6 month old battery won't hold charge -- any ideas?
#1
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
6 month old battery won't hold charge -- any ideas?
Hey guys. Here's the situation. 99GS4, 143k. New battery from Costco 6 months ago (the battery in the car at the time was 5 years old and died). I installed it myself. I noticed some corrosion around the terminal clamps, but didn't take the time to clean it off. After installing the new battery, the car started fine, so I wasn't concerned. It has started perfectly for the last 6 months.
Fast forward to a few nights ago. The car was parked outside for a few hours in cold (but not frigid) temps. I went to start it and it was slow to turn over, but it started. Drove home and parked it in the garage.
Next morning, same thing, the car was slow to turn over, but finally started. I drove around all day, starting and stopping probably 5 times, and everything was fine. This morning, the car wouldn't start at all. There was no power (not even enough to honk the horn).
I went out and bought some wire brushes, came home, took the clamps off the terminals and gave them a thorough cleaning. I removed a lot of corrosion. I put the clamps back on and figured I'd need to jump start the car (because it was completely dead 30 minutes earlier). Just for kicks, I thought I'd try to start it up and sure enough, it started right up. I let it run for about 15 minutes.
A few hours later, I went back out to try to start it and, once again, it was very sluggish to start. It would turn over a few times and then just stop. On the third try, it turned over just enough to start up.
One last tidbit. The clamp on the positive terminal is not very tight. I can twist it back and forth. I tried to tighten it after I cleaned it and, for whatever reason, the nut won't tighten (maybe the corrision?).
Any ideas what's going on here? I called Costco, and they said they would replace the battery, but that it was more likely that something was draining it as opposed to it not being able to hold a charge.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mods, if this belongs in the maintenance forum, please feel free to move it. Thanks.
e
Fast forward to a few nights ago. The car was parked outside for a few hours in cold (but not frigid) temps. I went to start it and it was slow to turn over, but it started. Drove home and parked it in the garage.
Next morning, same thing, the car was slow to turn over, but finally started. I drove around all day, starting and stopping probably 5 times, and everything was fine. This morning, the car wouldn't start at all. There was no power (not even enough to honk the horn).
I went out and bought some wire brushes, came home, took the clamps off the terminals and gave them a thorough cleaning. I removed a lot of corrosion. I put the clamps back on and figured I'd need to jump start the car (because it was completely dead 30 minutes earlier). Just for kicks, I thought I'd try to start it up and sure enough, it started right up. I let it run for about 15 minutes.
A few hours later, I went back out to try to start it and, once again, it was very sluggish to start. It would turn over a few times and then just stop. On the third try, it turned over just enough to start up.
One last tidbit. The clamp on the positive terminal is not very tight. I can twist it back and forth. I tried to tighten it after I cleaned it and, for whatever reason, the nut won't tighten (maybe the corrision?).
Any ideas what's going on here? I called Costco, and they said they would replace the battery, but that it was more likely that something was draining it as opposed to it not being able to hold a charge.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Mods, if this belongs in the maintenance forum, please feel free to move it. Thanks.
e
#3
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
If something is draining it, I would have no idea. I checked all my interior lights and the trunk light and I can't find anything that's stuck on. I guess I could always just get the new battery from Costco tomorrow. If that solves the problem, great. If not, at least I ruled out the battery as the cause. If it was a bad cell, though, why would it take 6 months to become a problem? You would think that it would have had symptoms right from the beginning, no?
e
#4
first thing i would do is to tighten down the battery terminals, use a small sheet metal screw if you have to. then i would test the alternator making sure it puts out 14v. if alternator is good, terminals are tight, then get a new replacement battery from costco.
#5
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
How do I test the alternator? If I pick up a voltmeter tomorrow, would I simply test the voltage on the terminals with the car running? Assuming it tests at 13.5 or 14 volts, does that necessarily mean it's a bad battery? Is it possible that the alternator is properly charging, the battery is properly accepting/holding the charge, but there's something that's draining the battery when the car is off? I would have no idea what that could be, because I've checked all the obvious things (internal lights, trunk light, etc.).
Thanks for your help.
e
#6
Lead Lap
Have you guys ever notice your inside door lights stay on,, after you close the door for about after a minute? it's a low dim.... Mines stays on.. wondering is it just my car...anyone? over time, my battery start to drain, i think it's due to that. i had my battery for about 14 months.. and i had to replace it.
Last edited by a#'z; 01-17-10 at 09:49 PM.
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#8
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
If I had a voltmeter (which I don't), would that be the easiest way to check it? If the car is running, the battery should be reading 13.5 to 14 volts, right? If it is in that range, does that mean the alternator is fine?
#12
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
By the way, what's the theory behind this?
#13
Lexus Test Driver
iTrader: (15)
battery is only used to START the car.. alternator keeps it running.
If the engine dies, that means the alternator is bad.
www.howstuffworks.com and search alternators
If the engine dies, that means the alternator is bad.
www.howstuffworks.com and search alternators
#14
Lead Lap
Thread Starter
battery is only used to START the car.. alternator keeps it running.
If the engine dies, that means the alternator is bad.
www.howstuffworks.com and search alternators
If the engine dies, that means the alternator is bad.
www.howstuffworks.com and search alternators
#15
If you really wanted to, I think you could start your car with a 12v cordless drill battery.
The alternator is wired separately to produce all the current for the car, therefore if you disconnect the negative battery terminal it should still run. However, disconnecting without the alternator spinning will eventually drain the charge from the electronics, thus ECU reset, etc., much like the slow drain of a PC power supply when you take the power cable out.