Battery and Electrics

[digitalempire08]

My car has been running fine for the 3 years i have had it. ITs a 2002 ford taurus ive got about 150000 miles on it, hadnt had any problems besides getitng new breaks.

About two days ago my battery was completely dead. It would stutter a bit but not turn on. There was enough power to start the radio, have the lights on, use the electronic locks. I had it jumped, ran fine. Next time i used the car was the next morning...it stuttered again, but after a bit, it finally turned on. Got to work everything was fine. Let the car sit, about 9 hours, it took abit but finally started again on its own. Came back to work for stuff let the car sit for 3 hours, bam dead afte that, had to get it jumped. Still radio, locks everything worked fine.

I had the battery tested yesterday and when the car was off it wasn't holding a charge at all. So i had it replaced. I got a cheap battery becuase i was afraid that wasn't really the issue. Car ran fine last night, no problems.

Now it got cold here up in the North, frost and everything and when i got to my car this morning, battery was dead again. Like, no stuttering it had nothing. It was worse than the old battery. Got it jumped, started up just fine.


I got to work this morning, got out of my car went to unlock the back door with my electronic lock thing on my keys, it wouldnt go. There wasn't enough power to unlock. There was a weird clicking noise happening while i was trying to use the lock mechanism. But...even the lock buttons inside the car wouldnt unlock the car. I tried starting the car again, it wouldnt go -dead like it was earlier this morning - and then about 3 sec later the car started up just fine like nothing was wrong.

Im taking the car to aford dealer this evening after work but i wanted to see if anyone could give me the heads up on some possible issues i could present tonight, or perhaps it could be a quick fix and i could save lots of money.

 

[smokey]

Sounds like a grounding issue. Check the battery terminals and the ground points to the body and frame of the car.

 

[digitalempire08]

im totally like car stupid...i know the terminals seem fine they were a bit coroded but were cleaned off when i got the new battery...what are the ground points of the car?

 

[blacksnapon]

im totally like car stupid...i know the terminals seem fine they were a bit coroded but were cleaned off when i got the new battery...what are the ground points of the car?

Follow the negative (-) wire from the battery to where it bolts on. That will be the ground point. I think I'd get your alternator checked. If the regulator was defective, it'd drain the battery when sitting.

 

[LEB Ben]

Sounds to me like there could be a problem with the terminal clamps and/or battery cables. Since you say you're car stupid, are you clamps tightened? Not to insult, but I've noticed lately that alot of the mechanical impaired just try to 'twist/push' on their clamps...they need to be tight. You also mentioned a corrosion problem, clean any and all that is on the clamps. Cut back the cable wrap and see if you have any corrosion one the cables. Then thorughly clean or replace.


If that doesn't work, bring your car to the local parts store, and have them test the alternator.

 

[digitalempire08]

Thanks. I feel like the alternator is fine...when i get my car started, it runs just fine and can make long distance travels. I have to travel about 20 min to get to work. But are you saying it could be something else within the alternator thats running while the car is off?

And with the terminals...it looks like they took off all the corosion oing on they did mention to get the terminals possibly replaced they looked bad but ill check on that too.

ANy other suggestions I could bring up to the dealer?

 

[Mil1ion]

Battery 101:

1) Batteries if sitting idle for any length of time can Sulfate or ground themselves out internally.

2) Batteries can ground out from post to post along surface of case. because batteries give off vapours that can eventually turn to a conductive material for electricity.

3) Battery cables can corrode UNDER the protective wrap and cause power failure to a vehicle

4) Batteries theses days are manufactured to last just over 24 months so as to get people to buy another one at full charge or a pro-rated charge.

5) Batteries need to be cycled or go through cycles constantly to retain good condition.



The cheap battery you bought..... what kind/brand was it ?
what was the CCA rating ?

Was it new or old ?

So far in my life I have bought 3 batteries that were Toast before I installed it in a vehicle because it sat on the shelf so long.
Gone are the days when you bought a battery THEN put the electrolyte in it and charged it.... these days batteries are filled at the factory and sit in pallet and store shelf which basically shortens its life.



Where is my cookie ?

 

[blacksnapon]

It has an internal regulator. The alternator can still charge the battery, but when shut off, the regulator keeps everything energized causing a drain. Just as a side note, I've replaced several radios because they were causing a drain. Why dont you pull the radio fuse and see if it still kills the battery after sitting.

 

[dennikro]

Battery 101:

1) Batteries if sitting idle for any length of time can Sulfate or ground themselves out internally.

2) Batteries can ground out from post to post along surface of case. because batteries give off vapours that can eventually turn to a conductive material for electricity.

3) Battery cables can corrode UNDER the protective wrap and cause power failure to a vehicle

4) Batteries theses days are manufactured to last just over 24 months so as to get people to buy another one at full charge or a pro-rated charge.

5) Batteries need to be cycled or go through cycles constantly to retain good condition.



The cheap battery you bought..... what kind/brand was it ?
what was the CCA rating ?

Was it new or old ?

So far in my life I have bought 3 batteries that were Toast before I installed it in a vehicle because it sat on the shelf so long.
Gone are the days when you bought a battery THEN put the electrolyte in it and charged it.... these days batteries are filled at the factory and sit in pallet and store shelf which basically shortens its life.



Where is my cookie ?

We have a winner! I'm a friend of DigitalEmpire08's and he updated me on the final resolution. #3 was the cause. His cables had corroded to a point where it there was intermittant contact on both positive and negative cables. I guess the person that said it sounded like a grouding issue was also correct in this case. Thanks for everyone offering suggestions. I probably could have figured it out for him had he been in town when it happened and not a couple hours away.

As far as the "cheap battery", it was a Walmart brand (Everstart). If I recall correctly, the popular nickname for these batteries is "neverstart".

 

[Old_Paint]

Cheap battery, expensive battery, hmmm, which do I need? Do I need pricier electrons to spin my starter, or will the electrons without all the bling do just as good. Let me see .....

So you go buy a Brand X battery for $200 and it lasts you 5 whole years, but when it dies, it dies DEAD just like most dramatic failures. You pay nearly 100% proration, or another $200 for a replacement of same brand, still thinking you have the best battery. I can go to Wally world, and buy one for $79, come back next year and every year after that from now til eternity, and pay about $15 to exchange a defective one due to proration. Even if I did that, my price tag is $80 plus 4 x $15 ($60) or $140 dollars in the same time frame as your $200 battery that you had to pay another $200 to replace. Yeah, it MIGHT lay down on me at a bad time, BUT, I ALWAYS keep jumper cables in my truck, mostly for others with expensive dead batteries that are run down because of all the BOOM BOOM stereo mods and junk getting left turned on that really isn't needed to start with. The real beauty is, if I have enough battery to excite the alternator, I'm going home if I can roll the truck 10 feet forward or backward. (Gotta love that manual) My "NeverStart" is currently 5 years old, and has been severely neglected in addition to left sitting for nearly 6 months at a time. Even if I have to replace it at full proration, I'm still only at $160 versus the $200 the dweeb at some parts houses want to sell me. Oh, and this is just the 4th battery the truck has had in 17 years. EVERY battery failure in this truck I can attribute to lack of use, and allowing them to completely die. They'll only take that so many times, regardless of who's name is on the plastic part outside. I challenge ANYONE to prove to me that any battery is built better than another, given equal ratings across the board for CCA, AH rating, etc. If they have exactly the same ratings, what exactly is it I'm paying for to buy the more expensive one?

I might have fallen off the turnip truck, but it wasn't yesterday, and I was riding up front. Being an electrical engineer, and living in the south, all that CCA isn't going to do much for us. Yes, I can see the need for higher CCA up north where 5w20 oil turns to pudding if a car has to sit outside. But, higher CCA will not always be purchased only with a brand name. It will certainly affect price, but shop around for your battery. I don't find the fancy schmancy name brand batteries last any longer than the one's sold at Roxeanne's Massage Parlor and Chainsaw Repair. I do, however, re-iterate, I live in the South, where batteries supply DC current, and we don't have no weirdo AC/DC electrons. The same kind of electrons come out of EVERY battery here, regardless of brand name, price, or color.

Ain't Skeered.