techboy Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 Before I go away on business for 2 weeks, car is starting up just fine. I try to start it today, first time since I get home and it won't start. I think nothing of it and jump it. It starts right up. Minute I disconnect my truck the car shuts off. So, I hook it back up again and let it run longer. This time I disconnect my truck and the car stays running. I take it for a 15 minute drive down the highway to charge the battery, come back, park. Turn off the car and it won't start back up. No interior lights, dash, nothing, just turn the key and nothing, not even a clicking sound. Bought the battery brand new last October. In my past experiences w/ cars and batteries when they do that they are usually shot - I'm just having a hard time believing sine the battery is only 10 months old. I looked around the car, it doesn't seem like I left anything on while I was away. Input? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRACK BEAST Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 when you jump your car. unplug the negative. if the car dies then its your alternator. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trini2dbone Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 also check you battery terminals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted August 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 Yeah, I had a feeling you guys were gonna say that. When I was disconnecting the cables from my truck the first time, the minute I disconnected the negative cable it died. So, I'm guessing it's the alternator as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted August 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 also check you battery terminals! Battery terminals are fine. I know that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC_99 Posted August 18, 2011 Report Share Posted August 18, 2011 What type of battery? Optimas are notorious for getting to a certain point of low voltage/amperage and being very difficult to recharge. Hers a link if it is an optima, http://www.optimabatteries.com/product_support/faqs.php that will help you get past that. I would suggest hooking it up to a slow trickle charge and let it charge for 8+ hours and have your alt. checked out. BC_99 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
intense98rt Posted August 19, 2011 Report Share Posted August 19, 2011 I also suggest a trickle charge. My battery is pretty old. I went out one day and it was completely dead. I took it into autozone for a charge and test. They put it on one of the rapid chargers for 2 hours and it wouldn't charge. They said the failed and is dead. I took it into my work and put it on a small trickle charger for 8 hours. It fully charged. Battery has been fine since. I know I still should get a new one tho. Maybe my next trip to walmart.If your battery is less than a year old you should still have a warrenty. Take it to where you bought it and get a new one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
techboy Posted August 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 It's an Autozone Duralast red top. I have them in all 4 of my vehicles and have never had a problem with them until this happened. I'm fairly certain the battery is fine, I think the alt is just shot. I ordered a new one today, supposedly it's going to be in tomorrow. Although, if the alt has been bad for some time the car would have been running on just the battery power until it died, which is probably what happened, so it's probably a good idea for me to hook it up to a trickle charge. Good suggestion, I will definitely do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metric-man Posted August 20, 2011 Report Share Posted August 20, 2011 (edited) Before I go away on business for 2 weeks, car is starting up just fine. I try to start it today, first time since I get home and it won't start. I think nothing of it and jump it. It starts right up. Minute I disconnect my truck the car shuts off. So, I hook it back up again and let it run longer. This time I disconnect my truck and the car stays running. I take it for a 15 minute drive down the highway to charge the battery, come back, park. Turn off the car and it won't start back up. No interior lights, dash, nothing, just turn the key and nothing, not even a clicking sound. Bought the battery brand new last October. In my past experiences w/ cars and batteries when they do that they are usually shot - I'm just having a hard time believing sine the battery is only 10 months old. I looked around the car, it doesn't seem like I left anything on while I was away. Input? It shouldn't really be that confusing except with all the responses this thread has received with this vague description. 1) What is your battery's (static) voltage reading? Not charging disconnected from your vehicle. If the battery you have is not a deep cycle type (marine) battery, and is reading below 10V it is not going to be reliable to use. When you jumpstart a battery that is dead or weak you should only travel as far as the nearest battery charger.Do not expect your alternator to recharge a battery that has become too weak to engage your starter and revolve your flywheel/ flex plate. Alternators are used to maintain your batteries voltage through its loss to feed the electrical system of your vehicle. The relationship between your vehicles OEM battery and alternator (when new) is designed based on efficiency and a balance between production cost and weight. Over time and use this balance loses its ability to maintain itself through age and corruption of the system itself or parasitic drains from worn and shorted electrical faults and/or additional electrical accessories that were not part of its original design. So in essence if your alternator becomes weak or damaged, and cannot meet the demands to maintain your battery's voltage under load of your car's electrical system.Your battery weakens and eventually falls below its optimal reserve and gives you an unexpected surprise. Also if a battery is defective, the pores in the lead plates clogged with sulfation, or some are damaged from overcharging, accidental or intentional abuse, this taxes the alternator beyond its intended use and shortens its life expectancy. Some battery's can be defective when bought new, since wet cell batteries are transported dry and the electrolite and water is added at its destination.they must also be charged and maintained every two months in storage. Alternators charge at about 13.7- 13.9 batteries at peak charge are around 12.9- 12.7 With Wet cell lead acid batteriesSometimes a quick charge is used to help the plates rid the calcification that occurs naturally through use chemical reaction heating and evaporation of the electrolyte fluid. This also saves time associated with slow charging methods. Trickle charge/low voltage charging is used to maintain a battery that is exposed to below nominal temperatures to keep it from freezing and/or long durations of storage and non-use. This is the voltage that most "float" chargers operate at. http://oi56.tinypic.com/2yn5n49.jpg Is this the type of battery you own ? http://batteryuniversity.com/learn/article/charging_the_lead_acid_battery Edited August 28, 2011 by Metric-man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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