car battery/alternator question

[hanoverphist]

not necessarily battery, but low/ weak voltage getting to the starter solenoid. that could be a battery, a connection, weak fuse or anything else battery related. since its been sitting for that long with only a bit of run time, id say its either the battery or the connectors, or both. corrosion on terminals sucks, and if let to its own devices will creep up the cable and foul out where you cant even see it. happened to me on my truck, took forever to figure out it was 2" up the cable from the terminal. i was amazed.

 

[SparkyJJO]

I had that happen to me on my previous car. Even a jump wouldn't do it, it would just rapidly click. Like you, I thought it had to be the starter. I had it towed to a shop for a starter replacement because I was at work in my nice clothes and it was in the middle of February with icy slush and snow on the ground. They get it there, look at it, swap the battery, and it was good to go. D'oh. Nice thing was they only charged me for the battery

A shorted cell in the battery was basically sucking down all the power from the jump vehicle and not let it start.

I still felt like an idiot over the whole thing

 

[dabuddha]

Minor update:

My wife took the battery to advance auto parts and they said it was almost completely discharged. They charged it up for her and so I'll put it back in the car tonight if it's not raining

/crosses fingers

 

[LTC8K6]

Deeply discharging lead/acid starting batteries shortens their life.

If it only happened a couple times during your troubles, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[Meghan54]

Deeply discharging lead/acid starting batteries shortens their life.

If it only happened a couple times during your troubles, I wouldn't worry about it.

Quite true.

On the other hand, given the OP's previous problem, an alternator that wasn't charging the battery properly, there is a better than even chance that the battery has been discharged too much and won't hold a charge for crap any longer. Pretty easy to kill a cell that way.

 

[LTC8K6]

Quite true.

On the other hand, given the OP's previous problem, an alternator that wasn't charging the battery properly, there is a better than even chance that the battery has been discharged too much and won't hold a charge for crap any longer. Pretty easy to kill a cell that way.

Yes, but I'm hoping they would have tested the battery at Advance Auto before giving it back.

 

[dabuddha]

I hope so too hehe. I'll update the thread hopefully tonight. Couldn't put the battery in last night cause it was pouring rain outside and If I had gone outside, I would have melted (that's what I told the wife so I could laze around and watch the world series )

 

[bobdole369]

battery - get a float charger or a 2-4-6 charger for lead acids. Will cost you $20 but run that on the battery each week before you go for a drive. Will save your next battery - your routine is what killed it this time.

 

[dabuddha]

Well good news. Car started up just fine. So if I use the car once a week for my commute (30 minutes to and from the train station) will that be enough?

 

[LTC8K6]

Well good news. Car started up just fine. So if I use the car once a week for my commute (30 minutes to and from the train station) will that be enough?

Yes, that should keep the battery and the car in good shape.