Car Question

[Goondal]

I know little to nothing about cars, to me they are transportation.  I have had my current one for fourteen years now with no issues so I really have no experience with issues from which to pull from either.

Last Monday my car would not start.  I was able to jump it and the then had no problem the rest of the week.  This morning it would not start again.  I never drive my car on the weekends.  The battery is just under a year old so I would not think it was that.  Last Monday I took it by where I has it installed, they tested it and said they results were good.

So it is possible that the battery is just really weak and cannot hold a charge after sitting a few days and that it only seemed okay last Monday because it was just jumped that morning?  Or is it likely that this is something else that needs to be fixed?

I just do not want to spend the money to take it in just to find out it only needs a new battery.

[SmokinwithWilly]

I have this issue with my truck sometimes. First thing I look at is the terminals where the battery cables connect. The posts need to be free of corrosion. They may need to be cleaned and you aren't getting a good connection. A post/terminal cleaner is 5 bucks or you can use sandpaper. Secondly, check the cables themselves and see if there's any fraying. That's usually the 2 that cause my truck to start one day and not the next.

[cookinbrak]

Go to Autozone or Advance Auto, they'll check your battery for free.

[Goondal]

Thanks guys.  I took it back to Sam’s (where I got the battery).  This time I just removed it and took it up as opposed to jumping it.  When they checked this time it was dead.  Since I only had it eight months they replaced it.  Cost me under two bucks for the new one and the car started so hopefully the problem is solved!

Again, thanks for the input.

[thefuzz]

15 hours ago, Goondal said:

Thanks guys.  I took it back to Sam’s (where I got the battery).  This time I just removed it and took it up as opposed to jumping it.  When they checked this time it was dead.  Since I only had it eight months they replaced it.  Cost me under two bucks for the new one and the car started so hopefully the problem is solved!

Again, thanks for the input.

Honestly, you probably have a parasitic draw.  What kind of car is it?

 

I had a similar issue with an older Acura, the bluetooth was forever trying to find a phone to link to, and slowly killing my battery if I didn't start it every other day or so.

[Goondal]

55 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

Honestly, you probably have a parasitic draw.  What kind of car is it?

 

I had a similar issue with an older Acura, the bluetooth was forever trying to find a phone to link to, and slowly killing my battery if I didn't start it every other day or so.

'04 Ford Focus

[thefuzz]

2 hours ago, Goondal said:

'04 Ford Focus

Hmmmm, do you leave cords plugged into the cig lighters?  Any chance you have a dim, or burnt out bulb pulling power?

 

It could have been the battery, but sounds like a parasite.

[Goondal]

7 minutes ago, thefuzz said:

Hmmmm, do you leave cords plugged into the cig lighters?  Any chance you have a dim, or burnt out bulb pulling power?

 

It could have been the battery, but sounds like a parasite.

I do have chargers plugged into the lighter.  I have done that for years.  Is it normal for it to just start happening like that?  If so, would getting a car charge adapter fix the problem?

[thefuzz]

2 minutes ago, Goondal said:

I do have chargers plugged into the lighter.  I have done that for years.  Is it normal for it to just start happening like that?  If so, would getting a car charge adapter fix the problem?

It could pop up out of nowhere...especially in a vehicle that old.

I would probably keep rolling like you have, unless you notice it getting weak again, then unplug everything, and give that a few days.  Doesn't take much trickle to drain a battery over the weekend.

[Happy Panther]

Could this also be an alternator issue?

[Goondal]

2 hours ago, Happy Panther said:

Could this also be an alternator issue?

This came to mind as well.  It would seem to me though that if the alternator was not charging the battery that the battery would not have been fine last Monday and then all week but then die again over the weekend.  Obviously the battery is being charged, for whatever reason it is not holding it over long periods sitting.  Like I said though, I know so little about cars that this logic could easily be faulty.

[KSpan]

7 hours ago, Goondal said:

This came to mind as well.  It would seem to me though that if the alternator was not charging the battery that the battery would not have been fine last Monday and then all week but then die again over the weekend.  Obviously the battery is being charged, for whatever reason it is not holding it over long periods sitting.  Like I said though, I know so little about cars that this logic could easily be faulty.

A weak alternator could absolutely cause intermittent dead batteries and shortened battery life - we just went through this exact scenario with our 2005 minivan and a weak (and subsequently dead) alternator was the root cause. Go to AutoZone or somewhere and ask them to check your alternator just in case. We had to replace my wife's alternator in her 2005 Focus at around 100K miles as well, though that was an instant death and not prolonged weak performance.

[Goondal]

2 hours ago, KSpan said:

A weak alternator could absolutely cause intermittent dead batteries and shortened battery life - we just went through this exact scenario with our 2005 minivan and a weak (and subsequently dead) alternator was the root cause. Go to AutoZone or somewhere and ask them to check your alternator just in case. We had to replace my wife's alternator in her 2005 Focus at around 100K miles as well, though that was an instant death and not prolonged weak performance.

Sounds like a plan.  Will they check the alternator for free like the battery?

[KSpan]

2 hours ago, Goondal said:

Sounds like a plan.  Will they check the alternator for free like the battery?

Yes. They'll hook a meter to the battery and it will only take a minute or two.