2004 Impala Electrical Problem

Oct 31, 2009 6 Replies
J

My Impala has been running (and starting) with no problems. Today, I tried to start the car and things started "popping" all round, the lights etc sagged, and I quit trying. I checked the battery voltage (about 12.5 V), and tried again. The voltage sagged to about 8, the popping went on again. I figured that the low voltage caused the computer to do strange things (the popping), so I checked the battery water level. One cell was quite low, so I filled it. (BTW, this is a two-year-old battery). I charged the battery to full charge (6 amps for about 2 hours), and tried again. The car started fine, over several attempts, and I am now monitoring the battery voltage. For a while, I was sure that I had a starter problem, but now I'm not so sure. So here are my questions: could a low water level in one cell cause a battery to act like this? Could a low or fluctuating battery voltage cause the "popping" What else could be wrong?



TIA for any help. I've asked for help on this group several times in the past, and have never been disappointed.



Jim Thomas


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T

Jim Thomas wrote in news:8426436d-8859-4f42-bc87- snipped-for-privacy@m7g2000prd.googlegroups.com:

Engine OFF, turn the headlights on for five minutes. Turn the lights off again, then wait another five minutes. Now check the voltage across the terminals.

What do you find? And be PRECISE in your reportage. "About 12.5V" isn't good enough to tell anything from it.

If you get less than 12.65V, then the battery isn't holding a charge anymore, or your alternator/voltage regulator has a problem.

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J

-

Voltage after sitting overnight- 12.45V Engine on charging voltage- 14.25V (Charged for about 5 minutes) Engine off, lights on for 5 minutes- 11.56V Lights off, after 5 minutes- 12.17V

Might be a battery problem as you say, but I still wonder if a low battery would cause all the noise and lights that I got yesterday trying to stsrt.

Jim Thomas

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T

Jim Thomas wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@k13g2000prh.googlegroups.com:

Charging system is good.

Your battery is basically dead; it will not hold a charge.

but I still wonder if a low

Very likely, yes.

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S

That sure is a bad battery, all right.

What you heard were a lot of things trying to turn on, which couldn't because the battery voltage had dropped to damn near nothing once the starter was turned on.

--scott

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B

I'd bet a dozen good donuts that a new battery will fix the popping for several years.

2 delco batteries in one days posts! Dont these things come in 3's? Ben
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J

This wasn't a Delco, but an Autolite. I replaced the battery; no popping so far, I'll let you all know if this happens again within "a few years" ;) Thanks to all.

Jim

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