mm wrote:
On Mon, 22 Mar 2010 08:59:21 -0400, blueman wrote:


Could this explain why my battery died on a cold day after keeping the
radio on for about 30 minutes even though the car had just been driven
for about 45 minutes and even though the battery tested good under a
tester with a 100A load?

And just yesterday (which was in the high 40's) my other car ran down
the battery while cleaning it for about an hour with just the radio and
door lights on?

Cars (and battery) are about 3-4 years old and never had such problems
in previous years.

Maybe the battery is good but the charging voltage is low. Have you
measured it. Should be about 14.5 iirc. If too low, it won't put
enough into the battery, even a good one.

Maybe the charging voltage is low because the fan belt is loose that
powers the alternator. Or maybe their is tension thing for a
serpentine belt and the spring is getting weak.

How do these ideas sound to you guys? Because I'm having the same
problem described above, and I have to try to fix it soon.

Stop by pretty much any local auto parts store, and take advantage of
their free charging system check. Try to go when it is slow, not on
Saturday morning when the lot is packed solid, so the tech is willing to
spend more than five minutes on it.

--
aem sends...