Battery or Something Else

[Jon W9]

I guess this is off-topic, since it is not my ST.



My car was rather slow to turn over the last couple of days. Last night I checked the "eye" on the battery and it was green, which I thought to mean the battery was OK. This morning the car would not start.



Should I just try to jump it and see what happens. I mean theoretically it should have been recharged while I was driving yesterday. Or could this mean my alternator is bad? It seems like the idiot light would come on if that was the case. This is the original battery in a 1999 car, so I don't know if that is the extent of it's useful life.



The car itself is getting on my nerves. In the last 4-6 months I had the water pump go, coil spring snap in two, fan blower stop working, compressor clutch squeel, and now a battey/alternator. I wish I could afford something else.

 

[Robert Noble]

Eventhough your voltage looks good, if you don't have enough cranking amps being supplied by the battery you would experience the lull in turning over the engine.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Get a job at Wal-Mart. I hear they pay great.



On a serious note, the battery is shot. 6 years on a battery is great.



Alternators are not designed to charge batteries. They are designed to float batteries. They can charge a battery, but not like it should. Buy a new battery.



What vehicle is it? Mileage?





Tom

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Here is one way to tell if it is the alternator or if it is the battery.



Drive it around like you normally would. When you park it for the night remove one of the terminals off of the battery. In the morning, re-connect the terminal. If it cranks over well then you have a bad diode in your alternator. If it cranks poorly, then it will be the battery or a bad ground.



If the diode is bad the Alternator dummy light will not come on. Why??? Because it is charging just fine. The problem is the diode is bad and allows the battery to drain when the vehicle is not running. A diode is nothing more than a one way check valve. It allows electricity to flow one way. When they fail, the stored energy is allowed to leave the battery.

 

[Jon W9]

It is a 1999 Pontiac Grand Am SE, just turned 90k a week or 2 ago. Quite a few problems with it through-out it's life, but since I am unemployed and going to school full time it will have to do for another year or so.

 

[Richard L]

I agree with the others, the battery is probably bad. About 10 years ago the EPA made the manufactures reduce the amount of lead they put in the batteries. This has reduced the overall life expectancy of the batteries. Instead of the usual 3-5 year average battery life, we are only getting 2-3 years.



The previous two new vehicles I've owned had to have the batteries replaced while still under warranty (both in less than 3 years)



Also, you said you had to have a coil spring replaced?? I can only assume this was not a suspension spring since the Sport Trac does no use coil spring suspension. The front suspension uses tortion bars and the rear uses leaf springs.



...Rich

 

[Tom Schindler]

Theresa has a 1998 Grand Am GT. She had an alternator fail on her with only 70,000 on it.



$50.00 says it is the battery. Her engine stalled because the battery went dead while driving because the alternator was not charging the system.





Tom

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Due to the year I would also go with the battery. Even if your wrong. It is time to replace it.

 

[Jon W9]

Thanks for the info. I will probably get one tonight.

 

[nick weaver]

optomia red top cough cough...

 

[Tom Schindler]

nick,



You must have missed the part that says "1999 Grand Am SE". A plain old battery would do. If it were something he plans on keeping for another 50 to 10 years, then I agree.





Tom

 

[Deleted deleted]

lol never heard of a Grand Am lasting 10 years!

 

[Tom Schindler]

They are around here on a daily basis. I see them back as far as the early 90's.





Tom

 

[Gerald Pierce]

optomia red top cough cough...

obviously missed the part about being unemployed and going to school also.....

 

[Todd Z]

The Eye ONLY tests the one cell that it is located in and it also only tests the acidity of that cell.. The other 5 cells could be dead or have a short from sediment in the battery...

I beleive most places check the charging system for free...

Replace it...

Todd Z

 

[Chris Taylor]

If you have a voltage tester, check the battery. It should be 13.4 volts or above. If not, one of the cells is probably weak or dead.(Battery Voltage check)



If you have a helper, check the voltage as you are cranking the car. It should not drop below 12V or so. If it does, one of the cells is probably weak or dead.(Battery load test)



Start the car and immediately check the voltage again. It should be 14.4 or so. That means the alternator is charging the battery(or at least putting out enough current to try to do so).

Sometimes the regulator on the alternator will not sense that the battery is discharged(especially if the battery has some weak cells). If the voltage stays at 13.4 or so just after starting it, turn on the brights, heater fan to high and rear window defroster and rev the car a little(up to 1200rpm or so). If the alternator is working, it will show 14.4v. If it is not, the battery voltage will continue to drop.(Alternator check)



Many places(Sears for one) will load test a battery and check the charging system in much the way I have described(except they have a neat machine that will test it a little easier than I described). Most of the time it's free, because they know if they find something wrong, you are probably going to buy something from them. The stuff in ( ) above is what I think Sears calls the different tests.

 

[Jon W9]

So the new battery is in and it started right up. Not that that doesn't mean it wasn't the alternator, but I will restart and check the voltage. The new battery read 12.6 VDC and the old one read 9 VDC.