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And one more- Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Mon, 9 May 2005 06:01:56
In Reply to: a couple of thoughts..., rsfeller, Sun, 8 May 2005 19:55:56 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
refeller makes good points. At a minimum, put a voltmeter on the battery while the engine is running - make sure you get at least 13.0 volts at idle, a little more (13 and change, up to 14) when you rev the engine. Otherwise, you may need a new voltage regulator.
You say the battery is draining. I assume you've come back to a dead battery, and need to jump it. How old is the battery? Automotive car batteries aren't designed to completely discharge (unlike marine 'deep cycle' batteries). Every time you completely discharge a battery, it loses the ability to hold charge. Which, interestingly, makes it more prone to go flat, where it loses even more capability. Heck, discharge a brand new battery three or four times, and it is close to effectively ancient.
If your battery was getting old, and you discharged it completely, it may have lost it's capability to hold charge at all - you can jump it, everything seems fine, and it'll hold a charge for a day or so. Two days, it's dead flat. Usually a sign of needing a new battery. And even if you find out it's not charging properly due to a bad alternator, the battery is still suspect.
Yes, there are cases where there are sneak discharge paths draining batteries. Usually a trunk light or the like, and occasionally a stuck switch (as SaabHubby's autobelts). But the vast majority of the time you get batteries that don't hold a charge, the problem is either that they aren't being charged properly by the alternator, or the battery is just old.
posted by 192.249....
, Mon, 9 May 2005 06:01:56 <-- Viewing This Message
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