my battery didnt die... but it definatly was about to go kaput. The same thing happened 4 months ago, on 9/21 exactly. Starting my car, the started sounded very sluggish, took an extra 2 or 3 seconds of cranking for it to finally start. Not to mention when the car is running, the battery level was much normal than lower. so finally i bit the bullet that morning and went to sams club, where i work. they put my battery to the testing machine that they have. it tested it and the battery failed. replaced the battery for like... 39.95. its a champion model 25 battery. car worked great from then on!

yesterday exactly same thing happened. car started sluggishly... took it to the tire center at my work, and tested it like before. sure enough, bad battery.

since it was WELL under the free 36 month free replacement warranty, i got a brand new spankin battery FREE!!

anyway... car works great now.. battery levels while car is running are back to normal.

i wonder why the battery died so quickly... alternator going bad? defective battery?

 

Check your charging voltage, if it's too high the electrolyte will boil off causing premature failure. It should be ~13.8v.

Also if it's not a maintenance free battery you can pop the caps off the cells to check the level, should be up to the bottom of the opening no higher or lower. Refill with distilled water if needed.

 

the machine we have at work will tell you the voltage if you simply attach the clamps and not turn the tester on or anything....

would i simply hook the clamps up the to battery terminals and just take the reading while the car is starting? or do i have to test it some other way?

TIA

 

While running, not while starting.

 

thats what i ment

 

Just making sure. Let us know what you find.