[ellisW]

Didn't shut the door all the way and apparently ran the battery down It sat in the driveway from Sunday morning to Monday evening with the dome light on, which I didn't notice. Anyway....it started after jumping it from my dad's truck, but after running for about 30 minutes, I turned it off and it wouldn't start back up. Hooked it up to a charger and let it sit there all night. It is now the late-afternoon of the next day, the charger reads 14, and it still won't start. Is this usual? Battery is a DieHard, and I've only had the car for four years without replacing it (didn't need too). Did I ruin the battery, or is it the alternator? I did check the water and it has plenty. I don't know how long this battery has been in the car, but it's always started without problems. Thanks for any ideas.

 

[Hornswaggle]

Sounds like the battery is toast. It was probably weak anyway and that just put it in the grave. If you take it to wherever you will buy a new one they can load test it for free just to make sure. Also, it should have a date marked on the top and you can see if it's still under warranty from Sears. I got 8 years out of the original battery in my current car but for the last three or so I was just waiting for it to die in one of our Minnesota winter mornings at -10 deg. or lower

 

[pawpaw]

Did you check the water level before & after charging????

The battery may be history, as trying to use the vehicles alternator as a battery charger isn't a good idea for either one.

The alternator isn't designed to recharge a completely discharged battery, as it's designed to put out mucho amps for a short period of time, like quickly recharging the battery after a start.

So using it on a completely discharged battery, it was pumping many amps into the battery, which can overheat & damage both.

All those amps can boil the electrolyte out of the battery, over heat & warp the plates & cause them to shed excessive amounts of material which can cause the cells to be weakened, or electricaly short out. The high chargig amps for an extended time, will overheat the alternator.

Deep discharging the battery causes sulfation on the plates & if it gets thick & hard enough, the battery charger just can't break it down to put the acid back into the electrolyte, so it won't take a charge!!!.

Starting batteries aren't designed for deep discharging & if done to extreems, it might even have reversed it's charge, which isn't good either & would likely not be recoverable.

It would have been best to have pulled & recharged the battery slowly, at about the same rate that it was discharged, or at about 4-6 amps.

Anyway as suggested, you could have the battery & the alternator tested, most autoparts stores do it at no cost..

I had to replace the battery in my 94 last year & had to give up on Motorcraft batteries, as they were way out of sight on price around here. Got the best deal at Walmart, on a like size & warranty on an Everstart, made by Exide, but it was $30 less than the best price my Motorcraft distributor made, so for the first time in it's life the Taurus doesn't have a Motorcraft battery!!!! lol

Let us know how it goes.

 

[soundu]

Did you check the water level before & after charging????





I had to replace the battery in my 94 last year & had to give up on Motorcraft batteries, as they were way out of sight on price around here. Got the best deal at Walmart, on a like size & warranty on an Everstart, made by Exide, but it was $30 less than the best price my Motorcraft distributor made, so for the first time in it's life the Taurus doesn't have a Motorcraft battery!!!! lol

Let us know how it goes.

Well, motorcraft does not make battery's. they just buy them from an OEM
like Johnson controls. So don't feel bad for loyalty..

Consumer Reports Article - MSN Autos

 

[ellisW]

Thank you Kevin I'm going to have my son go out and check for the date right now. I'm on unemployment, and this couldn't have happened at a worse time We have a company out here in Oregon called United Battery Systems. We've bought batteries from them thru the years, and I'm going to have to pay $100 for a battery and fixing the wires (my dad says those look like they need it also I know that this car was in an accident at some point. The driver's side door doesn't act like it wants to close all the time. Over the few years I've owned it, I think the door works itself loose as I drive. The inside panel also came undone (have no idea where the screws went), so when I try to close the door a little harder, the whole panel pops off. Can't win for losing! Anyhow. I'm thinking that when I shut the door, it didn't latch all the way leaving a gap all around allowing the dome light to stay on. The car has a myriad of problems, but it's been really dependable until now. I should have just paid better attention to the door Thanks for the help!

 

[ellisW]

Hi PawPaw, thanks for the info. So, when you put the car on a battery charger, you're actually using the alternator? I didn't know that. I'm surprised my dad didn't know that either Someone else suggested I check the date on the battery...since it's a Diehard, it might still be under warranty (I can only hope!...unemployment checks don't go far when something like this happens I've been on here before with this particular car. I was hit by an unisured/driving while suspended guy. My car was totaled and I was banged up. This 94 wagon was all that my insurance company gave me. It's a clean, awesome looking Taurus, and it has many problems, but it's always been dependable. This is the first time it has never started for me. I'm just hoping that the new battery will fix the problem. I'm lost without it. I need to get the driver's side door fixed or adjusted or something. I strongly suspect the car was in a wreck, because that door never latched all the way. Over the few years I've owned it, it seems to loosen up as I drive. I'm scared that it'll swing open while I'm driving one of these days. Not sure how that can be adjusted to latch as it's supposed to. Had I noticed the door didn't shut all the way, my battery would still be working At any rate, tomorrow when my EUC check comes in, I'm heading down to the battery place and hopefully it'll get me there and all will be well Thanks again Paw!

 

[ellisW]

Nearly a year ago, my clock lights dimmed and would go out, than come back, go out, than go out again and stay off until I started the car again the next day. They finally went out all together, so I've not had a clock in all that time. No big deal, but could that have been an early symptom of the battery going out? Lights all work just fine...just the clock lights are out.

 

[ellisW]

Also...the plan is that my dad will come out and jump the wagon and follow me about 5 miles to the batter place. Will it be ok to get me there? I have stop lights and stuff...but it won't die will it? I'm such a chicken when it comes to this kind of stuff I suppose I need to keep all electricals off (radio, AC and such?)

 

[soundu]

Also...the plan is that my dad will come out and jump the wagon and follow me about 5 miles to the batter place. Will it be ok to get me there? I have stop lights and stuff...but it won't die will it? I'm such a chicken when it comes to this kind of stuff I suppose I need to keep all electrical s off (radio, AC and such?)

Before you get carried (or towed) away, make 100% sure your battery
terminals are clean. Take them off and use light sandpaper or a terminal
cleaner on them. I recently had issues with my 97 not stating
because of corrosion on the positive cable.

i would also check where the cable ends connect and clean and retorque them also

Most of my battery failures have been in the summer. I change the one in
my 97 last winter, but it was still alive. It just did not have the CCA for when i was really cold.

 

[ellisW]

Yep...we already did that Terminals were cleaned...still nothin'.

 

[ellisW]

'94 Taurus battery!!!

YAY!!! I have wheels again! Funny though...after trying to recharge it for a day and a half with no action, I started it up this morning to have my dad jump it from his truck, and dang if it didn't start right up!:lol2: But I took it in anyway. Got a new 6 year battery and a pair of new cables. The old battery was TEN YEARS OLD!! Omg! So...to the tune of $96.95, I'm up and running again. Thanks again for the info! Now...I need to replace the belt and get some oil put in