Car Trouble

[snubbyfan]

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.

 

[Roadtrash]

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.

 

[Goldstar225]

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.

 

[twodog max]

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.

 

[snubbyfan]

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.

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.

 

[snubbyfan]

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.

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

 

[DeathGrip]

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.

 

[ChattanoogaPhil]

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.

 

[Kanewpadle]

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

 

[bamabiker]

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.

 

[Arik]

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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[Bozz10mm]

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.

 

[vrichard]

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

 

[Muley Gil]

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.

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.

 

[vytoland]

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.....

 

[ParadiseRoad]

...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...

 

[LVSteve]

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.

 

[pittpa]

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

It's a car battery. It may or may not outlast your rear brakes. I left the best part of your thread. [emoji41]




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[gman51]

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.

 

[Tom S.]

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.