Car battery question...

[BigJim13]

I know this may seem basic but I have a very basic understanding of cars and their issues. My wife drives a 2004 Buick Rainier. So far the car has been pretty good to us, other than regular maintenance (that always seems to cost a small fortune) we have been lucky.

This morning it was -2* F. She went to start the car to let it warm up and at first it didn't want to start. It did but the clock had reset itself, leading me to think the battery died and kicked back on. After she left she stopped to get coffee and shut the car off (still don't know why she did that). When she came out it wouldn't start, I had to go and jump start her car.

It seems ok now, maybe not holding the charge due to the cold weather? We have only ever had to jump it one other time and that's when a dome light got left on all night. So, the battery is charging while running so I don't think the alternator is shot but shoud I look into a new battery?

The car has about 83K miles on it and as far as I know it's the original battery. So, what say you gearheads that know WAY more than I? Thanks!

 

[N.V.M.]

you can check the alternator or have it done for you in two seconds. a simple voltage test to see if its pumping out more than 13 volts will tell you right away that the alternator is good. i would say get a new battery.

 

[FATC1TY]

If the car is running, and it's not going dead after a few minutes, your alternator is working.. If it wasn't and it was running off plain juice, you wouldn't go far.

I'd probably invest in a new battery, or put the car on a trickle charge over night, and see what that does for the battery. I have a car I never, ever drive, and it sat and sat and the battery died. I charged it for a day on a low trickle charge and it works just fine now, cranks on the first start.

The simple fix, is to just get a new battery though and not worry about it. Over time the battery won't hold it as long, and the cold do not help.

 

[BigJim13]

If the car is running, and it's not going dead after a few minutes, your alternator is working.. If it wasn't and it was running off plain juice, you wouldn't go far.

I'd probably invest in a new battery, or put the car on a trickle charge over night, and see what that does for the battery. I have a car I never, ever drive, and it sat and sat and the battery died. I charged it for a day on a low trickle charge and it works just fine now, cranks on the first start.

The simple fix, is to just get a new battery though and not worry about it. Over time the battery won't hold it as long, and the cold do not help.

Kinda what I was thinking! Thanks for the replies!

 

[JEFF4i]

Actually FAT I've had an alternator die, and it took 40 minutes of driving to have the car die.

AutoZone checks batteries and alternators, just watch them as they do it.

 

[FATC1TY]

I had an alternator go out one time in highschool. I was leaving work that evening, and turned the lights on, go out of the parking lot, and made it maybe 2 miles before I noticed everything dimming.. Pulled into a parking lot, and it died.


Thats a hella good battery to last 40 minutes!!

 

[BigJim13]

Thanks guys, went ahead and just bought a new battery today. I guess it was time!

 

[JEFF4i]

I had an alternator go out one time in highschool. I was leaving work that evening, and turned the lights on, go out of the parking lot, and made it maybe 2 miles before I noticed everything dimming.. Pulled into a parking lot, and it died.


Thats a hella good battery to last 40 minutes!!

Yeah, made me happy about the battery! lol

Thanks guys, went ahead and just bought a new battery today. I guess it was time!

Let us know if it works.

 

[Wi-Golfer]

As mentioned earlier it's easy enough to check your alternator output. At rest your battery should have at least 12-12.5 volts & when you start the car you should have anywhere from 13-14 volts. If the alternator is bad you will see 11.4 volts or less. I just changed out a friends alternator last week in his GrandAm, $152 for it, damn have those gone up in price since the last time I had to purchase one.

 

[nututhugame]

My alternator went a while back, but it broke the opposite way. Tested it and it was kickin out 18v. Next morning it blew out my head lights with a surge.

 

[eclark53520]

Sorry i didn't see this before, 99% sure its not your alternator, and 90% sure its not your battery either, but by replacing the battery you probably took care of the problem...but spent more money than you need to.

Especially having the clock reset is a good sign this is the issue.

When you get intermittent starts like this it usually means the connections on the battery are either loose or corroded(even if they don't look like it)

Usually all it takes is to pull them off, clean them up with a wire brush(both the posts and the terminals, replace and tighten them down good and ti will fix your problem.

However, replacing the battery as you did, probably solved this issue like i said. Not a bad idea to replace it anyway assuming it was older.

 

[BigJim13]

Sorry i didn't see this before, 99% sure its not your alternator, and 90% sure its not your battery either, but by replacing the battery you probably took care of the problem...but spent more money than you need to.

Especially having the clock reset is a good sign this is the issue.

When you get intermittent starts like this it usually means the connections on the battery are either loose or corroded(even if they don't look like it)

Usually all it takes is to pull them off, clean them up with a wire brush(both the posts and the terminals, replace and tighten them down good and ti will fix your problem.

However, replacing the battery as you did, probably solved this issue like i said. Not a bad idea to replace it anyway assuming it was older.

Good to know and I will keep it in mind if it happens to me again. What is the shelf life on a car battery though? This, I believe, was the original batter on a 2004 Buick Rainier with 85K miles on it.

 

[eclark53520]

Good to know and I will keep it in mind if it happens to me again. What is the shelf life on a car battery though? This, I believe, was the original batter on a 2004 Buick Rainier with 85K miles on it.

Yeah, probably about time to change it anyway 5-6 years is about normal, you can take them further but you start pushing it after that.

 

[mddubya]

You can test your alternator yourself. Just crank up the vehichle and let it idle. While its running take off the negative battery cable. If the alternator isn't putting out a charge at all, or not enough, the car will go dead.

 

[BigJim13]

You can test your alternator yourself. Just crank up the vehichle and let it idle. While its running take off the negative battery cable. If the alternator isn't putting out a charge at all, or not enough, the car will go dead.

That's why I love this forum! It's so much more than golf!

The car has been in and out of the shop for the last 3 months or so. First it was brakes, then there were some transmission hoses that were leaking. My mechanic told me to spend the $200 and get them fixed or I would be spending $2500 for a new transmission-no brainer there. Then ther serpentine belt which is no biggie. Through all that our check engine light had been going on and off. We had our mechanic look at it and he said it had something to do with the air pump that is in the back of the car. If you don't know the rainier comes with an air compressor that you can use to blow up small tires and other small jobs. he said it wasn't major and when we had some cash we could look at it. After disconnecting the battery that light hasn't been back on! I still plan on getting it checked out but I guess when you take the battery out it resets everything...