Chuck Norcutt wrote:
> Speaking of emissions controls, one of the unexpected adventures upon my
> return was to find that the older car left sitting in the driveway felt so
> neglected that it shorted its battery internally during my absence.
I've had a strange thing happening with my '95 Olds convertible. Back in
late May, the battery started failing. No big deal, as it was at the end
of its warranty life, 7 years, I think.
In early June, I put in a new Autolite Platinum 96 month battery. In
less than two months, I go out one day and the car is dead, really,
really dead, flatlined. I attach the charger, it eats amps like crazy,
gets rather hot and doesn't charge above about 6v. Off I go and get a
free replacement.
I think maybe something in the car was left on for a few days, draining
and killing the battery. So I put an ammeter on it. When first hooked
up, there is a changing drain of under one amp for a few seconds. Then
it settles down to a few milliamps. Simple checks with a voltmeter show
the charging system is delivering correct voltage.
Everything is fine for, wait for it, two months, again. Again, I come
out to find the car dead, dead, dead. Battery is down to about 3-4v.
This time it will charge, but only up to 11v, and one spot gets hotish.
Only one shorted cell this time.
Back for another replacement. Of course, this is a GM car, and a
convertible, so the battery is under the WW fluid tank, a stiffening
strut and an electrical block. And the battery hold down bracket also
supports the air filter housing. However, I'm getting quite adept at the
switch by now.
As part of the switch, I again check current drain. After the switch, I
go back and have them run a charging system test, which passes
perfectly. I ask the guy if they have had others of this brand/model
battery coming back - not that he noticed (which may mean nothing).
Will this go on, every two months, until the two year free replacement
warranty period is up? Next time would be around the second week of
December. At least I now have a copy of their own charging system test
showing it's OK. Fortunately, it doesn't snow around here.
Anybody have a clue what might be going on?
Moose
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