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Quick car battery question

S

swbsam

Platinum Member
My car has been in an outdoor lot for a year, untouched, and now the battery is dead. It doesn't seem to hold a charge but jumps fine. Do I need to get a new battery or is there a conditioning method I should try first? Or could it simply be a little rust on the terminals? My instinct is to wd40 the terminals but I'm a n00b and don't want to make things worse.
 
WD40 does NOTHING.. might help loosen the terminal but thats all.

pending on how old the battery is and type of battery.

I would find someone with a trickle battery charger. something low like 2amp charge. Do it over night or maybe over the course of 2 days or so and then see how it goes. A battery charger should cost about $30-50, i say find someone because aleast that way if your battery cant be saved your not at lost of money. Chances are that charging and driving it for a while allowing the alternator to charge the battery while driving should be enough to bring it back to life. A battery for the most part is $100 at sears with 3-5 year warranty.
 
Un-touched for a year? Tag it and bag it. I'd never consider that battery to be reliable again. It probably sat for 6 months completely dead. Not good for the battery at all.

T2urtle's suggestion will work if the battery can be saved, but I wouldn't hold out much hope.

ZV
 
In the future, if you plan on leaving the car sit for a long time, get a float charger (common brand name is "Battery Tender"). One of the worst things you can do to a car battery is let it go dead and a good float charger will keep it topped-off without overcharging it. This can greatly extend the life of the battery.

Last thing, remember to recycle that old battery. Most places will take your old battery for free when you buy a new battery. There are a lot of toxic chemicals in automotive batteries and it's not a good idea to just throw them in the trash.

ZV
 
i do it all the time with my 2nd car. but then again i have a yellow top optima. They need to get tickled for 6-8 hours and then i'll drive it around for 3 hours to make sure everything is where its at and then its good to go for the spring/summer. i should install a cutoff switch and stuff make life a LITTLE easier. The float charger works but he said he was in a OUTDOOR LOT. I dont think lot guys will like u zaping their power for a solid year.

 
Originally posted by: T2urtle
i do it all the time with my 2nd car. but then again i have a yellow top optima. They need to get tickled for 6-8 hours and then i'll drive it around for 3 hours to make sure everything is where its at and then its good to go for the spring/summer. i should install a cutoff switch and stuff make life a LITTLE easier. The float charger works but he said he was in a OUTDOOR LOT. I dont think lot guys will like u zaping their power for a solid year.
Click to expand...

Over-winter is different from a full year though. I've done it with summer-only cars, but not for 12 months. If it just sat from, say, October through March that's not as bad. But a traditional lead-acid battery gets sulfated pretty quickly when left discharged.

Just pull the battery and set it indoors somewhere with the float charger. No need to leave it in the car if it's an outdoor lot and you're storing it for a long time. It's like winterizing a boat. You pull the battery out and set it inside in a mud room with a float charger hooked up.

ZV
 
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Most places will take your old battery for free when you buy a new battery. ZV
Click to expand...

in my experience, most places charge a disposal fee for both tires and batteries...
 
Originally posted by: spacejamz
Originally posted by: Zenmervolt
Most places will take your old battery for free when you buy a new battery. ZV
Click to expand...

in my experience, most places charge a disposal fee for both tires and batteries...
Click to expand...

Well, Autozone (and many other places) will give you a $5 core charge for your old battery IF you buy your new battery from them.
 
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