What causes a car battery to go dead when you start it?

What causes a car battery to go dead when you start it?

What occurs is the battery cell connector works itself loose or develops a low impedance path to its adjacent cell. Everything will normally work perfectly and then you may stop for gas and turn off the motor. You then go to try and start the car and it has all the appearance of a completely dead battery.

What should I do if my battery won’t start?

If you run into this type of problem a cheap voltmeter can become your best friend. If you have no starting current, check the “open circuit” (ground cable removed) from the battery and the voltage checked at the battery’s terminals. It will almost always be normal. Reconnect the ground cable and re-check the voltage.

Why does my battery have intermittent starting difficulty?

If the battery has an intermittent inter-cell connector problem, the voltage will drop to very close to zero yet if the key is released the voltage will mysteriously go to nearly a full charge condition or whatever it was when the ground cable was reattached as mentioned earlier. I hope this is helpful.

What to do if your car battery is Charing?

What you need to do is start the engine, turn on the lights and the heated rear screen then check the battery voltage. If it is 13-14 volts, then the alternator is fine. Then get a new battery. I ended up doing exactly that and I got a little more than 14 volts. The alternator is charing the battery while running at least.

What causes a car battery to go dead when trying to start?

It will be completely dead because no power will be going from your battery to your starter. So if you’re trying to start your car and absolutely nothing is happening, check your connections. This problem can also be indicative of solenoid problems. 2. Corrosion Corrosion is another thing that can cause a bad connection to pop up.

What to do if your car battery won’t start?

Even if an ammeter (current-measuring device) says the battery is good, it can still be a few volts shy of what your vehicle needs to run efficiently. When you find yourself with a car that won’t crank hard enough to start, you’ll want to use jumper cables or a jump-starter box to get it running again.

If the battery has an intermittent inter-cell connector problem, the voltage will drop to very close to zero yet if the key is released the voltage will mysteriously go to nearly a full charge condition or whatever it was when the ground cable was reattached as mentioned earlier. I hope this is helpful.

What to do if your car battery is draining?

To investigate parasitic draw issues, see your favorite mechanic, or look at the last section of this article, and get ready to have fun with an ammeter or voltmeter, as these are the tools you’ll need to check your alternator, accessory lights, fuses, radio, alarm, and all other components that might be draining your battery in secret. 4.