Bad Battery?

[kustom play]

so out of no where ive noticed my car chugging to start

im think ahh, i must have left a switch on no biggy, it started and i check the switches and nothing so thats kinda odd

drove around the whole day parked the car came out tonight and it was chugging again to start

so i checked with a meter and it was at 13.4 running but as soon as i turned the car off it was dropping fast down 12 then 11 and this is like watching a countdown

first i thought maybe the alternator wasn't charging right but when i start the car again it goes back up to 13-14 range so the alt is running fine

could the battery just take a dump like that? worst part is the car has like 36,500 on it now so its just out of warranty...

[Brian]

Have you checked the indicator on your battery? You can take your battery to an auto
parts store and have it tested. Sometimes they can just go bad.

[IllusionX]

try turning it to "ON" for a few sec before you start cranking. 11-12v is normal for a battery when the car is not started. there is a reason why the battery says 12v anyways.

if it drops below 11, your car shouldn't even be starting.

[yaris-me]

Time for a new battery.

[kustom play]

yea im taking it in to be tested today

im just a little mad it happened like 500 miles out of warranty

[RedRide]

yea im taking it in to be tested today

im just a little mad it happened like 500 miles out of warranty

If the only problem I had after 36k is a bad battery, I would consider myself lucky. :smile:

A battery is basically consider a "wear" item like brakes or a clutch and their life span can vary considerably.

Anyway, if your battery is bad consider getiing an "Optima red top"
I have one in my Celica and really love it.

For a cheaper soloution got to Auto Zone and get a "Duralast" battery as it is also very good.

The Optima and the Duralast are both made by the same company, "Johnson Controls"

[kustom play]

yea I took it in to autozone and the battery was bad. I picked up a duralast red top

i have a duralast yellow top in my mr2 and loved it so figured i would go with duralast!

[Jem_hadar]

Whats the price range like on new batteries?

[kustom play]

like 80 bucks for a good one

[yaris-me]

$56 at Costco.

[YarisSedan]

awwww now would be the perfect time to upgrade to a braille battery