So this afternoon I left work to find my engine would barely crank over a couple of times when I turned the key. I also found my clock and head unit had reset. So I tried again, it barely turned over maybe 3 times, slowly. So I waited a minute, tried a 3rd time, and it cranked slowly but finally started up. Drove 20+ minutes home, no problems at all, engine was running perfectly, no check engine light or any other warning lights.

Get home, shut off engine, try to restart, barely cranks over once and nothing.

I check the battery voltage, it's not even 10.5 volts.

So has my battery just crapped out? I don't think it's the alternator, as I didn't see the battery light come on, nor did I have any problems driving home from work. But in 20+ minutes of driving, the battery did not seem to charge up any at all.

I meant to check the voltage while the engine was running, but I forgot before I shut it off, and the wife is gone right now so I can't jump start it.

Battery is a Sears DieHard that was installed... OMG... August 7 2005.


Modified by PatrickGSR94 at 5:47 PM 8/7/2008

 

just realized I have never checked the water in that battery ever since I bought it. So I checked and I could only see water in 2 of the 6 cells. I added bottled water to all 6 cells and got a neighbor to jump start it. Now the battery is showing 14+ volts while running.

Guess I'll drive it around a bit and see if the battery charges up any since I added the water.

 

Drove it around, and when I got back, the battery only read about 12.2 volts while running. Shut it off, and it would not start again, and once again the battery reads only about 10.4 volts.

 

You may have a bad cell. take it to a auto parts store and they can test it for you.

Or go to Walmart and buy a $40.00 battery.

 

dang that's crazy that this would happen exactly 3 years to the day after I bought it.

Will have to wait till the wife gets home to take it somewhere.

 

Needs to be at least 13.5vdc when running and 12.5vdc when off. If its less than 12.5 then the battery is weak and at 10volts its gone!

 

bad cell.....replace battery.

my original panasonic OEM battery lasted in my teg for 8 years

and it's on the 3'rd one since....they dont make them like they used to.....oh well.

 

yea O'Reiley's and AutoZone both tested it and said it was bad.

Hopefully Sears will replace for free even though it's only a single day past the 3-year period.

Although, if I bought it on Aug 7 2005, shouldn't the 3-yr period last until Aug 8 2008?

 

I think battery warranty's are pro-rated and you got your 3 years worth. If it were 1 yr old you would pay 33.3%, 2 yrs 66.6%, 3 yrs 100%

 

The battery had a 100-month pro-rated warranty period (8 years 4 months), but also had a 3-year free replacement period. This is a Sears DieHard Gold battery.

So I went up there this morning and they ended up giving me a new one for free, even though the 3-year period technically ended yesterday.

Now my original paperwork said that a battery replaced during the 3-year period would only have the remainder of the original warranty on the new battery. So supposedly all I have left is the remainder of the pro-rated warranty for the next 5 years 4 months. I will have to read the new paperwork more closely, though.

So anyway, dropped the new one in, and it started right up. Drove 20+ minutes to my office, stopped to pick up lunch on my way, and it's still starting right up every time.