Help! WON'T START! DEAD BATTERY???

[alyevich]

Please help!
I had been doing a lot of interior work in the car over the last week, and I had the doors open and interior lights running a lot, but had not started the car in a while.
I went to start it two days ago and the battery was dead. But, I was able to jump it successfully. I drove around a few miles, came home, turned off the car, started it again and let it run a few minutes before shutting down again.
Went to start it again today, and it was completely dead, absolutely no response when I put the key in the ignition. No interior lights or anything.
Tried to jump it again today. It cranks like once and I can see the battery gauge drop immediately and I then just get a clicking noise. If I stop turning the ignition, the voltage gauge goes back up to approx. 14 V in seconds. I tried 10 times and the same thing happened, even when I waited a few minute before attempts.
Any ideas? Do I need to replace the battery???
I am in NJ, and it is relatively cold (35F) outside.
I just bought the car 6 weeks ago. I have no idea how old the existing battery is.
Any help would be appreciated!
Al

 

[86-ZZ3]

Might be too obvious but have you put the battery on a charger? Driving it around a bit doesn't full charge the battery.

 

[LT4man]

Your battery is still probably good. Driving around for a few minutes will not recharge the battery properly.

Get yourself a trickle charger. Schumacher makes a very nice one for about $25.00.

Put the trickle charger on for 24 hours.

You will be good to go!

SAVE THE

 

[alyevich]

No, I have not tried a charger. Don't own one, but could buy one if that's what everyone suggests.
But why was I able to give it a jump successfully two days ago, but not today? When I did this two days ago, I was able to crank as much as I wanted when jumping it with my Explorer. But why not today?
Al

 

[Phill]

a charger is always good to have around and i would also suggest a digital volt meter. did you have any problems before the interior work was done?

 

[alyevich]

I have a volt meter, don't yet have a charger, but looks like I should go pick one up tonight.
Did not have any problem before I did the interior work. Again, I just had the doors open hours at a time working on the seats, carpeting, etc.
I am really curious why I was able to jump it two days ago, but not today.
The only other variable since I had the car is outside temp. I haven't had a problem before doing the interior work, but it was also much warmer before. Like 60 F a couple weeks ago, and 35 F today.
Al

 

[Lucky 3]

Have you cleaned and checked your cables for tightness?

 

[Phill]

Battery voltage was probly low after you ran it for a while then just dropped some more when you let it sit a few days. mine wont crank if the voltage gets under 12.3. charger up and see what happens.

 

[LT4man]

No, I have not tried a charger. Don't own one, but could buy one if that's what everyone suggests.
But why was I able to give it a jump successfully two days ago, but not today? When I did this two days ago, I was able to crank as much as I wanted when jumping it with my Explorer. But why not today?
Al

You took all the available charge out of the battery two days ago. Now the battery is telling you: "Please, please charge me up. How much cranking do you want me to do with the little charge that is left inside me?"

SAVE THE

 

[Evolution1980]

Any ideas? Do I need to replace the battery???
I am in NJ, and it is relatively cold (35F) outside.
I just bought the car 6 weeks ago. I have no idea how old the existing battery is.

Al, many auto parts places will do a free check of your battery. If there's one thing that can make a bad battery show itself, it's the cold. You'll notice they are rated by "Cold cranking amps".
Suggest having it checked. On some batteries, there is a sticker or something that will denote when the battery was purchased or the MM/YY of when it's 'warranty' is up.
You could certainly be close.

Invest in a good charger as others have stated. One that has both a trickle charge w/auto charging as well as a 'high charge' for actually starting the car. My charger I can leave connected to my battery over the winter and it will trickle it as needed. My charger does a 1A trickle, 5A regular charge, and a 75A "start the car now" setting.

If the battery checks out good, then you'll need to get the car started and then use your volt meter to check the voltage going back to the battery. It should be at least 13.5v. If not, then you may have an issue with your alternator. That's a relatively simple fix on our cars. Sometimes it's just the diode trio that goes bad in the alt.

If the alt and battery both check out OK, then you've got a grounding problem. This is also not uncommon with our cars. Our non-computer controlled cars are easy to trobleshoot. It's either gas delivery, electrical (bad grounds), or vacuum. If you're good on those three fronts, your car should be running just fine! :L
Since you have an '81, you only sorta qualify for The Rule of 3.

 

[Curtis]

When my car acted like this, it was a bad battery ground cable..It had corroded terribly under the car where it connects to the frame. Replaced the cable and everything back to normal.

 

[Evolution1980]

Al, something else I thought of...if you don't have the battery checked but manage to get the car started, go drive it around for bit. When you park it, disconnect the battery and check the voltage. Come back in a day or two and check the voltage again. If it's dropped below 12v, you've got a bad battery.

Of course, if you're like many of us here, you don't drive your car in the winter, so...I guess take my suggestion for whatever it's worth...usually about 2¢ or less.

When my car acted like this, it was a bad battery ground cable..It had corroded terribly under the car where it connects to the frame. Replaced the cable and everything back to normal.

Same here, except mine got by on just a thorough cleaning and a light sanding of the connector and frame surface.

 

[Mr. Chuck]

Here is the std battery check, which you may have already done, but is good thing to review again.
1. Age of the battery; if more than 80% of rated life have it load tested by a battery shop, a good chance it is near replacement time and isn't holding it's charge.
2. Some battery experts recommend at least a 20 -30 minute drive above 40 mph to replace a single start if the electrical system is in good condition.
3. Alternator output voltage S/B in the range of 14 V.
4. Insure all battery cables connections are clean (rust free) and tight, at the battery, frame ground and at the starter.
5. Wire connection on the Alternator s/b clean and tight, no signs of over heated, discolored, burnt wiring / terminals, etc.
6. If battery has vent caps, check the water level in each cell, s/b at bottom of the split ring; only add water, never acid. Water in battery is broken down during the recharging process and is given off as Hydrogen and Oxygen gas, sulfuric acid isn't lost during charging.
7. Old / stiff or damaged battery cables (the result of corrision inside the insulation) will reduce the effectiveness of the alternator to re-charge the batterry as well.
Hope this helps ID / fix the dead battery problem.