WTF is goin down?!

[James]

Hey Guys,
So, the jetta has been acting up again (surprise, surprise!!).

About 2 weeks ago I went to start the car after leaving it in the cold for a couple days - battery was dead.I got a boost, let it run for 30mins and went out for about an hour to run some errands. Got home, went inside for the night and the next morning she's dead again.

This time, i get a boost and check the battery to make sure it's holding a proper charge (it was) and make sure it has enough distilled water in it etc..Everything looked fine.

The car ran for the entire weekend without issue, and come monday morning its dead again (after only getting home around 10 the night before). Ive since bought one fo those portable boosters because this has been an issue for 2 straight weeks, car hasn't started like 75% of the time ive tried.

Anybody know what this could be? I'll be picking up one of those 2A trickle chargers and letting the car charge for 24hours to ensure the battery is topped up but really, after boosting it and leting it run for as long as I have it should be fine.

[stefan]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

were you able to do a proper load test on the battery? like apply a load close to its cca rating, then see how well it recovers back to 12V? also, what voltage are you getting when car is running?

*are the sides of the battery still flat? if it ran down on a cold night, you could have froze the battery... the sides are usually bulged out pretty obviously if that happens though.

[James]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

Right after i got the car started and tested it it showed up as 14mV.

Im not really sure how to preform a load test, wanna shed some light? And I also didnt look for buldging but it hasnt been *that* cold..I mean, the car is dying overnight when its only gotten down to -3 or so which is just stupid!

Ugh, i really awnt to get this figured out as the car is basically sold

[RSS]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

Sounds like there is a drain on your battery or its not charging. Check the voltage on the battery with a multimeter right after you turn off the car if it looks like its fully charged leave the meter there and come check it every once and a while see if the voltage is dropping. You can also hook up the meter in series and check to see what kind of current draw there is make sure everything is off if there is a light under your hood unplug it while measuring. If you are noticing a load on the battery when everything is off then becomes the fun part of finding what it is.

[Khyron]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

Take the battery to walmart or partsource - somewhere that tests it properly. Sounds like you need a new one.

Khyron

[James]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

Take the battery to walmart or partsource - somewhere that tests it properly. Sounds like you need a new one.

Khyron

Ya, im planning on doing that as soon as the roads are a bit better. I really hope taht all it is is a new battery...Was worried it could be altenator or a short somewhere

[stefan]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

load test just simulates a large draw, if you draw a lot of power for a few seconds (with car off), the voltage drops well below 12V, but when you stop, it should recover back to a 12V reading. If it doesn't, then it isn't holding a charge right. easiest was to test it is, as mentioned, go to partsource.

ya, the freezing was a long shot, but i have seen it happen.

[Stonewall]

Re: WTF is goin down?!

I would goto a battery shop and get them to give it a once over, they can test the alternator at the same time too. I go out ot a place on 52nd st SE called battery world (if I remmeber right). They have good prices on batteries and have always right. Hopefully it is just a bad battery (which would show itself in the cold) and not the dreaded alternator pully problem.