[HEMI05RAM]

I am having issues with my battery to where every once in a while its dead and it needs to be jumped. I have ordered a Optima Yellow-Top but FedEx is taking their sweetass time to get it delieverd - almost been 2 weeks.

The only toys I got onboard are stereo, amp, and electric fan. That shouldn't being causing any issues I think. Any electrical gurus that help me?

Thanks!

 

[HEMI05RAM]

bump

 

[HEMI05RAM]

No one know?

 

[sgrizzle]

Use a volt-ohm-meter to check to see if your alternator is working right. Also, if the battery is run too far down or sits too long without being started in the heat it could be too dead to hold a charge. Go to walmart and get a 1,000 amp 3yr warranty battery for a fraction of the overpriced optima and have it in tonight.

 

[jeepguy_1980]

Ever since I had the dealer replace my battery, I've had excessive corrosion on my terminals. The positive builds up about 1/4" of green stuff on it in about 6 or 7 weeks.

 

[HEMI05RAM]

Use a volt-ohm-meter to check to see if your alternator is working right. Also, if the battery is run too far down or sits too long without being started in the heat it could be too dead to hold a charge. Go to walmart and get a 1,000 amp 3yr warranty battery for a fraction of the overpriced optima and have it in tonight.

I got a DMM, can I use that to check the alternator?? If so, how do I test it?

 

[TREP R/T]

My starter went for a crap with 30k on it! Replaced it since under warranty.

 

[sgrizzle]

I got a DMM, can I use that to check the alternator?? If so, how do I test it?

Same thing. An easy, albeit not highly accurate test is to see the voltage across the battery terminals when not running. The check the voltage when running. Not running should be about 12 and you should hope for 14 volts when running. If you see something like 9 when parked that means you have dead cells in the battery. If the voltage is 12 while parked and 12.5 while running, your alternator is probably bad. With any of thes you can run to autozone or another parts place and they will hook a clamp on the cable to check the amps.

 

[HEMI05RAM]

I know my battery runs 12.3's to 12.4's when the engine is off. When the engine is on, the voltage jumps in the 13.6s. And when I put the gas to it....it goes to 14.3 and never above 14.7.

How do I check the alternator with the DMM?

 

[sgrizzle]

I know my battery runs 12.3's to 12.4's when the engine is off. When the engine is on, the voltage jumps in the 13.6s. And when I put the gas to it....it goes to 14.3 and never above 14.7.

How do I check the alternator with the DMM?

The voltage spiking while running is showing that the alternator is putting out enough to charge the battery. I would say that shows your alternator is fine and is probably just a battery issue. If you can open the top of the battery, I would and make sure it's not dried up in there. Even if it is, there isn't much you can do. The only other test is if you have a C-clamp type probe for your DMM for checking amperage but most don't have that.

 

[HEMI05RAM]

Yeah, I don't have the c-clamp. I will just continue to wait for the new battery and see/pray that solves the problem. Thanks for your help man!!!

 

[hemi1569]

Check for a draw on the battery too. Take your voltmeter leads and place the positive lead on the negative cable and the negative lead to your negative battery post, set it to amps on your vm, and see what it reads, DO not set it to milliamps because if you open your door it will blow the fuse. Should be very low .0xx to .01xx because of the computer draw. Anything higher and start pulling fuses with the voltmeter/ammeter hooked up until the reading goes down to the above. PULL one fuse at a time, and if it does not drop down, reinstall and proceed. Only do this if you have a very high inital draw though.

 

[67Cuda]

If it's the factory battery then it's probably the culprit. The one in my Dodge minivan lasted only a couple of years before needing to be replaced.

 

[HEMI05RAM]

It is the stock battery. Still waiting on the damn Optima. I called and had a tracer put on it....there is no reason it should take this long. Geez!