NiGhtRx8er

The past couple days my battery keeps dying and every morning i have to jumpstart my car . The battery is only a year old. What could the problem be? Thanks for the help

Alexb

iTrader: (1)

The battery is probably bad... Get it tested

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Also make sure you don't have a drain somewhere - e.g. check your trunk lid is fully latched.

dillsrotary

plus check the alternator, it might not be recharging the battery.

Jedi54

iTrader: (7)

sounds like a drain somewhere.
do you have any recently installed hardware? (stereo equipment, car pc, etc?)

Check the trunk, it's the usual suspect in cases such as this. That trunk light will stay on ALL night and kill a battery.

When you drive the car, are there any warning lights on? If the battery light is on, that could point towards the alternator.

dozer

iTrader: (3)

yeah check your battery...i had gotten my gfs car a battery once and it only lasted 2 days...stupid battery, exchanged it and now everythings fine

jmc23200

lol You have to jump start your battery everyday and you don't know what the problem is lol

Go to autozone or any where and buy a new battery. They have 2-3 year warrantys and you can exchange them if it happens again. If you are not leaving any lights on in your car and the trunk is fully latched, your battery is the culprit. Besides, once a battery dies once it degrades a lot. Nevermind dying everyday, your battery is probably a paper weight at this point.

Two questions. 1) Are any lights being left on? 2) Did you install an aftermarket radio or amp? If answer is no and no, then most likely it is your battery and less likely is your alternator. Good luck.

EDZRIDE

iTrader: (1)

Load test the battery and check out the charging system after you eliminate all possible "draws".

NiGhtRx8er

I have nothing electronically thats after market. I checked the battery earlier theres alot of corrosion, that could be it. Thanks guys. Ill clean that up asap and jump start it again.

jmc23200

What kind of battery is it? Where did you buy it? Dude, your battery is toast. After killing it and jumping it multiple times, the battery will not perform like new or even close to it. You should really think about getting a new battery. Like I said before, buy a yellow top or red top optima form autozone and get the three year warranty. Every year I go in and swap the battery It would be a good test. If a new battery drains in your car then your alternator is shitting the bed. Then if the battery drains a few times because of a bad alternator, you can just get a new one ater you replace the alt.

BTW, when you drain your battery, these are some of the things that happen.

-significant and permanent capacity reduction when deeply discharged
-voltage decline early in the discharge curve (less cranking rpm when you most need it)
-free acid/corrosion/potential leakage

Razz1

Check the head lights at night.

Usually if the alternator is bad the lights will get brighter when you rev the engine.

Be careful, if you have a bad battery ( dead or almost dead ) it will do the same thing.

Edit: Cleaning the corrosion will not work. You also must charge the battery up to full otherwise you will have problems later if not now.

Nubo

first I'd get the battery and connections all cleaned up. Then If it's the kind of battery that takes water, make sure water level is correct. Add distilled water if needed.

Then, fully charge with a trickle charger.

Then, have the battery load-tested. Will tell you the health of the battery. All else is speculation. If it tests ok, you're good to reuse. If it's weak, Sears Diehard Platinum-Plus Group 35 is the bomb.

Check the dark-current useage of the car. Should be 50 milliamps or less. If high, you've got a drain somewhere and must find and correct it.

Check alternator belt tension. Check alternator output to verify charging system.


Shortcut approach: Replace the battery; it's likely toast. Get an AGM battery with deep-cycle capability. That means no corrosion ever, and will tolerate more abuse. Sears DieHard Platinum-Plus Group 35 is a re-branded Hawker-Odyssey; fantastic battery. Optima are not what they once were. If the car is fine thereafter, you're all done. If starting problem returns, then back to troubleshooting, but that battery will likely survive the insult and be fine once you fix the underlying problem.

lynn02

I had let my car sit over the week and went to start it on Saturday and dead battery. I bought a new battery and everything was good let it sit for a few days and dead again. While searching for people that have had a problem like mine, I ran across this post. I went and checked the trunk lid and indeed it was on. So, it's on the trickle charger and will check again tomorrow. Thanks for posting about the trunk lid. I was stumped and worried to drive my car.

Mazurfer

Trunk lid latch strikes again!
Happens more than you would think!

Razz1

That means... open up the pass through console to the trunk from the back seat.

Peak your head inside the trunk and you may see the trunk light is on.

04Green

iTrader: (1)

More Bad News..

If Battery is bad, it will take down the alternator. Get that tested as well. Or, the weak alternator will take down the new battery before it gives up totally. Then, your battery is weak, and will start hammering your alternator... Been there, done that.. Chased that problem with a Maxima until I replaced both at the same time.

Lifetime alternator at Autozone is $150.