rdavis93

My car sat for about 2 weeks in a garage when I was on vacation and when I got back I had no power at all and couldn't jump it. I replaced the starter, which looked bad and was going bad, and had to replace the battery (optima) that only held 50 amps when tested. I got it for free b/c it was like a month old. Car runs fine...

It's been COLD here so I haven't been driving my car. I let it sit for about a week and only started it once to let it run for a bit (not even 5 min). So today it warms up to about 30 and I tried to go drive it around a bit but I had no power. I was able to jump it though. Any ideas as to what's going on?

Maybe a light is staying on that I can't see-like the center console light? I know that the car draws a bit of power from the battery when sitting but I wouldn't think that this short of a period of time would take it down to nothing. (I mean no power door locks even). The temperature did change at LEAST 40 degrees over the past couple of days if that means anything. I have the following connected to the battery in addition to stock devices: MSD box (directly), amp power wire (directly-going to 2 small amps), and electric water pump (indirectly off a relay).

Any ideas? If you think it could be a short, where should I start looking, how do I look for one, and what do I look for?

Thanks,
Ryan

JAFA

first thing that comes to mind is the alternator.
what I do is keep the process of elimination simple, obvious and little things. I don't think about taking things apart until I've exhausted all ideas and resources.

Any questions write me, good luck

rdavis93

Just had it tested. Bad battery and alternator. I'm guessing that the alternator took out the battery. I get both of em replaced for free so it's just a pia to do b/c of the cold. 23 deg today. We're having a heat wave!

Could a bad starter have taken out my alternator and battery?

shoebox

It is not uncommon to need a battery and alternator at the same time. If one of them starts having problems and it is not taken care of in a reasonable amount of time, one tries to compensate for the other and you end up with two things needing service.

I doubt your starter had any play in the matter.

rdavis93

my alternator was putting out 12 amps. I have an underdrive pulley but I've had that for about 4 years so I doubt that did much if anything. It's just a basic underdrive pulley from march. The alternator should still put out 14 amps at least. Advanced auto parts had my old alternator under the 2 year warranty so I should get the new one for free and I'll get my battery replaced for free again too.

rdavis93

changed the alternator and took the battery out to have it tested again. It tested fine on a different machine-just needed to be charged. I'm gonna take my car back to have the new alternator tested just to be sure.

One last question: how would the bad alternator cause my battery to discharge completely after storage? Does the "bad" diode cause a short and continually drain the battery b/c that's all I could guess.

Thanks for the help guys.

rdavis93

couldnt get it tested out today. any response to my last question: how would the bad alternator cause my battery to discharge completely after storage? Does the "bad" diode cause a short and continually drain the battery b/c that's all I could guess.

rdavis93

tested out ok yesterday. Now I just have to hope it's gonna stay above 32 so I can wash the car.

Thanks everyone.