Short of having the need to jump start your car, how can I tell if I need a new battery?

 

btw- the battery light that's supposed to be green (it was lit when new), is now not lit. Does that automatically mean I need to install a new battery?

 

The battery light is useless. You can take your vehicle to a shop and have them do a load test for you. Basically, they can test out your battery to see if it will still function under load and if it will still hold a charge.

 

I just replaced a battery in another car. I think it was maybe 6 years old. When I cranked her, there was hesitation with starting. Also, if I did any work on the car, you could use a voltmeter and see that the voltage was dropping. Another sign is if you sit and listen to the radio with the engine off for maybe more than 10 mins, you have problems starting the car. The way a car cranks is a good way to tell how good the battery is.

 

Okay. Thats what I thought. The odd thing was that my car had trouble starting (once and only once) the other day. I wasn't sure if it was a battery or some other issue. However, the problem hasn't occured since. I did notice that I needed to step on the pedal to 'give it gas' like I used to with the old carburators. Was it just a fluke?

 

You turn the key and it doesnt make any sound

 

get a optima and be done with it

 

Well the same thing happened to my car few days ago too, right now it is sitting outside in the rain out of juice. I was able to jump start the car, so I drove it around the block to recharge the battery. As soon as I turned off the engine the battery died again.
The problem is that my car alarm is armed right now and the remote control is unable to disarm the car so I was wondering if it would be able to disarm the car after I get into with the key? also what other possible problems could it be besides dead battery? Thank you for any help

Cheers

 

well a possible problem, could be the altenator but i doubt it in this case....do your alarm have a bypass shut off and are you talking bout the factory alarm or do you have a aftermarket

 

I have the stock car alarm system and I dont think it has the bypass shutoff.

 

i just replaced an old optima yellow top battery. it just started "click click click click" when i turned the key to ignition. had a it jump started twice and the guy told me it's battery, took it to autozone for a load test and it failed to charge "bad battery". so went to costco and bought a $40 battery. it's more cost effective considering that i paid $160 for the optima that only lasted me three years plus i don't really need the deep cycle.