1992 Volvo 240 dead battery

Winter is difficult for batteries. When they get cold they produce less current. A cold car is also more difficult to turn over.

One of the worst things that can be done to a battery is to let it go dead andd stay in that state. Batteries are happiest at full charge. If this is the same battery and it has been allowed to go dead this many times then it probably needs replacing.

The best alternative is to wire a trickle charger to the battery with an easy-to-access lead. Plug it in each time after it is parked if possible. Thre are lots of new chargers with logic that keeps them from over-charging the battery.

As far as a home battery tester for curent, not worth the investment. Try putting a voltmeter on it when it is cranking.

__ __ Randy & \ \/ /alerie's \__/olvos '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate "Shelby" & "Kate"

Assuming you don't have an unusual current drain - the glovebox light staying on is a common one - the most likely explanation is that the car isn't being driven enough to recharge the battery, which loses power to various circuits even when it's off. This is more of a problem in Winter, because of diminished battery capacity in cold weather. If it isn't losing extra power, then it either needs a longer drive once a week (and remember to turn off all the power accessories before shutting off the engine), or a battery maintainer.

sanworker wrote:

If you have a multimeter, then set it to DC Amps, disconnect one of the battery cables and connect it through the meter to the battery and see how much draw you have with everything off.

If you don't have that, the first thing to check is the glove box light, if the door gets tweaked the light can stay on and drain the battery, same with the under hood and trunk lights.

It's also possible that the battery is simply worn out.

One simple check is to remove the caps or strips from the top of the battery, turn on the head lights for a minute or two and have a helper crank the engine. If there is a weak cell it will bubble. If the battery is over four years old it probably won't hold a very deep charge. If it has been drained flat from sitting more than a couple times it won't recharge properly. The parasitic draw if you measure it as suggested earlier should be in the neighborhood of 100mA DC give or take (doors shut, all accesssories off, key in your pocket).

Bob

Remembering not to crank the engine when the ammeter is in the circuit!

(I'm thinking the car battery is shot.)

Mike

I don't know where you are but if you're in Canada take a look at Canadian Tire for a solar trickle charger:

On Wed, 26 Oct 2005 20:38:10 +1000, the illustrious "John Robertson" favored us with the following prose:

That was my first response. I also have a 240...an 84 turbo that I bought new. I made another response to the original poster about how the car is parked.

Make sure that the trunk lite is going off when the car is parked. I don't know what your particular situation is while the car is parked, but I still have my '84 two door Turbo (Just turned 189K) that used to get parked in front of my house, sometimes for two or three days at a time. The battery used to go dead during that time until I discovered that the trunk lite wasn't going off. When I lived in Los Angeles, I lived on one of those streets where a lot of old silent films were made...VERY steep street. While facing down the hill, it was just like the trunk was opened about a foot or two if the vehicle was to be parked on level ground. Have your wife get in the trunk and slam it. I'll leave the rest up to you....