This 2012 Chevrolet Silverado came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead if the owner let the truck sit for a week. No one was able to replicate the concern including myself. I went a couple of steps further and eventually got the truck to act up. I was concerned that the … Continue reading “2012 Chevrolet Silverado, Battery Goes Dead”
“Why does my car or truck battery go dead?” is probably the most common question asked in the world of automotive electrical repair. The reasons can be broken down into four general causes. The battery is faulty. The charging system is not working properly. There is a drain on the system. Faulty cable connections The … Continue reading “Why Does Your Battery Go Dead?”
This 2000 Honda Civic came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead. There was a slight language barrier between myself and the customer so I performed the usual tests to find out what was going on. I checked for a battery drain condition while the battery was being recharged with my battery … Continue reading “2000 Honda Civic Battery Goes Dead”
This 2009 Chevrolet Impala came in the shop for some routine work and in completing those tasks I noted that the battery went dead within ten minutes of having the ignition on. A good battery would have been able to crank the engine if the key had been left on for thirty minutes to an … Continue reading “2009 Chevrolet Impala, Changing The Battery”
In two previous articles I outlined the problems and solutions on a 2005 Buick Lacrosse. Symptom and Solution. Now for the root cause of this failure. In every case that I found, similar to the vehicle I was working on was that the condition was preceded by a battery event. Most notably loose and corroded … Continue reading “2005 Buick Lacrosse, Repeated ECM Failures”
This 2003 Chevrolet Silverado happens to be my personal vehicle and today I decided to test the battery as cool weather is upon us in South Carolina. The battery failed a load test as expected. I have heard the cranking sound slightly off key for the past few weeks. Yes, I can detect/hear a weak … Continue reading “2003 Chevrolet Silverado, Changing The Battery”
This 2004 VW Beetle came in with the complaint that the battery would go dead while driving the vehicle. Especially when the a/c and lights were on. A quick visual inspection found the problem. Note the rusted nut in the center of the picture below. Rust on a steel nut that is part of n … Continue reading “2004 Volkswagen Beetle, Battery Goes Dead”
This 1995 Buick Park Avenue came in with the complaint that it was hard to crank sometimes. Meaning that the starter would turn slowly. A quick look at the positive battery terminal connection revealed a possible problem. The engine was still running at this point so I touched the terminal to see if it was … Continue reading “1995 Buick Park Avenue, Hard Crank Condition”
This 2001 Buick Park Avenue came in with multiple complaints. Some of which were various dash warning lights would come on, the gauges would stop working, the power door locks would cycle intermittently and the battery would go dead. I asked the customer specifically if the clock on the radio would reset and was relieved … Continue reading “2001 Buick Park Avenue, Multiple Electrical Problems”
This 1996 Ford Ranger wound up at my door with a dead battery. Well almost it was stopped in the median in front of my shop. This is going to be more of a people story rather than an actual repair as I never fixed the vehicle and it is the most simplistic of diagnoses. … Continue reading “1996 Ford Ranger, Battery Went Dead”