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Help! It's the old battery vs alternator question again.

My 2001 Kia Sephia suddenly went dead a couple of years ago. Got a new battery. Car ran fine. On Friday, suddenly my battery was dead, as expected. They don't last forever. I should have noticed as it was getting harder to start the car the first time every day.

I got a new battery on Friday and drove to several places. I drove the car on Saturday, it was fine. I didn't drive the car on Sunday. On Monday the new battery was dead.

I'll take the car and battery back today, to make sure that Les Schwab didn't give me a bum battery, or that they made the proper connections.

My first question: don't they check to make sure the alternator is not the problem when you buy a new battery? The symptoms were the same as the last time my battery went dead, but I thought they would have checked.

My second question: I'm unfamiliar with car repair places in Sacramento, what to look for and what is a reasonable price if it is the alternator. With part and labor, what's the reasonable cost?

I'd appreciate your reply.

Reply to
Ludmillia The Great
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Some (most?) places will just sell you a battery.

It sounds like your problem occurs when the car is sitting. It could be the battery or it could be something in the car is discharging the battery while it's sitting.

To check the alternator, with the battery fully charged and the car running, check the voltage across the battery posts. It should be ~14.

-- Christian

Reply to
CMM

Thanks, Christian. It turned out that all I had to do was to show up at Les Schwab with a big, nice man, and everything electrical checked out. They were much nicer, too!

The car ran fine yesterday and today, and I'm leaving the car alarm off to see if it's draining the battery. It had been set to a ridiculous sensitivity level and the car alarm place reset it to a better level.

But, sometimes the right stereo system in a passing car can wreak havoc around here. I think I'll get a fake led light, then use the system only when I need to.

Otherwise, I'll make sure to run the car every day to make sure that it charges the battery. Whew! I'm glad it's not new alternator time.

Your reply is greatly appreciated.

Reply to
Ludmillia The Great

Awesome. Hopefully that will work out for you. If not and you don't want the hassle of running the vehicle every day, you might consider a battery disconnect switch (you'll lose all your radio & clock settings, etc. each time it's used) or a trickle charger of some sorts.

-- Christian

Reply to
CMM

I've been thinking of getting one of those jump-start chargie thingies. So, here's the new question: What's a good make or model. Any pros and cons? (If it weighs more than 20 pounds, forget it!

Reply to
Ludmillia The Great

I've never used one. I imagine most any leading brand name would work. I don't think they're too heavy.

-- Christian

Reply to
CMM

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