav 4 conked out this week. We were in town going to Wally World when I noticed the AC blowing slower and the starter turning over slow. By the time we got done grocery shopping they had the new battery installed and we were ready to go. Usually I end up stranded somewhere and calling for help. We got lucky. Seems about 50 -50 for me some warn others just croak without warning.

That's the first thing we tried. Also checked the fuses and wiggled the relays.
Thought it might be the neutral safety switch, popped the cover and hit the bypass. Still nothing.

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Keep on Chooglin'

Just checked our truck, it's got 3 years and 4 months on it.

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Keep on Chooglin'

My lawn guy broke down in my yard last week. After he cut the grass with his back up mower the primary on started and he loaded up.

I offered to load check his battery but he assured me it was the starter.

He cut the grass today with a new battery. He said he has a new starter just in case.

He's a good kid. I found him around the corner whilst he was cutting another lawn. Funny as heck. Strong as a bull. Willing to work but always trying to tell me what I need.

Ambitious.

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Dum vivo cano

My Tundra had the original battery for seven or eight years. One day... dead. I bought the exact same battery from Toyota. It lasted 2 years.

My original Delco is 6 years old. Guess I better replace it.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

Snubby, I don't know if they are making batteries different or what but this seems to happen a lot now. Last summer my truck, this morning my oldest daughter's car. Fine one day, dead the next.

Same happened to me last year. 2010 Corolla. Got in the car at work, drove home, stopped at a store a mile away and when I got back in .... nothing! No warning. It was a 7 year old car with close to 100k miles on the original battery so I wasn't too surprised. Just odd that it didn't give any warning

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I noticed many years ago that car batteries had changed. Fine one minute and dead the next. Previously, you knew you had a bad battery long before it completely died. The other thing I discovered through experience is that you can't push start newer cars with a completely dead battery. That came about when alternators replaced generators.

Panasonic car battery,I had a 1994 T100 Toyota bought new,battery was
good but replace it at 2 years,put the Panasonic battery in my Bobcat
loader & it still works in the Bobcat loader. (23 years)
Dick

Do the cars and trucks you are trying to push start have automatic transmission? If so, you can't push start them. Something about a pump in the auto tranny. My first car, a '52 Buick with the straight eight and a DynaFlow transmission, could be push started or roll started.

My '95 Isuzu pick-up has a 5 speed manual tranny and an alternator. I've roll started it a number of times.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

i like to be the one to decide when to get a new car battery ,instead of the battery dictating to me....i replace 'em every 4 1/2 years, whether they needed it or not.....

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There's nowt so queer as folk

...same thing happened with our Subaru Baja...stopped at Sonic to eat...turned the key...and nothing...completely dead...fortunately an auto parts store is right next to the Sonic...new battery...started right up...I finally...after much thought...deduced that a connector inside the battery broke...open circuit inside the battery...that's the only scenario that would explain it being that dead...

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A Country Boy Can Survive

There are two classes of batteries, the ones that get fitted to cars at the factory that last up to seven years, and the supposedly identical replacements that rarely make it past three.

The changes in design have also made them a hard failure device, rather than something that went through graceful degradation.

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Release the Kraken

It's a car battery. It may or may not outlast your rear brakes. I left the best part of your thread.




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Batteries can give up without any warning. Often the battery will have voltage to give bright lights but no amps to start the car. I really got stupid once and replaced a starter because my headlights were bright. New starter 4 hours later and turn the key for the same just a click. Turned out the battery wasn't holding squat for amps. New battery fixed the problem.
Yep you are smart in having the alternator checked.

I have a 2006 Impala and the car will just with no notice just quit running for an instant and the gauges and door locks will go nuts. I am guessing a bad ground or positive connection to battery. Being it is so random of a problem it would be hard to find the cause. That means bug bucks at the repair shop. It has only done it twice in as many months.

My standard process for starting issues goes like this:

1). Check the battery terminals for corrosion and tightness.
2). If #1 is OK, check the battery with a load test and voltage.
3). If #2 is OK, check the charging system.

The one variance to this procedure is vehicles with more than one battery. Diesel pickup trucks have two batteries. When checking these, you must isolate each battery for accurate testing. In these systems, one bad battery can drag them both down, yet testing them while hooked together can give the impression they are OK. It's also recommended to replace both batteries if one is bad, unless the batteries happen to be relatively new.

Probably 90 times out of 100, the issue is #2, with #1 and #3 making up the remaining 10%. Batteries today are a krap shoot. I've seen high dollar 'super' batteries fail in less than 1 or 2 years of use, and factory batteries last for 9 or 10 years.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

A few years back the battery in my Tahoe died without warning. It cranked fine, the next time it couldn't even turn on the interior lights.

I just replaced the 5 year old battery in my corvette. I started it one day and the clock/radio reset as if it lost power.

Possible problems include battery, alternator, or bad ignition switch, which is prone to corroding. It was late, so I went to O'reillys to load test it. They said the battery was ok but the voltage regulator in the alternator failed. The corvette uses a unique alternator, not a generic GM on, so off to the dealer.

They said both battery and alternator were ok, and to just drive it around until it fails. Say what??? Didn't like that solution, so tested it myself.

With the car running, voltage at the alternator was 14.4 and 14.2 at the battery. This indicated the alternator was ok. So off to the independent garage I used before. They said the alternator is ok but the battery was getting weak and recommended replacing it. Put in an ACDelco Professional.

A note: Some newer cars (BMW) for fuel efficiency don't run the alternator all the time to reduce load on the engine. BMW calls it dynamic efficiency. The battery is constantly discharging/recharging and only last a couple years. They call it a wear item and it isn't included in the warranty.

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Common sense isn't so common.

Like previous posters mentioned there is little or no warning of battery failure.
With the first hint of a slow crank I'll know that is my last start without a jump.

A lot of people never service the battery until they get a no start condition. The cheap battery replacement guys may or may not install the proper battery and almost never clean or replace the cables as they should which leads to early replacement of the batteries and a lot of times drivability issues. Today's cars need the best electrical system possible due to the electronics requirements for clean signals for almost every system in the vehicle. Hots and grounds have to be good.

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Hue 68 noli me tangere

Newer battery usally dont give warning

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Spin The Wheel

Batteries are funny. One day they're perfect and the next day they are dead. More times than not I will replace a perfectly good battery once it has reached it's life expectancy even if it still seems perfect. The last thing I want is to have my wife break down 50 miles from the house.

I recently replaced the Battery on my wife's Buick LaCrosse after 7 years (worked perfect) but the OEM battery was a 72 month rated battery and I was over 84 months (borrowed time). I did the same on my Motorcycle - got 6 1/2 years out of the original (still worked perfectly) and did NOT want to have to push a 900 pound Ultra to get it started.

I am OCD and always opt for preventative maintenance. Some of my friends think I am nuts to replace wear items before they die, but in the past they always die at the worst possible time like in a torrential down-pour, 2 feet of snow, or when you need to get somewhere super important on time. I like to sleep at night.

All that said - sometimes they die PREMATURELY and you just have to bite the bullet!

Battery check protocol:
Turn key, nothing; cuss
Make sure in park, turn key, nothing; cuss
Pop hood, wiggle cables, turn key, nothing; cuss
Check fuses, turn key, nothing; cuss
Get out and kick tires, turn key, nothing; cuss
Pull leather, shoot tires, turn key, nothing; cuss
Jump off car, smile, start to back out, realize tires are flat; cuss
Call tow truck; waiting while head in hands praying forgiveness of cussing

True. Back then, 90% of the autos were standard, now it's probably the other way around.

Now, a vehicle with a standard transmission is said to have a millenial anti-theft device.

The factory battery on my 2014 Accord quit after 2 1/2 years. Honda replaced it under warranty. My normal routine is to replace batteries when they are five years old.

Snubby, sounds to me like you were able to handle the problem quite well and just kept on CHOOGLIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't know how many times I've perched rear tires atop parking bumps.

My Father In Law had a Buick with a straight 8 in it, only one I ever saw. He was my future FIL then, probably early 1964.

Do you use a little 9v battery gizmo to save engine drive train settings when you replace the battery? My model truck has a bad rep for relearning settings. Changed my '08 truck battery out at 6 yrs. I was still working but I was trying to be pro active for a change.

Didn't a former President ban lead smelting in the U.S.?
Cheap batteries?
I keep a few old batteries laying around to cast bullets if bad suddenly turns worse.

My Legacy has a 6 speed manual and can be roll started. The battery gave me just a little warning a couple years back that it was feeling tired, and I replaced it proactively. One can't make an appointment for an emergency, but can head some of them off by a little proactive planning.

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NHI, 10-8.

Not unusual for a battery to spontaneously develop on bad cell and, "poof", it's toast.

When having to rely on a car - especially with having girls living 700 miles away - I usually recommend changing a car battery every third winter whether it needs it or not. In my mind, for the $100, it's cheap insurance against a battery going dead at an inopportune time.

I've tried those on some newer cars, and the car lost its presets anyway. So I spent a little more, and bought a doo dad, that plugs into the OBD2. Cool little upgrade...till the first time I used it on my Honda. It seems that the OBD circuit on a civic, only uses a 10a fuse. So when plugged directly into a cheap jump box, it was too much, and blew the fuse. Unfortunately, that fuse isn't clearly marked as being OBD. It's labeled as something generic, that sounds like something unimportant. Adding to that, there's more stuff on that circuit. I spent some quality time on a Honda forum finding the problem. Sure am glad that was easy!...Now I just use a male to male adapter, and go straight to the power port, from the jump box. Have to leave the key on though. Still have the doo dad, and it works great for my Ranger.

Dunno how true this is for car batteries, but the new sealed AGM batteries for motorcycles have a habit of failing without warning. In any case, four to five years is about all I expect from a car battery. With an older battery, I will usually just replace it, if I am pressed for time.

Given a little time to spare, I will investigate further. First charge the battery. A fully charged battery in good condition should read about 12.4 to 12.6v at rest.

Now have a confederate start the car, observing the voltage as you do so. If the voltage while cranking drops below 10-10.5v, your battery is failing.

If the battery appears to be good, you can go on to get an idea of the charging system's performance. At idle, the battery should read about 13.1-13.5 v if everything is in good order.

Have your confederate rev the engine. The voltage should rise with the revs up to somewhere north of 14 v, at which point the voltage should level out or fall off as the voltage regulator dumps current to ground.

This is not the last word in troubleshooting your car's electrical system, but at the very least it can give you some clues about where to look. My vehicles are all old and relatively simple. I have been able to figure out just about all of my vehicles' electrical charging and starting ailments.

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Not in jail.

Well I'm either lucky or a damn fool...Still using the original battery on my 2006 F150.Truck has always been parked in the driveway.Like my Honda lawnmower the truck starts up first time every time.Still have the window sticker.Says the truck has a maintenance free battery w/saver whatever that means.

I just have my batteries checked for cranking power when I have service done. My local tire shop will check a battery when I rotate my tires. My dealer will also check it when I get service.

If you want to DIY here's the instructions. All you need is a mulitmeter, they're cheap.

How to Test a Car Battery with a Multimeter - YouTube

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That's just somebody talkin.

Very bad idea.

I've had car batteries die both ways-either suddenly or the slow and painful style.

Bruce

I had a Ford Ranger and the battery was doing that. I think one of the plates broke loose and it was shorting internally. The kick in the pants was that it was completely random. Today it might not start at all without a jump, but drive it to the auto parts store and it tests great, because by then the plate had moved back to its proper position.

I would suspect internal plate shorting for yours.

OK spill the beans, I'm curious.
I have a small cleaner' stash of lead but thought batteries might work also.

Probably doesn't really matter in a survival of the fittest scenario, I'd be one of the first to wind up on someone's grill.

There's an Interstate Battery distributor in a nearby town that aways has 50 or 60 used batteries for sale, and most of them are fairly new ones that were returned because someone's car wouldn't start. Turns out the problem wasn't the battery, but by then there's a new one in the vehicle and the one it replaced goes back to the shop. They charge them, load test them and sell the good one for $25 to $50. I've bought them for years and only had one quit early. They replaced it for free. Right now my Silverado is wearing my favorite battery of all time. It has the hated GM side terminals for running the truck, plus a pair of top posts which are perfect for jump starting other vehicles.

GM batteries seem to last a long time. My Duramax runs two in series and one lasted about 9 years and the other one 10. I wish I could say the same for some of the more expensive parts like turbo sensors.

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That's just somebody talkin.

Turns out it was just the battery.
Y'all got me thinkin' that maybe I should keep a jump box handy.

My wife wanted to go to the Post Office while her Yaris was in the shop (she considers the little Yaris as her car and the Dodge Ram 1500's my vehicle) we don't have mail delivery so we havta go to the Post Office to get our Mail.
Anyway, I was having my morning "constitutional" and told her to just take the truck. She's really comfortable with the Yaris but finds the truck intimidating to drive. She managed, didn't hit the neighbors garage and managed to park it in our driveway when she got home.
That is once she figured out how to shift it into "drive".

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Keep on Chooglin'

Once upon a time, straight engines could be found in most of the higher priced cars. They about disappeared in the 1950s.

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

You can do that if your battery is not 100% dead. The alternator needs a tiny bit of voltage to energize itself.

Read any of the better bullet casting manuals. Plates salvaged from lead/ACID automotive batteries are a universal no-no because of the possibility of pockets of acid being trapped in the lead cores which will then cause a possible combination of noxious fumes and explosive eruptions of molten lead+acid when the plates liquefy. This is actually pretty much common knowledge to most experienced casters and I was a little surprised to see it posted.

Bruce

Speaking of batteries!
I was charging the battery on my Corvette with my old 70's vintage Craftsman 6-12 volt battery and engine start. Had this thing forever! a
Well went to use it in engine start mode, tried to start the Vette, saw a slight flash from within the charger and it was....Kaput!
Stopped at the local car parts house and picked up one of these?

To me it's not a name brand, never heard of them before?
It is only 12 volt , no 6 volt option? Very low profile and light
But I was in a pinch and this is what they had, got the job done!