dead battery

Your *BEST* move at this point it to put a proper battery charger on it

*BEFORE* trying to drive. Depending on your alternator's capabilities, a low/dead battery can put excess strain on the alternator, causing it to fail as it tries to supply far more juice than it was designed for in an effort to charge the dead battery.

If you let it sit for a while, it *MIGHT* "come back" enough to get a start, but as mentioned above, the stress on the alternator is going to be heavy, perhaps fatally heavy, until the battery is properly "topped off". Having said that, yes, if the alternator survives, it will recharge as you drive. I would advise against this, if it can be avoided. (And no, this isn't "friend of a friend" - I've personally had alternators puke from exactly this scenario)

Drawing it down low enough for you to be asking the question also shortens the overall life of the battery in most cases. (Exceptions being deep-cycle type batteries, which are built a bit differently than "not deep-cycle" ones, and stand up to deep discharge better)

So once again, your best bet is to put it on a proper charger and top it up completely, then do your driving.

I just worry about charging it because i'm clueless with cars. How long would a charge take? I read that it isnt safe with electrical ignition cars (or something like that), anyone know if an old Plymouth Labaron from 86 has an electrical ignition system?

If the alternator dies the car would just stop going i guess? is an alternator more expensive then a battery charger?

thanks a milli> >

Yes sometimes a battery will come back up enought to start car. But remove and recharge the battery before driving.

A good battery should charge back up. But it is not safe to use the cars alternator to recharge a dead battery. It can overload and fry the alternator doing that. Remove the battery and have it charged and tested. And always remove neg battery cabel first and hook it up last. If it charges back up and test ok put it back in and go. Good Luck MT

Done properly, charging the battery is no more hazardous to the ignition than driving the car. If you have any doubts (and don't care about having to reset your radio presets, clock, etc) pull the *BLACK* cable off the battery post before hooking up the charger. How long it takes depends on the charger and exactly how flat the battery is when you start the charging process - Some can give you a fully topped up battery in half an hour. Others are "overnight" units. Still others fall somewhere in between.

No, the battery stops charging, and you're right back where you were when you woke up and found it dead this morning. If the battery is low enough *AND* the alternator craps out, then yes, the engine will stop.

Just slightly...

Cheap but functional battery charger: $20 - possibly less.

Replace an alternator: $60-$120, or more, depending on source, brand, reman vs. new, etc, for the part. Guess-timate another $60-ish and an hour or so for a shop to put it in for you. If you've got any decent wrenching skills (sounds like not since you claim to be clueless) you could save the install charge by doing it yourself - It's not that hard, really - usually two bolts, a nut, and a plug-in connector. Sometimes just the two bolts and the plug-in connector.

Here's the best part, its labour day so I can't buy a charger and tomorrow the car has to be moved or I get a ticket. This is perfect. After 1 hour after turning the lights off the electric locks still don't work. That seems like a bad sign for it starting to work on its own, what do you think?

Ain't that always the way? :-P

If you've got a freind who can give you a jump-start, and has some time on his hands, have him hook up as for a jump, then just leave the vehicles sitting there (with his running, preferably slightly "wound up" (about 1800-2500 RPM) ) for an hour or so. That should get enough of a charge into your battery to take most of the worry out of "just drive it until it recharges". Not *ALL*, but *MOST*.

*VERY* bad, I'd say. Sounds like you don't have a battery anymore - it's so flat you've actually got a pancake...

Look into getting somebody to jump you, or pull the battery and hoof it down to the local Kragen's, Autozone, NAPA, etc. and ask 'em to put it on the tester. (Assuming there's one open somewhere nearby)

Ok, well if the battery is dead, which it appears to be, there can't be any p[oint in buying a charger or getting a boast right? Since its not gonna save the battery. Isn't my only option to tow it or to buy a battery and install it myself? Which I wouldn't feel safe doing.

The battery is empty *NOW*. Same as when you run out of gas, your gas tank is empty *NOW*. But unless you know there's a hole in it, you don't go out and buy a new gas tank 'cause you ran out of gas, do you? Why would you do so with a battery that's in essentially the same situation? Both can be "filled up" and return to being useful, despite the battery commonly being termed "dead".

On the other hand, if I were to punch a screwdriver through the bottom of your gas tank and let it drain, not only is it empty, but it's broken too. *THAT* would be when you go looking for a new gas tank.

There's no "screwdriver hole" in your battery - It just "ran out of gas". "Fill 'er up" and keep on driving.

Thanks Don, as I said I'm clueless with these things. SO the cheapest charger I've found is about 70 bucks. I'll buy that and hope for the best. Do I have to remove the battery from the car? Is it simple enough that the instructions will be enough for me?

You're a life saver.

It sometimes works, but don't expect anything.

It depends on whether it's a no-maintenance or low-maintenance battery. Both can have removable caps, but low-maintenance types are better at withstanding accidental deep discharges, while no-maintenance batteries may survive only 1 deep discharge. Batteries made by Delco (no removable caps), Exide (rounded corners on caps), and Eveready (45-degree bevels at corners) are no-maintenance, while almost everything from Johnson Controls (caps have 45-degree bevels at corners or are flush with the top) are low-maintenance. Even if a jump start gets you going, connect a charger to the battery, preferrably an automatic one with an ammeter on it. A 10 amp automatic charger should restore the battery in roughly 5 hours, and the current should eventually taper down to less than 1A. Leave it on for several more hours, and if the current stays that low the battery is probably all right, but if it won't go below 2-3 amps you need a replacement. If you have a voltage meter that isn't a cheap analog one (but cheap digital meters are fine), with any charger disconnected, measure the voltage with the headlights on and the engine off. A good battery will stay above 12V, while a bad one will drop to 10V.

Sears, Wal-mart, Kmart, Autozone, Pep Boys, Checker/Kragen/Shuck's should have 10 amp automatic ones for $40-60. For any charger rated above 3A, you want automatic since it greatly reduces the likelihood of damaging the battery by overcharging it. Try

or the web sites of such stores.

No. Just be sure to connect the red clamp to the positive terminal, the negative to the negative terminal, and do this before plugging in the AC power because you don't want any sparks near the battery. Also unplug the AC power before disconnecting the charger from the battery. If the charger has only a 2-wire AC cord, I strongly suggest plugging it into a wall outlet protected by a GFCI for shock protection, but if you don't have one a plug-in GFCI can be bought for about $15 (Home Depot sells them next to their extension cords). Don't try starting the car with the battery charger connected or the charger may be damaged.

What makes you think it would work on it's own? If the battery is dead, it isn't going to somehow take energy out of the air and charge itself.

--scott

No, it isn't, but a battery that isn't *TOTALLY* kaput can and will recover somewhat from being drained if the drain is removed. Whether that recovery is enough to be useful for anything is a whole different question, but it does occur.

Hmmm.... I'd think just boost it and let it run for a little while.... Isn't that what most people do??

snipped-for-privacy@hotmail.com wrote:

According to people on this forum that runs the risk of blowing the alternator.

Zteve20 wrote:

Ok... so if I try this I need to have both cars running or just his car?

OK, that does it. You've *GOT* to be trolling, right?

On the rapidly slimming chance that you're on the level... THINK ABOUT IT! If you can start your car so as to have both of them running to put a charge on your battery, why do you want a jump in the first place??? HELLOOOOO!!!!!

If you're actually not trolling, *PLEASE* ask the next salesman you encounter which aisle stocks common sense. The last two posts I've seen from you indicate a severe shortage of it in your thinking patterns.

I have thought the same thing myself throughout this entire thread. I have jumped probably 20 cars in my life due to leaving lights on, whatever. I can't say they have all been *dead*, but I know at least twice they were. I had a friend jump me, I let it run for a couple of minutes, disconnected from their battery, and never blew an alternator.

Regards,

Steve

Well, sure, if you do something stupid. But whatever risk may exist is a lot lower than the risk of having your car impounded.

--scott