JJMarley

My mechanic replaced the starter for my car cause the old one was burnt out. Starts the next morning. Girlfriend takes it to work. (40 miles) Doesn't start during her lunch. Assumed it was a bad starter I just left it at her job for about a month cause I didn't want to deal with it at that moment. Ended up being curious to see if it was the battery I just drove down there and jumped the car. To my surprise it started right up. So I end up just driving it back home not wanting to turn it off. It drove perfectly fine on the freeway and up the mountains. Heater at full blast. Music up. Headlights on. Everything was fine. Turned it off when I got home, not even 1 minute passes I turn the ignition and nothing happens. Only starts when I jump it. All interior/exterior lights, radio, heater/ac works fine. Only the dash lights seem to dim a bit when I to the ignition to start. Headlights don't dim.
So I took my battery to have it tested at AutoZone. He told me I had a marine battery (wasn't aware of that) and it was at 0 voltz. My question is. Could it be just be a bad battery? Or both? And also, are marine batteries bad for cars?


Thanks in advance!
Happy holidays. Cheers!

Edit: I thought I might add that none of these problems existed before the new starter.

angrysmileyface

The battery is most likely faulty. I had one at the end of its life with 2 cranking amps instead of the 600 it was rated at. Radio and dash lights and dome lights were just fine but car would not crank without a jump. In light of this just replace the battery. There are plenty of coupons for places like autozone or advance autoparts

JJMarley

Thanks for the response!

Glad to hear that it could very well just be a faulty battery. How would I know if the alternator is bad without testing the voltage? Would my car have drove as far as it did (40 miles) if it were bad?
And what is a marine battery? Is it bad for cars?

angrysmileyface

If the alternator were bad you'd have a battery light. You can test voltage of the alt by using a volt meter, however you wouldnt be able to test its current output, the stores can do that. I have no idea why you have a marine battery in the car unless someone moved it to the trunk or some place not suitable for a battery. If anything just get the recommended battery for your car.

JJMarley

Ok. Sounds good. Thank you for your help!