Problem.......Battery dies randomly...Help

[mguindon10]

Heres the problem. Every so often I'll go to start my car and I'll get a click when I turn the key over. It doesn't do the click,click,click like when your battery is drained, it just does a single click. Then I'll try to start again and my battery will be so drained it won't have enough juice to start.

Ive cleaned the battery terminals, checked all the connections for looseness. I've tested the battery with one of those eyedroppers with the balls in it and it says my cells are good, and obviously the starter works because most of the time my car starts right up. I tested the alternater voltage and its 12volts + so it looks like its charging.

My guess is either the starter relay or the battery is going. What do you guys think???

 

[JB66]

Take your battery and have them do a CCA test. Also have them test the Alt. You should be getting 13.7-14.5 volts when running. Other than that, starters are funny. When they work, they do and when they don't, they don't.

 

[Matts89LX5.0]

check where you ground the battery, may be rusted or loose.

 

[HISSIN50]

Take your battery and have them do a CCA test. Also have them test the Alt. You should be getting 13.7-14.5 volts when running. Other than that, starters are funny. When they work, they do and when they don't, they don't.

agreed. no way to load test the charging system decently at home. BTW, the eyedropper with balls is a specific gravity tester.
it gives you an idea, but does not really show what will happen with load.

about the only thing i can think of that you can do at home is: put a jumper battery on (like jump starting) and see if it starts. if not (and the jumper is known to be good), i would really go over cable connections. also might note the volt reading during cranking. i bet it is severely low.

good luck.

 

[Daggar]

Let's also not forget the ignition switch and the diode on the alternator as possible culprits. With a bad diode, the alternator will charge everything up while running but drain the battery rather quickly when the motor stops. Ignition switch... well... don't need to explain why it might be a problem.

 

[wht93gtEd]

actually I had a similar problem......it turned out that 1 cell in the battery died. Sometimes it started, sometimes I couldn't even jump it.

I also had the same problem in my 74 Apollo when the starter died.

I'd say go to walmart and get a cheap battery & see if it fixes your problem.

 

[Skoobie]

This is gonna sound stupid but I had the same problem. It turned out that the lights in my sunvisor were turning on. The flap that covers it also holds down a little button that turns off the light. The velcrow got too weak to hold it down and it would turn on randomly. Eventually my battery would drain. Or course I also had a six y/o batter, go figure

 

[HISSIN50]

This is gonna sound stupid but I had the same problem. It turned out that the lights in my sunvisor were turning on. The flap that covers it also holds down a little button that turns off the light. The velcrow got too weak to hold it down and it would turn on randomly. Eventually my battery would drain. Or course I also had a six y/o batter, go figure

not stupid at all. the glovebox light is another common one to have stay on. anything over ~300mA draw on even a DD can be too much.

good idea.

 

[TheUser]

I have the same problem, but it's generally when i'm actually driving the car and I kill it and it won't start back up. I've had this problem before and went and bought a red top optima battery about 2 months ago and the alt isn't very old either. I have a huge engine to chassis grounding strip; terminals are clean and tight. Beats the hell outta me. Getting ready to put the car up for winter, so guess I'll have something to do next spring

Just out of curiosity...is there anything that would prevent it from starting when hot, but after it cools, it's fine? This generally happens and I involuntarily leave it sitting for 10+ min and then jump it and it's fine. Twice, I've had a spare battery with me, put it in and it wouldn't start the car either.

 

[five_o_stang]

hey....i had the EXACT same problem for almost a year w/ TWO separate stock sized batteries and new wires...got a bigger battery and haven't had a problem since..and my passenger side window rolls down almost as fast as the driver side now...hehe...good luck

 

[JB66]

ECT sensor or TFI module for hot soak no starts usually.

 

[HISSIN50]

Just out of curiosity...is there anything that would prevent it from starting when hot, but after it cools, it's fine? This generally happens and I involuntarily leave it sitting for 10+ min and then jump it and it's fine. Twice, I've had a spare battery with me, put it in and it wouldn't start the car either.

heat soak on the starter is one possibility. also if you dont get anything at all when it wont start (no cranking, clicking etc), i would check the ignition interlock devices. a bit of resistance (which goes up with temps) can cause you to not get enough of a signal to the solenoid to latch the solenoid. you should see 12 volts while cranking at the slide-on wire on the solenoid. if none, check the wire itself, clutch safety switch (first place to check) and ignition switch).

good luck.

 

[mguindon10]

Well thanks for the info guys, im just gonna get a new battery since its 4 years old and see if that fixes it. I'll keep ya posted.

 

[7upstang]

If your car is an automatic, check the neutral safety switch as well.