Could A New Battery be bad?

[raaizin]

I have a '96 explorer that I replced the old battery for PM as it was 6 years old and with no hint of trouble. New battery was installed by me in July. I had the car on accessary for about 20 minutes listening to the radio and the car would not start.I have done this before without a problem. Could the new battery be bad, I dont have a load tester. Do Autozones test batteries. I bought it from Sam's thanks Ray

 

[NYEngineer]

A new battery could absolutely be bad. Here's a few things to check first. Somewhere on the battery is a small date code inside a recycling symbol. The letter corresponds with the month the battery was built and the digit is the year. Example: D5 means April 2005. My friend owns a battery store and for fun when we are out, we look at the dates on batteries in Sam's, Costco and wherever else we happen to be. Once we found a battery new on a shelf that was almost two years old. Here's something else: That battery probably sat for a while, you installed it, turned on the radio and killed whatever amperage it had left. Autozone probably does check batteries, but the tester will probably say charge battery and test again.

 

[raaizin]

NYEngineer,
I installed battery in July drove car for 5 months(I drive 45 minutes each way to work all highway and no traffic) I would think the battery was as charged as it would ever get correct??? Ray

 

[alreadygone]

NYEngineer is correct. Either charge or boost and drive. If it stays up probably be good for normal lifespan. Not really any warranty recourse untill it's charged and fails to hold.

If date code is outrageously old, probably be a good idea to insist you want a fresher product.

Bob

 

[Mr Nice]

Is it possible to use a multimeter to check the Amps ??

 

[Quest]

LT4 Vette-

Nope, you cannot check the amps with a multimeter if you don't exert proper load to the battery.

The proper practice calls for loading the battery in excess of 150Amps (or more) with a carbon pile meter, and watch the voltage drop over the course of no more than 15 secs. If, at the end of 15secs of uninterrupted loading and the voltage still stay above 10.6V or more, your battery is good. If your battery drops below that reading or even lower, it's not capable of holding it's charge or maybe it's been partially discharged.

To properly test a new battery (esp. store bought with unknown stocking period of time) is to have it triggle charge for 4~8hrs before putting it into use in a car. At that time if it's been determined that it cannot hold charge with the aforementioned loading method, your new auto battery cell is bad. Simply take it back for an exchange.

 

[ediamiam]

I was out of town and bought a Walmart battery when the car wouldn't start with symptoms of a dead battery (5 yrs old). I installed it and it crank up just fine, drove it that afternoon no problems. Drove home next day. The following morning the battery was totally dead. Yes, I guess it could happen.

 

[cousincletus]

Sometimes a bad battery will kill the alternator. BTW I had the original battery in my 2001 Ram 1500 only last 2 1/2 yrs. Quit w/o any warning.

 

[Donald]

Sams can also check the battery. I would fully charge it with a plug in battery charger rather than depending upon the alternator. Sams does go through their batteries and look for old batteries, but mistakes can happen. I agree with looking for a fresh battery when you buy one.

What about the clamps, were they cleaned?

 

[Eddie]

I WOULD FIRST CHECK THAT THE ALTERNATOR IS PUTTING OUT 14-14.4 VOLTS AT ~ 1500 RPM. Sorry about the caps.

 

[michaelc80]

The new battery can be faulty. I purchased a Dodge pickup new in 1994, within a week the battery wouldn't hold a charge. The dealership replaced it and it was fine after that.

 

[Pluto5]

Yes, I got a defective battery from Walmart AKA Sam's too. The Everstart batteries are to be avoided. If you want a good cheap battery go with Costco/Kirkland.

 

[NYEngineer]

I misread what you were saying. I thought you installed the battery, listened to the radio and it was dead. Still sounds like it's bad, though. Is your alternator ok?
There's a new battery tester that sends a pulse through the battery and reads it's condition. I feel better about doing that than loading a questionable battery. You can load test a battery with a voltmeter. I used to do it all the time on standby generators. Put the leads across the battery terminals, crank the engine and read the voltage drop during cranking. I've seen 12 volt batteries drop to 6 or 7 volts and still start an engine.

 

[mazduh30]

Have your battery & charging system tested. The tester will indicate if you have problems in the charging system or battery. Most stores don't normally check their stock of batteries (they should especially when you buy and recharge if require before you take it out of the store). As mentioned, look at the month/year sticker. Batteries start to sulfate when not in use.

 

[RedDart]

I have had several batteries that were fairly new (about 1 year old) die unexpectantly due to a bad cell. One time I drove to a friend's garage to do a tuneup and then the car would not start. I thought I had forgotten to hook up an electrical connection. It was the battery; it died without any warning. Fortunately my friend had a battery charger and we charged it for several hours and then I made sure I did not stall the car on the way home. A new battery fixed the problem.

 

[63Avanti]

1. autozone, oreilly, et.al. load-test batteries for free.
2. new batteries can definitely be bad. Not nearly as common as it was in the 60's.
3. TAKE IT BACK!

Quote:

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I have a '96 explorer that I replced the old battery for PM as it was 6 years old and with no hint of trouble. New battery was installed by me in July. I had the car on accessary for about 20 minutes listening to the radio and the car would not start.I have done this before without a problem. Could the new battery be bad, I dont have a load tester. Do Autozones test batteries. I bought it from Sam's thanks Ray

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[Stooge]

Always put a new battery (and for that matter, monthly for any vehicle battery) on an automatic trickle charger over-night before using. If it's bad, it won't charge.

 

[Jonny Z]

Quote:

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Yes, I got a defective battery from Walmart AKA Sam's too. The Everstart batteries are to be avoided. If you want a good cheap battery go with Costco/Kirkland.

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Both the EverStart & the Kirklands are made by Johnson Controls.

 

[ewetho]

When I worked at Sears Auto Center I tested 3 brand new GOLD batteries in a row that failed off the shelf before I got a Good One to put in the customers car. Everything was great after that.

 

[Jonny Z]

Quote:

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When I worked at Sears Auto Center I tested 3 brand new GOLD batteries in a row that failed off the shelf before I got a Good One to put in the customers car. Everything was great after that.

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Were they Exide DieHards or Johnson DieHards?