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.
Car Battery Covered in Snow Shorted
Feb 10, 2013
4 Replies
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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