Autozone battery testing

Make sure pay attention on what your doing, not daydreaming, thinking about something else. Cross connect cables, blow something.

 

I top-off charge mine every month. Like all Lithium chargers it slowly approaches 100% so each month it takes 15 minutes to top-off the charge.

 

You can swap batteries. Give your wife the good battery for now and see how it shakes out for a few days.

 

Happened to me many years ago, fooled me into thinking it was a starter.

 

I think the battery is dust, any up date

 

Cleaned the battery terminals real good last night and made sure connections were really tight. Battery read 12.6 V resting there, dropped to about 10.5 starting, and 13.8 when running.

This morning my wife drove the car around the neighborhood a few minutes then parked outside so she was replicating the conditions from the times it left her stranded. Then took my truck to the gym. After it had sat for about an hour I measured voltage. 12.3 V resting there, dropped to almost 8 when starting. Noticeably hard starting and the interior lights went completely out when it cranked. But it did start up. Temps outside were mid 50's although I question how cool the engine compartment and battery will actually get in that hour resting outside.

What I haven't confirmed yet is if the vehicle is slowly draining the battery overnight or if the battery itself is the problem. Next I will swap the battery with my Tacoma battery to check that.

Keep in mind I'm doing all this because the battery is just 2 years old and I'm trying to get it replaced by warranty. It is hard to argue for a replacement when their tester says it is not a bad battery. If I was outside that 3 year warranty period I would of just went and got a new battery the first time it gave us trouble.

 

What brand of battery AutoZone carry’s? Do a parasitic draw test on your problem vehicle.https://youtube.com/shorts/u6VTs2vhxx4?si=9a-MaYO6n6Xv146B

 

That battery is toast, and the tester is an idiot - since he told you it was the starter lol.

 

2-3 years out of a battery is acceptable. If you swap it out and problem goes away, you will know for sure. I just changed out my Sam’s Club three-year replacement battery at 3.5 years as it started a little sluggish. The replacement Sam’s Club battery will probably get me another three or four years. I think that’s a pretty good value.

 

They have a few brands but this is a Duralast Gold. I got a Durlast because they're built to last.

 

The Durlast Gold has a 3 year replacement warranty which is why I got it. The original battery from Toyota lasted over 6 years! And it didn't act funny when it was on its last leg. I could tell it was going down by listening to how the vehicle sounded when cranking.

 

Batteries can be functional with (for example) 93 of 100 cells alive. All it takes is that last cell-death (92 of 100 living) to kill it. And usually that last cell dies at 2AM at a remote freeway rest stop on a Sunday morning.

 

i opted for the Evertstart Maxx from walmart 3 year free replacement and 5 year prorated... also walmart doesnt fight you on returns.

 

Unless you are one of those guys that has to spend crazy money on one of those "designer" 12 volt batteries, the Wal-Mart EverStart Maxx is by far the best battery deal in America! Affordable and their 24F has plenty of CCA's.

And there is a Wally World in just about every fucking town in America in the event you have a warranty issue. It's a no brainer!

 

True! I've had that happen before.
Had a Datsun PU once (Back when it was still Datsun) and it was driving me nuts once because of starting issues. Had new battery... starter... starter relay.... Connections shiny clean. An old-timer said to slice a little bit of insulation off the positive cable to see what the wiring looked like. Sure enough, the copper wire was just a mess of green crud. Replaced the cable and problem solved.

 

Depends on your climate, this can be the case. I always tell people a 5 yr battery here (MA) you can reasonably expect to replace in 4 due to the cold weather.

My wife's old Rav4 got almost 11 yrs on the original, my Tacoma 10 yrs. Both trucks just suddenly didn't start out of the blue, though mine was in a bad cold snap. Hers I think I could have squeezed a little more time from but being it was coming up on winter and she worked a couple of late nights it was worth the peace of mind to do it immediately..though working in the snow with a flashlight in my mouth wasn't the most fun

 

Did you swap the battery yet?

Warranties on aftermarket Vato Zone battery O'Reilly batterys is like harbor freight. But Harbor freight is easier to return stuff too.Yes the factory batteries are awesome but vato is trash batteries really are not the greatest I've had my problems with them that's why I think your battery's already dust.
You know the cheapest batteries out there for replacement that's why I still run them but they only last about 2 to 3 years for me

 

Any update?

 

Did not get a chance to swap last night as we had too much going on. Tonight I'm going back to Autozone and hoping I get a more competent employee and will try getting them to replace the battery under warranty.

 

I have also had this happen. Replacing the whole battery cable, from battery end to where it hooked to something else solved that problem.

Since that time, I quit using flooded cell batteries. Those are the kind that you can (and should) add water to. I also quit using so-called maintenance-free flooded cell batteries. Those are the kind you can't add water to, but wish you could. Both types cause corrosion at the terminals, and that can seep under the plastic insulation of the battery cables. So what may have started out as a 6 gauge cable eventually corrodes to a16 gauge cable, or smaller.

More than 20 years ago, I switched exclusively to AGM batteries. Apart from some defective Optima batteries made in Mexico, there was no more corrosion. None. My 1996 Dodge still has the OEM cables and clamps. My Tacoma still has the OEM battery, and it's still holding its own. But when the time comes, it'll get an AGM.