Low Battery?

[jcs44]

My car is not a daily driver. Mostly it sits in the garage, under its cover, waiting for a nice day. It maybe gets driven a couple of times per week. It got a new battery last fall. So, today I drive it to work, to an appointment, stop at a drug store, and another store, then head to lunch. Now I notice a high pitched sound (not real loud) that's coming from the radio and is tied to engine RPM. So I turn off the radio and park at my lunch place, and as I'm putting up the windows, I turn off the engine, and then nothing. The windows stop going up, so I turn the key back on and more nothing. Everything is dead. So I get out and look under the hood (like I'm going to see right away some problem, duh). I get back in and turn on the ignition and it almost starts, but dies. I do manage to get the windows up and the doors locked and go to lunch. After luinch, maybe 30 minutes, I come back and it fires right up, no warning lights. My guess here is that the battery is low because the car sits a lot and all my stop and goes today just put it over the edge. Any other ideas? How about that sound from the radio?

Thanks, JCS44, Black LT4 Vert

 

[stgry1]

Is your alt charging properly? Does the guage show under 13.8? It sounds like the battery is fine but what's happening is the alternator is weak and not charging causing the battery to use all it's power to run all the 12V operations. Once you shut it off, the battery is able to "recharge" it's cells in a manner of speaking and give you some power back. And since you say there is a high pitched noise through stereo...I'm bettin on the alt. Swing by a pep boys or auto parts store and they'll probably ck it for you free of charge. Good luck

 

[jcs44]

That's an interesting point on the alternator. After this happened, I did watch the digital voltage for a while and it was bouncing around from about 13.0 to 14.5. I'll get it checked. Thanks!

 

[unknown1]

Check that you have a good connection at your battery.No corrosion at terminals and that their tight. Mine shows 14.4 to 14.8 most of the time. Careful who "checks" your alt. as there are ways to make them show weak or as dead.

 

[vettepilot]

I assuming that you still have the side terminal type battery. I had a problem in my Blazer that drove me nuts for a while. I had a poor connection at the battery, but tightening the terminal didn't seem to help. The problem was the end of the cable, inside the plastic housing of the terminal lug, the metal had corroded inside the plastic, and deteriorated to the point that the screw that goes through the battery terminal actually bottomed out in the battery terminal, but was not tight against the terminal lug inside the cable. So at times it made a good connection, and other times it didn't.
So as in most cases, check the simple things first, eliminate those as possibilities before moving on to more expensive items.
Best of luck, hopefully you will have a simple [read inexpensive] problem to resolve.

vettepilot

 

[stgry1]

Mine shows 14.4 to 14.8 most of the time.

14.8??? Holy cow! You may want to confirm that. That is an awfully high voltage rating. Be aware that alternators can go bad and OVERCHARGE as well. They don't always diminish the voltage output when bad, especially if the regulator has malfunctioned. Just my .02

 

[lt4 gs]

14.8??? Holy cow! You may want to confirm that. That is an awfully high voltage rating. Be aware that alternators can go bad and OVERCHARGE as well. They don't always diminish the voltage output when bad, especially if the regulator has malfunctioned. Just my .02

14.2v-14.8v has been my experience over the course of 8+ years now.

 

[jcs44]

The dealer told me that anything over 14.8 would indicate a problem. Now that I've charged the battery up, I seem to be pretty level at 14.3-14.4V. Thanks.

 

[stgry1]

14.2v-14.8v has been my experience over the course of 8+ years now.

Let me clarify, 14-14.5v when tested across the battery sounds like a correct reading. I personally do NOT like this type of test. I like to eliminate all possible chances of inaccurate readings from the batteries involvment, external regulators etc. I will always test an alt from the discharge side (usually behind the alt) with the meter to see the true voltage. In that testing I have found 13.3-13.9 to be a constant. Now, since everyone is testing alts (pep boys, DAP, autozone, etc) it's much easier to get a reading from the battery posts and so they do. So I suppose the reading of 14.8 may be "accurate". Just my .02.....
oh ya....12+ years here

 

[jcs44]

Well, I'm back to square one. After charging up the battery, I drove it to work and back one day last week and all seemed normal. I drove it again this weekend and on the way home, the voltage readings were all over the place, ranging from about 13.0 to 14.3 and changing constantly. Since the battery is less than a year old, I'm thinking this has to be the alternator/voltage regulator.

 

[lt4 gs]

forgot to ask......rU using a yellow optima by chance? If you R....that couldB your problem......it's a deep cycle slow to recharge.....designed for forktrucks and trolling motors. although it's listed for a replacement to the vette.....the interstate battery feller......corrected another interstate battery feller and advised me to use the red optima.......I did and no more trouble......gave the yellow to neighbor for his minkota.....we are both happy.........

jd

 

[jcs44]

No, I think it's your standard NAPA variety.

 

[stgry1]

jcs44, did you ever "load test" the battery? You said you charged it fully and that might have been sufficient for a few drives but if the battery has a bad or weak cell, you could be playing this game all day. If I were you, I'd remove the battery and bring it to an auto parts store and have them run a load test. You will most likely have to have some sort of ample charge on it first before you bring it. If you determine that the battery is good then I could only suspect the internal regulator is failing.-- i.e. new alternator. good luck

 

[medicine man]

forgot to ask......rU using a yellow optima by chance? If you R....that couldB your problem......it's a deep cycle slow to recharge.....designed for forktrucks and trolling motors. although it's listed for a replacement to the vette.....the interstate battery feller......corrected another interstate battery feller and advised me to use the red optima.......I did and no more trouble......gave the yellow to neighbor for his minkota.....we are both happy.........
Just a note on Optima batteries. The yellow top is
a fast recharge battery recommened in severe duty vehicles or those that are not operated on a daily basis that have extensive computer and alarm systems (ie) Corvette.You can check this out on web OPTIMA. Trust but Verify.

 

[lt4 gs]

OOPs......I stand ewreckted........but here's a side note the whole yellow top enchilada has changed.........since I last went through this.......I also have a superior red top.....than the descrip provides........but no matter onward and upward.....let's get this poor fella's problem fixed......


from Interstate:
The OPTIMA Yellow Top™ Deep Cycle Battery should be used in the following cases:

1. Starting applications in high-accessory vehicles/High Cycling Applications. Vehicles with computers, extra radios, electronic components, lights, winches, etc. will create excessive amperage drain that can damage a starting battery. Recommend the OPTIMA Yellow Top to provide fast recharging and longer life due to its' ability to cycle over 300 times.
   
   
2. Starting applications with low amperage draws. If your customer has a vehicle that sits unused for long periods of time, either OPTIMA will provide longer life due to reduced corrosion and sulfation. However, if the vehicle has an alarm, computer, or other low amperage drain, the Yellow Top will guard against deep cycling damage that can occur over long periods of time.
   
   
3. To increase Reserve Capacity or Run Time. You must first identify how long the customer needs to use the battery to run a vehicle, accessory, or motor before without recharging. Each OPTIMA Yellow Top Deep Cycle Battery is rated at 120 minutes of Reserve Capacity at a 25 Amp draw. If your customer is planning on using their OTPIMA in a trolling motor that pulls 50 Amps, they will only get 60 minutes of run time. If they require more run time you need to install multiple batteries in parallel. It is important to understand what the customer expects in order to provide them with the correct OPTIMA solution.

Remember:
Dark Gray Case means Starting TechnologyLight Gray Case means Deep Cycle Technology

OPTIMA Customer Service Department: (800)292-4359