car battery

How old is the battery? Are the cable connections clean? Have you tested or had the battery tested? The jump starters are great for emergency use such as statrting after someone inadvertently left the lights on , not to solve an ongoing problem such as a failed or failing battery.

Most OEM Toyota batteries need to have water added occasionally (even though they may claim to be maintenance free).

In addition to that allready said, get your alternator checked for output capability. While its true an alrm light should indicate if the altenator is faulty, they sometimes do not. One quick and rough way to check your car's alternator performance is to switch on all elecrtical accessories one by one with the engine revs up a bit, say 1500 RPM. The blower fan on high will give you an indiction if the altenator is below maximum output rating. Typically the noise the blower makes will drop in speed if the alt is failing to support the cars electrical acessories. Some reduction can be normal,...a large reduction is not.

This type of altenator fault can manifest as a low battery.

Jason

In news:gnqxb.27$ snipped-for-privacy@news.uswest.net, Mark A being of bellicose mind posted:

When it says Maintenance Free with the little charge indicator "eye" on the top AND... there are absolutely no caps on the top of the battery case ... the battery is in fact maintenance free. Delphi batteries ARE maintenance free.

I agree with that. But what I said is also correct. The Panasonic battery that came with my Toyota has the little charge indicator "eye", but it accepts additional water (distilled only). There are many batteries that are labeled "maintenance free" that accept water. Sometimes you have to peel back the label to see the caps for adding more water. As you mentioned, some batteries are completely sealed.

If battery is over 3 years old - buy a new one and replace it. Jumping a car can zap costly electronics --- ever see a battery explode due to incorrect jumping? Sulfuric acid on paint, your skin and eyes is not a pretty sight. If fairly new clean the terminals and check the water level (add distilled water only!)