Car Trouble

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.
 
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.
 
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! :(
 
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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 :mad:
 
Muley Gil said:
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.
Click to expand...

True. Back then, 90% of the autos were standard, now it's probably the other way around.
 
Snubby, sounds to me like you were able to handle the problem quite well and just kept on CHOOGLIN!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Muley Gil said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
bamabiker said:
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.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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.
 
JcMack said:
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.
Click to expand...

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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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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