Went to start the 2004 after sitting a couple of weeks and no juice..none...no dome light...dead.
so i figured dead battery. I put my (pretty old) charger on it and it did nothing on the 2A setting, so i flipped the switch momentarily to the 10am setting and the needle bounce all over and the car started making clicking noises. Thinking it might be the charger, I put it on my Honda SUV and it worked fine. I certainly don't mind going to get a new battery, but am concerned about what I saw and heard. Does this just sound like a completely dead battery or do i have another problem. Car is 2.5 years old and has 8,000 miles...no corrosion of any kind (that i can see), but i have not pulled the battery yet.

 

oh, follow up...what FITS as exact replaement, size/brand?

 

From what you've described you have a dead cell in the battery. Many times in my life I've had batteries go bad and were able to jump them and the car started right up. Two times however no matter what I did, jumped, charger, charger with starter mode, commercial charger would do nothing more than you've described above.

Neither battery "showed" signs of being bad. On the outside they looked brand new but on the inside they were shot. Think of them as a healthy looking human but with a cholesterol level of about 600, great on the outside, dead on the inside...

As long as your car wasn't exhibiting any other symptoms, buy yourself a new battery with a battery pad and you'll be fine.

 

Been here down that... Cell is not dead but battery is VERY VERY LOW...

I had the same thing occurr to me a couple years ago before I started using a trickle charger/slow charger on an everyday basis. I have what sounds like the same charger you do (2AMPs/10AMPs) and when I put it on the vette once it did EXACTLY the very same thing.. needle bouncing, ticking noise (Front and BACK!) and I was wondering WTF myself... However, I was stubborn and left it on and after maybe a minute or two, the ticking stopped and the battery began to charge normally... Left it on and she was fine... It simply was extremely DEAD!!

My advice? Remove the cables and charge her up for at least a day or two and then you'll be good to go again. Take it out if you want to to make sure she doesn't emit anything and you have a mess but I doubt it will be a problem. (JMHO)

To test the cells after she's charged, use a volt meter and it should be more than 12.4 or 12.6 volts with nothing draining or adding to it. Anything less and you will indeed need a new battery...

Let us know.


BTW, I assumed afterwards the ticking was something in the fuel tank, fuel pump? and maybe the alternator or something in the engine compartment? I was worried that when I charged the battery and they were taking the juice right back out like that and ticking so loudly that I might damage something, (also why the needle on the charger was bouncing.) If it ever happens again, I'll unhook the battery first, then charge it to keep this from happening.

 

The clicking sounds are coming from multiple relays. Some in the engine compartment and some inside the car. They can really make a racket.

 

Pull the battery and check for corrosion.
Check the cable contacts for corrosion.

When I let the car sit for a while I put my battery tender on the battery. (mine's a Sears) Sounds to me that if you don't need a new battery right now, you will soon.

 

The experience I had on my 04 is much like BobbyG described. If I let the car set for a couple of weeks, the car would not even crank. The clock and other instruments would light up but the clock would be two or three hours slow from the actual time.

Because it was an 04 and still under warranty, I took it to the local dealer who tested it under load and determined it had a bad cell. Long story short: the dealer replaced the battery under warranty and it works great now. Because yours is an 04 there's no use buying a new battery if you can get it replaced free. Good luck.

 

You more than likely have got a new batt. or charged yours by now. If not put the charger on at 2A and let it slow charge overnight or until it shows a full charge. Should have a light on charger to let you know. You can charge at 10A but a slow charge is better on the batt. You can also charge it at 10A for 5-10 min. then jump start it. Sometimes a compleatly dead batt. won't jump.

 

Can't say enough about Battery Tender. I use it whenever the car isn't going to be driven the next day or longer.

 

Ahh makes sense, I never made the connection! () Thanks!

 

me too,buy a battery tender .

 

Don't know where you are, but around here you can take the car to your local Kragen auto parts, and they will test the electrical system (in the car, for free.)

 

I got the Optima redtop 34/78 and it fit my 2000 perfect.

 

Same deal at Auto Zone. Pull the battery and take it in for testing. I know my local Auto Zone uses a Battery Tender battery tester. This will tell you if the battery is good or bad and if good can fully charge the battery in a matter of hours. My bet is that you will need a new battery. Good luck with it.