Bad battery or????? Strange electrical adventure

Whole system goes dead. No lights, no radio. Dead. Then it comes back. Figured battery. This morning it went off (dead) when I was in the middle of parking at a restaurant. Open the hood, shook the battery and it came back to life.

Took the battery back to Walmart (I know, I know) and they could find no problem. I know its unlikely, but /could/ it be something else?

TIA for any input.

Reply to
F.H.
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In what kind of vehicle...

Reply to
75yrs.experience

First things first - check the battery connections. Then the cables. An intermittent intercell connection would not be the first one - but would not be the first thing I assumed either.

When it is "dead" try a test light directly from post to post -( not clamp(or connector, or cable))

Reply to
clare

snipped-for-privacy@snyder.on.ca wrote in news:81okd71e0srlieqp94mc2nbhhjlopfh8b7@

4ax.com:

start by cleaning your batt. conections. sounds like a innertiment ground to me. KB

Reply to
Kevin Bottorff

Good advice. Checking connections is cheap, easy and generally the = last thing that people think about checking, me included.

Reply to
Guv Bob

that people think about checking, me included.

First thing a mechanic checks.Licenced mechanic since 1971

Reply to
clare

thing that people think about checking, me included.

Thanks for all the input. Sorry I forgot to mention 97 4.6 T-bird.

Connections are clean. It hasn't given me the dead no response reaction again but I think it will when I least expect it. I stashed a test light in the console. Found out something interesting about a Walmart warranty. The had already replaced the first on free after two years (three year full warranty). This one was exempt after one year because the warranty is 3 years total no matter how many batteries crap out (according to the manager).

Reply to
F.H.

MN12 T-Birds have a colorful electrical history, not as colorful as the Mark 8 but still colorful.

If the battery swap doesn't do it and the battery tray is clean check the cables at the starter motor, alternator, and then perhaps the ignition switch.

When I got my new 95 T-Bird LX 4.6 home from the dealer I spent some time rummaging thru the NHTSA recall and consumer complaint databases. At the time there were considerable complaints of fires. I went over and under the engine compartment and found a bunch of potential wiring harness wear points (direct contact with engine) and gently adjusted / tie wrapped or covered the spots as a precaution.

So far so good over the past 16 years.

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is always a great place to check for t-bird bug reports.

Reply to
Steve Stone

Thanks, much appreciated.

Reply to
F.H.

thing that people think about checking, me included.

That is the case with virtually ALL warrantys. You buy the item (battery in this case) and if it has a 3 year warranty and dies the day before the 3 years are up you get a new (battery) - with one day of warranty.

Reply to
clare

Live and learn.

Reply to
F.H.

From: snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net (F.H.)

Whole system goes dead. No lights, no radio. Dead. Then it comes back. Figured battery. This morning it went off (dead) when I was in the middle of parking at a restaurant. Open the hood, shook the battery and it came back to life. Took the battery back to Walmart (I know, I know) and they could find no problem. I know its unlikely, but /could/ it be something else? TIA for any input.

===> it's common for the battery acid to seep into those covered battery connectors over time and corrode them and they look good on a visual glance.

moving them around just breaks up the corrosion some under their protective cover and the cable makes contact and that is why you aren't having any troubles, but when you least expect it, the corrosion will build back up and you will left with a no power response.

most of the time, it's the positive lead. to be safe, it doesn't cost much for new battery cables and you're done with the problem.

look at the overall problem. you had a no power start up. shaking the battery brought everything back to life. took battery in - checked out fine - so what's left? answer - what is attached to the battery.....? battery cables....

another point to consider is that since this is a 1997 model, those cables have been exposed for 14 years of the chance for them to corrode..

hope this helps.

~ curtis

knowledge is power - growing old is mandatory - growing wise is optional "Many more men die with prostate cancer than of it. Growing old is invariably fatal. Prostate cancer is only sometimes so."

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Reply to
c palmer

Batterys bad. I've had 3 batteries in 5 yrs. do the same, internal connector failure.

2 Auto Zone and one Die Hard went the same way, smack it or jostle it and power comes back on, just like a UFO flew over. LOL And when the internal connector is making contact they will test good BTW. More common now with the "low lead" batteries of today.
Reply to
repairman54

I HAVE had an intermittent internal battery link - 2 in fact over 48 years. The first one blew the old rubber-case battery to bits. The last one left me sitting with a "dead" battery - I took it out and put it on the battery tester and it tested perfect. Put it back in the van, with all the cable connections checked, cleaned, and tested - and it worked - untill it died again the next day. Left it in the van and tested it again and it tested absolutely stone dead. Battery was open circuit.

Reply to
clare

Interesting - all "johnson controls" batteries, I believe. Mine was an Interstate Megatron - (also a Johnson Controls built battery)

Reply to
clare

Thanks. All good points to remember. I can't remember the last time I washed a car but under the hood is watched and maintained. The ground cable is near new. Some time ago I peeled back the insulation on the positive about an inch and soaked the cable end in baking soda and water. Still looks good. The battery did a repeat performance today and this time I just slapped the side of the battery and it came back to life. Looks like repairman 54 nailed it. Between the two Walmart batteries I got about 4 years so..., for what I paid I can't bitch.

Reply to
F.H.

Thanks. I checked out Auto Zone before I went back to Walmart and they had three levels of quality with different prices and warranties. Do you happen to recall from which group you bought your 2 batteries.

Reply to
F.H.

All these couch potato mechanics. The batteries are not what they used to be. Manufacturers put newspaper between the plates now. The batteries are junk to begin with. Peel back the insulation? I keep a 2 liter bottle of coke in the garage, once a month I pour some on the battery terminals. I have been doing this for 50 years, I NEVER have a problem with my battery..

Reply to
75yrs.experience

I don't know about couch potatoes but this n/g has been saving me time and money for years. I had heard of the Coke solution for loosening stuck bolts but not for acid and corrosion.

Reply to
F.H.

money for years. I had heard of the Coke

Works good to remove road tar from your windshield :-) My dad always had a large bottle of it whenever we went on long trips. Also worked great on (real) chrome bumpers (the steel ones, not this el cheapo plastic crap).

Reply to
SC Tom

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