Of Car Batteries...and Life

An-D

But mostly car batteries.

Recently, after putting almost 1300 dollars into my car for various maintenance, my car's battery has started to fade (I can't help but think that this has something to do with the new car radio I had put in). Well, needless to say, I'm not positive I have the cash to put another 50-70 dollars for a new battery in my car (living on my own etc etc).

It works fine when I jump the car, just doesn't turn back over when I turn it off again. The first time it happened, I ended up driving for a while and it turned on fine after that. Second time, it hasn't happened, but I haven't had time to really *drive* it long while jumped.

So, I know that driving will charge a battery (my limited understanding of the matter), but if the battery is just old can what I am suggesting still work? Give it a jump, and drive 20-miles-ish to charge and hope it keeps its charge? I'll have money for a new one in like a week or two, but getting around is still pretty imperative in my area (walking 2-miles up mountains, on crappy, tiny roads to campus everyday is getting old pretty fast)


Dunno if this means anything:

Other Tiny Details:

There is a sticker on the side of the battery that says 3/2003...which I guess is either when it was put in or when it needed to replaced...I really don't remember

Car Type:

I drive a 1995 Suzuki Sidekick

Any help on the matter would be great...

Pheezer

If your radio is drawing more current than the alternator can supply while charging the battery, you're going to need to also have that turned off while you're driving around. The DeLoreans had that as a design flaw for a while and I think it was Johnny Carson that ended up stranded on a highway because of it.

I don't know enough about cars to give really great advice on the subject, but if you're suspicious, I'd try to check out how much current the radio draws and how much the alternator supplies.

Now if this is the original battery from 1995 though, I could see it just being dead. After $1300 in maintenance, a battery is pretty cheap by comparison.

An-D

The new radio definitely is something I'm suspicious of, but the problem didn't start happening until recently. I got it installed with all the repairs back home (repairs occurred January 2nd after brake failure New Years Eve...fun stuff), and it worked fine until...well, the last week or so. I'll see if I can figure that out, I think I have the radio box somewhere in my car.

I know that battery has been replaced at least once, but for the life of me I can't remember when. I keep thinking early 2003, but that might just because of that vague sticker.

So radio off, drive and see what the alternator can do.


(And yeah, the battery 'cheap' by comparison, but 1300 car repairs+rent+utilities+living supplies = bill too big for me to deal with right now...but as I said, I just want a cheap/free fix until I can throw money at it in a week or so. I like the philosophy of 'maybe it'll fix itself.' )

Pheezer

Keep a pair of booster cables with you, then. If nothing else, so long as you know how to hook up booster cables, you can usually avoid a tow truck that way. Which is important if you're into not spending money right now.

An-D

Haha, yeah. Booster Cables were a birthday gift I got when I was like 16 and I thought 'Pssh, I'm never going to need these' and they have proven their worth four-fold between me jumping my friends or getting jumped myself.

Thanatos

I have two sets of jumper cables in my trunk, just in case one stops working at some point.

Pheezer

...

how are the jumper cables going to stop working?

Thanatos

DrDizaster wrote: »

...

how are the jumper cables going to stop working?

They're surprisingly easy to melt.

Listen, I have to jump my car a lot, okay? :P

An-D

Thanatos For Real wrote:

They're surprisingly easy to melt.

Really? Like, from battery-jumping or from being left in the car on hot days? Mine are fine and I must've jumped a dozen people/been jumped a few times...

fuelish

Put a multimeter on the battery. Motor off across the terminals you should see 13-14 volts, any less indicates a bad cell. Motor running you should see 15-16 volts even at idle. If the reading does not jump the alternator has an issue. However with a five year old battery it is probably ready for the bin anyway.

Thanatos

An-D wrote: »

Thanatos For Real wrote:

They're surprisingly easy to melt.

Really? Like, from battery-jumping or from being left in the car on hot days? Mine are fine and I must've jumped a dozen people/been jumped a few times...

Let me put it this way: when you've got the cables hooked up to one battery, don't let the other ends touch.

fuelish

Ideally you would hook up the two positve clamps first, then grounds, grounding to the block on the dead car. I never do it this way. I hook up both leads on the dead car then both leads on the hot car.
You can buy a delux crappy twelve month battery for 25 buckish.

flatlinegraphics

there are a bunch of places that can test your battery and alternator for cheap/free.
http://www.advanceautoparts.com/english/services/services.asp
which has a location near you (asuming your location is correct on your avatar):
http://advanceauto.know-where.com/advance-auto-parts/cgi/site?site=06555&address=%3a%3aCullowhee%3a%3aNC%3a%3a&design=default&lang=en&mapid=US
may not solve the problem, but they can test the battery and the alt to make sure they are working right. then you can narrow down if its a bad alt, a bad battery, or the new stereo is drawing more juice than the car can provide.

Thanatos

fuelish wrote: »

Ideally you would hook up the two positve clamps first, then grounds, grounding to the block on the dead car. I never do it this way. I hook up both leads on the dead car then both leads on the hot car.
You can buy a delux crappy twelve month battery for 25 buckish.

I tend to hook up the ground first. But that's the paranoid talking.

fuelish

Thanatos For Real wrote: »

fuelish wrote: »

Ideally you would hook up the two positve clamps first, then grounds, grounding to the block on the dead car. I never do it this way. I hook up both leads on the dead car then both leads on the hot car.
You can buy a delux crappy twelve month battery for 25 buckish.

I tend to hook up the ground first. But that's the paranoid talking.

I thought on this before I posted(It has been a long time since I boosted in a professional capacity) but as I remember it is +dead to +hot, then -hot to -dead(clamping to the block) And I just checked Edmunds, I win.
In reality I clamp the + cable to its self and lay it on the ground, then hook up the dead car, then hook up the hot car.

An-D

So I broke down and got a new battery at Autozone (ended up costing about 90 dollars...but its okay, because the money fairy finally came and now I have money again) and it worked fine...until today.

Same problem as before, I try to crank up, I get that click and all the lights in the dashboard die all at once. So...methinks its an alternator issue. How much am I looking at for getting that fixed/replaced? There are like hundred-thousand mechanics out here, so a nice, low competitive price should (hopefully) be easy to find.

Advice? I, like everyone else, hate getting ripped off when I have to deal with stuff I only have elementary knowledge of.

Thanatos

Ask around for good local mechanics. Word of mouth is about the best way to find someone.

Ruckus

Probably a short. Whoever installed your stereo might of screwed up the wiring somewhere, especially if you have a big amp.

KMFurDM

Could be your alternator. You'll have to get that tested to know for sure.

Costs...probably around a couple of hundred installed.

MPO...you have already spent way too much money fixing a 1995 Suzuki Sidekick.

An-D

So, go to Autozone again, get it tested and figure about $200 for replacement alternator? This wouldn't by any chance be something I could easily do on my own with the right tools and basic know-how (that I could probably find on the internet)?

And I had that discussion about spending too much money on my older car earlier today actually...as much as a logical fallacy it may seem, but I've spent *too* much money to *not* try to repair it. Before the 1300, I spent 2k a few years ago to put in a brand new engine. Right now, it just seems to be little fixes that don't bother me as much.

As far as the radio perhaps causing a short, I can probably just take it back to Best Buy (where I got radio installed at) and have them look at it. I got the warranty and some other stuff from them.

Pheezer

Looks like a new alternator would run about $100 anyhow. If you check your local junkyards you might be able to swing a pretty good deal on one. Problem is still replacing it.
It honestly seems pretty easy. You remove the belt, take off a few wires, remove some screws, do the swap and re-connect everything. I've never done it so I can't say but I'd imagine you'll need a set of proper jacks to lift the vehicle to get under it. Don't use your tire changing jack to work under your car, it's not safe.
Here's a tutorial on swapping in a more common GM alternator:
http://suzuki.off-road.com/suzuki/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=277641
You could probably save money getting the GM alternator from a junk yard if the Suzuki is nowhere to be found.

fuelish

As long as the alt is easy to get to they are easy to swap. Make sure it is bad first, check it with a meter your self or have a shop do it(The advance/zone guys will do it). Make sure the connections are clean and tight
It does sound like your stereo might be the issue. It could be drawing all the time and a big stereo could put a hurting on the battery. If you are not up on DC wiring find someone that is (Not the guy that installed it) and have them run a meter over your wiring.

An-D

On the radio, I didn't get a huge awesome one put in...quite literally I walked to the car radio portion of Best Buy and said: "Show me to your cheapest radio, sir!" It was like $50 with tax (my old radio didn't work at all). I still have the same speakers and whatnot. Might still be the radio, but just want to clear up that its not some huge stereo system.

Come Friday (next time I'll have a good chance), I'll head to Autozone ask them to multi-meter it....probably should've done that when I got the battery, but I was fairly certain I had solved the problem (ever the optimist). I'll fill you in as I know!

An-D

Got it tested and all that, and as predicted, its a bad alternator.

Brought it to the mechanic, and he can get it fixed up by Tuesday. Weird thing though, when I asked for a estimate on cost he made a call, checked the internet and came back to me with this little gem:

"It'll cost less than $256."

Seemed very...The Price Is Right-ish, which definitely gave me pause for a moment. A humorous moment, but a moment nonetheless.

Many thanks to everyone that helped!