Car Battery Question

It was never a good idea doing it in older vehicles either, with possibly the exception of a 1960's diesel motor.

In fact some vehicles warn not to "jump start", rather disconnect and charge or fit another known good. Some cars are very fussy about their 12.8v and will have all sorts of running issues if it dips below 12.5v at idle / start.

Frying (one of the many) modern electronic control units can be expensive, for the cost of a $60 battery.

The term battery comes from "a battery of cells"

Automotive batteries nearly ALWAYS fail due to a single cell finally collapsing - literally the layers swelling and falling apart as a hot spot develops during 300 Amp cranking cycles. Obviously when old, the other cells are usually not far behind...

Definition: Battery

#5 a number of similar articles, items, or devices arranged, connected, or used together : set, series

Even if the battery is completely sealed, use a 5/8" hole saw, fill the battery and seal with caps from an old battery.

In the early 80s I reconditioned and sold batteries. It is was going very well until pricing changed and battery cores became expensive or hard to come by. Companies began hoarding the cores or destroying them.

Pulse chargers are available now to recondition by inverting the sulphation.

Have the battery "load tested" at an auto parts place (it's usually free).Iif its bad it will read 12volts(unloaded) but won't have the current output to spin the motor.

its the starter motor...easy fix...buy for $50 online DIY AND SAVE$$$$$

i really hope you are right.
ive been saying the same thing from the start yet people keep claiming its the battery, even tho it didnt work with his wifes battery either.

I'd just buy a new battery since you said youre hearing clicking. If engine isn't fully trying to turn over, could be starter.

Check out this video. This dude explains sounds when turning the ignition.



I just bought a new starter as mine died last week. Also bought a new battery and new spark plugs. Fuses were good. Honda running great again.

Don't do this on modern computer controlled cars

As a young lad, I worked in an honest family run garage for 5 years. Any battery that just died (not flat due to lights being left on etc.) were NEVER recoverable.

Goodness knows I tried. I used to give them all a full charge (10 hours at 10% Amp Hour rating). I NEVER once found a battery that would start a car a week later.

Obviously batteries from a breakers yard are different, but once a battery electrolyte falls much below the top of the plate, they are soon a goner.

I am a qualified electrician and worked on many UPS systems with lead acid cells and even nickel cadmium wet cells. the company even used Lead Acid battery vehicles (with a range of 35-40 miles) back in the late 1980's.

In my 62 years of monkeying with all kinds of batteries in all kinds of applications including car repairs, I never recovered a battery that failed not even with the use of Epsom salt!

The only batteries that could be recovered (a bit) were the old NiCad "D" cells in emergency lights. The chemistry in them could crystallise limiting their capacity. Bashing them about on a wood bench would recover them. I still use some from 20+ years ago in flash lights.

If the battery is charged and the car just clicks when you try to start it, it is a starter issue. The Solenoid is bad on the starter.

A very interesting problem I had with a Yamaha FJR 1300 not starting properly (slowish crank), turned out to be a starter motor, where the copper dust from the brushes had collected in the commutator slots (spaces) causing the motor to lose torque as other windings were partially energised. The motor winding resistance tested out O.K. That was a real head scratcher and a pain to get to - twice!

The O?P said he got the car jump started O.K. and it started after charging. Only over night did it not start.

The poster was asking about battery problems, one assumes he has ruled out a problem or intermittent problem with the starter.

A very basic test to see if it's the battery or the starter is to start the car with headlights to see how much they dim, If the starter has a dead short smoke will soon appear and stink like hades.

I would have thought most people could figure that out. But hey this is GLP.

, try

ASE master Mechanic here.
A problem that occurs sometimes that many people overlook is corrosion in the cables. The corrosion presents a high resistance under load, insufficient to energize the starter motor, but still shows continuity under test.


Often times, one of the cables will have invisible corrosion develop inside the cable, creeping up from the terminal, I've seen it many times and it always surprises the owner because it seems so unlikely and you can't see anything wrong.

Before replacing your battery, try replacing your battery cables one at a time by clipping in a jumper cable parallel to the battery cable, Start with Negative, it's usually the easiest to access.

A bad battery is not recoverable.

Messing about pouring out the electrolyte is complete and utter bullshit. If the battery charged it's concentrated hydrochloric acid (that does not freeze in winter!) If the battery is flat then the electrolyte is dilute hydrochloric acid and is prone to freezing in very cold, destroying the battery which is probably already fucked anyway (being stored flat).

O/P said it jump started OK from a tow truck, which tends to rule out a bad connection. He also stated that after charging, the following morning it was "dead" which tends to rule out a starter with worn brushes (needing a tap with a hammer handle) or burnt solenoid / contacts, clicking but no go.

As has been stated, perhaps he should speak to someone with a basic knowledge of cars or get a mechanic.

It’s the ground .

Turn the headlights on and watch them while someone tries to start the car, if they go very dim to almost off then the battery is dead. if they dim midways but stay on then the battery is good and you have a starter issue.
Some cars will cut power fully to the head lights so if they go out instantly without dimming 1st then the car is one that cuts power to the lights when starting but very few do this.

Checked my ground, it was good. Got a new battery after I had the old one tested and it was bad.

Started right up after installation and alternator is working good, putting out just over 14 volts.

Now, if can only get this MF clamp installed because the MF bolt won't start.

pfff battery after all

12.8 is a unhealthy battery after being charged. You want to be near 14v. Load test the battery with a light bulb and see if it drops below 10

Six cells, each with 2.1 volts at full charge = 12.6

Told ya.

You might have a short. Take a volt meter or 12v lightbulb and disconnect the -neg cable, put the light or VM between the neg terminal and the post, if there is a short it will light up, pull 1 fuse at a time until it goes out and that is the faulty circuit

Lol I will stick with my lifted 4x4 diesel gets nealy 1200 kilometers to the tank, and the slip tank adds another 800k of range, zero anxiety about fuel when I am out in the back country. Ev's are for city slicker liberal types...

Pull the negative off the battery. Put the test light between the post and the ground wire. If the light illuminates, you have a draw. Use the fuse pull method to find the draw; when the light goes out, you found the draw.

I just fixed one of those.

It was an air bagged Ram with a 12" lift, 40's, compound turbos and full tubular 4 links front and rear.

He had the nerve to bitch when I charged him 10 hours to swap out the throwout bearing. Didn't want to pony up for a $7,000 clutch and flywheel.

I see a lifted diesel, I club 'em like baby seals.

ABSOLUTELY!
BIG ONES UNDER THE HOOD!

Yeah, 14 volts, absolutely not. 13.1 volts is outstanding. You can get that with an AGM. They perform better all around.