dapqam

I do not understand what is wrong. I run the car and the voltage at the battery is 14.04 volts, I turn off the engine and the voltage is 12.45 volts. I let it sit overnight and then check the battery. It says 12.45 volts. Try to start the car and it turns over once and dies. I check the voltage and it is still 12.45 volts. I cleaned the battery connections (which were in excellent condition), no change. Still will not start. If I put the battery on a trickle charger until the light turns green it will start, but if I drive it a while and let it sit for 5 minutes it will start but if I let it sit for 30 minutes it will not start. Any ideas?

blaser

Check the battery voltage when you are traying to start, see if it drops below 11V.

dapqam

Thanks blaser. I just tried to start it. The voltage was 12.45 before starting but dropped to about 3 when the key was turned and it did not start. Does this mean the battery is bad?

1186KA9

3? Battery is really bad. Surprised it didn't cause you weird issues before the car died.

dapqam

I took the battery to Advanced Auto and they confirmed that it was bad. Had purchased it at Sam’s club. Duracell 34 size. Was 2 1/2 years old. Replaced under 3 year warranty. Been having trouble with battery since the summer of 2022. Thanks for your help. I learned that measuring voltage at startup is a good way to measure health of battery.

1186KA9

Cool. Heard that these things are not nice to batteries.

dapqam

Yes. Apparently there is a large draw even when the car is not running. I don't drive mush so I keep a trickle charger on it when it is in the garage.

1186KA9

Try to remove the HFL Module. It is near the passenger foot well fuse box. Most of the time, it is the source of the drain.

dapqam

Yes, thank you. I did that a few months ago, but I now feel like the battery was failing for quite a while and although I unplugged the HFL it might not have been the problem. I think I will let it unplugged since I really don’t use it.

TonyCD

I've become convinced that the RL was ahead of its time in placing heavy modern-car demands on its battery, but it didn't yet come with a modern battery — the AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) batteries that are more reliable and longer-lived in cars like ours. My most recent purchase in 2021 was an Interstate AGM in size 34, with a spacer under it to bring it up to size, and it's worked splendidly so far.