My daughter's 2002 Chevy Malibu wouldn't start. The battery was so dead tha t the interior lights would not come on. I popped the hood and found that t he was a lot of wind swept snow under the hood and the battery was covered. The insulators on the terminals were gone, so I assume that since water/sn ow is a conductor, the battery shorted. Dose this make sense? I have never owned a car that had a problem with snow getting under the hood.
Maybe. Frozen water does not conduct. Acid laden water does but not enough to kill the battery. Is this the original battery? They are only good for about 5 years under decent conditions.
I think that AAA is going to look at it today. I might let them replace it.
I've had batteries last longer than that but as a rule of thumb you are correct. They're also less able to provide power the colder it gets outside - a battery that can work fine in the summer suddenly becomes marginal once it gets really cold.
Unfortunately, once a battery is deeply discharged, its capacity is reduced yet more simply by having been discharged, so replacement and a cursory electrical system check is probably in order.
nate
Just replaced my battery in my '01 ram van.. It was only 4 years old. The battery has also been run down several times since the van doesn't get driven very often which was probably why it only lasted 4 years. Now I have a battery disconnect switch attached when I'm not using it.
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