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i did some searching on this and i plan to check the voltages as soon as I can get a jump. until then, i'm trying to figure out what else may be going on here.
i've been having issues with my battery being dead every time i go to start my car. with a jump the car will start and run indefinately. once the car is shut off, it will not restart due to the battery being dead.
couple of weird things i've noticed that may be contributing factors to why the battery is not charging...
-when i start moving from a dead stop, the whole electrical system "hiccups" at about 5-10 mph, resetting everything and almost stalling the car.
-once in a while, the motor and accessories will remain on after turning the ignition off and pulling out the key
at first i was going to replace the battery.
then i thought maybe the alternator wasn't charging the battery.
now i'm thinking it's more of a wiring problem.
my mechanic says he can't figure out what the problem is (scary right?)
I really want to avoid getting reamed by a dealer.
Last edited by FattyB iLLin; 02/23/06 01:12 PM.
Former owner of a 1998 SF CSVT
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I had this happen to me 3 weeks ago. I changed the battery and everything was fine.
Did your mechanic check your alternator to see if it was "charging" the battery?
He thought that it would be alt that was messed up, but turned out to be just the battery.
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Originally posted by SnafuFlux:
I had this happen to me 3 weeks ago. I changed the battery and everything was fine.
Did your mechanic check your alternator to see if it was "charging" the battery?
He thought that it would be alt that was messed up, but turned out to be just the battery.
Yeah man, it never hurts to try putting you're battery on a trickle charge. With my old battery some times it just would lose its charge, I knew I needed a new one but by charging it for a couple of hours once every couple of weeks I could live off of that battery for about 6 more months before I had to replace it.
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Charge the battery well. Then test battery and alternator.
Battery test. Engine off, headlights on for one minute. Voltage across battery terminals should be 12 to 12.5.
Alternator test. Engine running, voltage across battery terminals shold be 14 to 14.5.
"Always do the cheap and easy ones first."
1996 V6 ATX 96K miles
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Are you sure there is not a drain on the battery when the engine is not running, like some of you audio stuff? Pull the negitive bat. cable and connect a test light between the cable and the neg. bat Terminal, then start pulling fuses to see what is draining the battery. You should be able to replace the test light with a volt meter to see how much the drain is.
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Originally posted by 864X4:
... You should be able to replace the test light with a volt meter to see how much the drain is.
Ahem...current meter.
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My neighbors taurus did something similar. The battery was always drained. Jumped it ran fine. Charged it. Didn't run. Jumped it, fine. Figured out some type of wiring problem with the airbag. But I not totally sure in your case.
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Originally posted by KyleH:
Originally posted by 864X4:
... You should be able to replace the test light with a volt meter to see how much the drain is.
Ahem...current meter.
yeah you want to use an ammeter and it should be no more than about 100mA. if its any more than that you have a parasitic draw.
as for the battery voltage a fully charged battery should actually read about 12.65 volts.
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When you are doing the tests make sure that doors and trunk lid is closed and that the switch for the hood light is compressed. Otherwise you will show a false drain. I found this out the hard way. Turned out to be a damaged cable leading to the mega fuse.
Good Luck Dan
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