Originally Posted By: E150GT
I start looking for replacement and testing the battery when i hear the engine start to crank slower and charging seems to do nothing. I know the end is near. I don't want to be stranded somewhere.
While that all sounds good, in the Arizona heat most of the time you are not afforded that luxury. Batteries will go dead all but instantly, and without warning. I've been lucky. All of mine have managed to die at home in the garage.... Except one. I got in my truck one morning, and the engine spun like a top, and fired right up. The volt meter showed nothing out of the ordinary. I then drove 3 miles to the store, got out and went inside. When I returned 10 minutes later NOTHING. The dome light wouldn't even go on. I thought someone stole the battery.
I was able to walk home, get my other car, and jump start it..... Barely. I got it back home, and parked it in the driveway, and went and got another battery. It tested dead at the store. They gave me a new one for no charge under warranty. It was 2 years old. Typical for a Arizona battery. 2 Summers and that's it.
Out here batteries don't give you signals or warnings. They just drop dead. Like a retiree on a golf course.