Battery Question

I have a 2000 SL1 with 119K.

Yesterday, the car would not start. All symptoms of a dead battery.
Headlights were dim, trying to start was only making a clicking sound.

I got a pair of jumper cables and the car started. A warehouse store was
less than a mile away so I decided to drive there.

On the way, the engine barely held idle. It almost died a few times in
moderate traffic and I had to keep my foot on the gas to hold the RPMs above
600. I made it to the warehouse store auto section and the car died when I
took my foot of the gas to talk to someone. It would not restart.

New battery installed.

Car runs just like it always did. No problems with idling at all. I've
already driven it a number of times and all is well.

My question: Why would the engine idle that way just because it was jump
started? I thought once started the alternator provided all the power. Could
the dead battery have been draining power needed to run the engine?

 

Could the dead battery have been draining power needed to run the engine?


Yes, but it's probably more likely that your alternator is near death as
well. You should have it checked (AutoZone does it for free, I believe).
If it is bad, you may soon kill your new battery with it.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

I agree with Lane that the charging system is likely not working and that is
why the battery was "dead" in the first place. When you jump started and
then removed the jumper cables the battery was being discharged by the
vehicle electronics. It ran very poorly because the battery voltage was
probably barely above the acceptable level for the vehicle's
electronics/computer to do their job.

Have the charging system checked and replace the alternator if needed as
well as the battery. Good luck.

Bob

http://www.evilplastic.com

 

So anyone know how much an alternator replacement for a 2000 SL1 will run?

 

Do it yourself? go to autozone's website, they have the price on line
for a rebuilt unit. Though I would say that an alternator normally
lasts a lot longer than 5 years. A shop should not charge you more
than one to two hours labor plus parts.

 

The alternator tested fine at the dealership. So it looks like a totally
dead battery can suck enough energy at low idle to cause the engine to
sputter.

 

If the "dead" battery had internally shorted cells, then the voltage would
be pulled down enough to show the symptoms you saw. batteries can fail in a
number of different ways, including open cells, open to posts (battery
won't work at all), shorted cells, or just plan worn out and no longer
holding anything near the original full charge.

Glad that you have this fixed and it was cheap. I usually try to change my
batteries every 4 years as a preventive measure. It is much better in my
opinion to do it when it is convenient and Sears has a DieHard Gold on sale.

Bob

 

Yes your alternator cant produce enough voltage at idle. Nice user name
btw.