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"New" battery fails

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Old Jan 18, 2020 | 09:23 PM
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Default "New" battery fails

My '98 refused to start. The battery was quite new (a few months old) and under warranty so I took it in to be tested. It was bad. They replaced it and all’s well.

[ I’m a driver with no mechanical skills so if this is an ignorant question I apologize. ]

I'm being told that there could be something wrong with the car that is causing a new battery to fail. If that is so, will running codes tell me what that would be? Thank you all.

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Old Jan 18, 2020 | 09:59 PM
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I've had new batteries fail.

If the car sits without a battery tender, is the battery draining? If so, how fast? It can be just normal drain that keeps the electronics alive - that's why they need tenders when they sit a lot. If it drains pretty fast, then the check is not that hard to do - sometimes seat switches get stuck or something else that would drain it.
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Old Jan 18, 2020 | 10:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Ed Ramberger
I've had new batteries fail.

If the car sits without a battery tender, is the battery draining? If so, how fast? It can be just normal drain that keeps the electronics alive - that's why they need tenders when they sit a lot. If it drains pretty fast, then the check is not that hard to do - sometimes seat switches get stuck or something else that would drain it.
Yes the car does sit a lot. I don’t drive it often, sometimes it sits outside a couple weeks at a time or more. Will this cause a battery to "go bad"? Can a battery tender be used if the car sits outside? How is it hooked up on my '98?

Last edited by silverminevette; Jan 18, 2020 at 11:01 PM.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 12:37 PM
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If the car is going to sit unused for a couple of weeks just take the battery out and bring it inside and put it on the battery tender.
May take 15 or 20 minutes but it will keep the battery fresh and in good shape.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 01:11 PM
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Was the battery discharged or did the battery have a bad cell?
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 03:03 PM
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You could disconnect the negative battery cable. This way there would be no draw on the battery. A few years ago I stored my Corvette for the winter months (4 1/2 months) and there was no electrical outlet to plug in a battery maintainer. I disconnected the negative battery cable. When I took it out of storage it started right up.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 04:17 PM
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Originally Posted by STRMLNE
Was the battery discharged or did the battery have a bad cell?
They replaced it so I assume it was a bad cell. Sorry, quite ignorant here.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 04:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Grandpa1
If the car is going to sit unused for a couple of weeks just take the battery out and bring it inside and put it on the battery tender.
May take 15 or 20 minutes but it will keep the battery fresh and in good shape.
I’m a disabled older lady so that wouldn’t work for me. I’m getting to the point in my life where I'm beginning to feel it might be time to sell my beautiful car and just go with Uber.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 04:30 PM
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Since no one has replied that my car could be causing the battery to go bad (other than sitting idle) can I assume that is not a concern? Thanks for all your replies so far.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 04:36 PM
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Originally Posted by Rick369
You could disconnect the negative battery cable. This way there would be no draw on the battery. A few years ago I stored my Corvette for the winter months (4 1/2 months) and there was no electrical outlet to plug in a battery maintainer. I disconnected the negative battery cable. When I took it out of storage it started right up.
This might be a possibility for me. A pia every time I need to drive, but at least I would know it will start. Thank you.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 05:10 PM
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Originally Posted by silverminevette
They replaced it so I assume it was a bad cell. Sorry, quite ignorant here.
not necessarily. Also, how many days between starts? You’re asking a question without giving enough info.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 06:55 PM
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Originally Posted by STRMLNE
not necessarily. Also, how many days between starts? You’re asking a question without giving enough info.
It really varies. I might drive it a couple times a week or not for 2 or 3 weeks.

Would it help to just start it and let it idle awhile or just quick drive it so often to keep it charged?
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 08:10 PM
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Originally Posted by silverminevette
It really varies. I might drive it a couple times a week or not for 2 or 3 weeks.

Would it help to just start it and let it idle awhile or just quick drive it so often to keep it charged?
so you’ve gone 3 weeks without driving it and it started fine? This is so confusing.
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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 08:47 PM
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Originally Posted by STRMLNE
so you’ve gone 3 weeks without driving it and it started fine? This is so confusing.
I think this last time was the longest. Not sure exactly how long before that. I’m sorry. I wasn’t concerned and didn’t keep tract.
Me = dumb......

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Old Jan 19, 2020 | 09:12 PM
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It's always best to start your car and let it warm up to normal operating tempateure at least once a week, if not you can purchase a battery tender and an adapter cable that plugs into the cars cigarette lighter if the car is going to sit for long periods of time. And to answer your question about your car causing the battery to fail, yes it's possible if the car has excessive current drain when it is parked, you would have to take it to a shop and have them check for that condition.
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Old Jan 20, 2020 | 01:07 AM
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Originally Posted by mmartinez
It's always best to start your car and let it warm up to normal operating tempateure at least once a week, if not you can purchase a battery tender and an adapter cable that plugs into the cars cigarette lighter if the car is going to sit for long periods of time. And to answer your question about your car causing the battery to fail, yes it's possible if the car has excessive current drain when it is parked, you would have to take it to a shop and have them check for that condition.
Thank you so much for that information. And what would cause excessive current drain?

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Old Jan 20, 2020 | 10:25 AM
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Excessive current drain can be caused by a number of things, stuck switch on power seat, or bad seat module, headlight module, Bose speaker amplifier, the BCM module, and the alternator as well. A good shop should be able to determine if your car has excessive current drain and if so what is causing it.
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Old Jan 20, 2020 | 11:02 AM
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I would guess that since they replaced the battery that it was actually a bad battery..... and less likely caused by your car..... just try your new battery, and if no issues, ....... life is good :-)

(and have a pair of jumper cables in your car for now)

Joel

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Old Jan 20, 2020 | 04:08 PM
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Old Jan 20, 2020 | 04:10 PM
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Originally Posted by Joel88
I would guess that since they replaced the battery that it was actually a bad battery..... and less likely caused by your car..... just try your new battery, and if no issues, ....... life is good :-)

(and have a pair of jumper cables in your car for now)

Joel
not necessarily. I’ve had pep boys hand me brand new batteries many times just because they didn’t want to have it sit in a charger and have me come back (and all the cells were fine).

Last edited by STRMLNE; Jan 20, 2020 at 04:10 PM.
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