Battery trouble?

[fredhe12]

Been having some trouble lately starting my 4Runner. I've had to jump it a couple of times.

Thought it was probably the battery, so I took it to local auto parts store for a quick test. Guy tells me that it's fully charged but amps are on the low side. He recommends not replacing. I had jumped it just to get to the store, but I drove a few miles to get there, so that might explain the full charge when he tested.

I've cleaned all the connections and made sure there is no corrosion. The battery has a small meter that depending on the color tells you whether the fluid is okay or needs more. That checks out.

I just had a major service and everything checked out. The easy thing would be to replace the battery, but at $75-100, I'd hate to replace a battery with plenty of life. Plus I'm worried that it might be something else.

Right now it seems to hold a charge, but after sitting overnight for example, starting is a bit of a struggle. I hate that feeling of not knowing whether a car will start or not everytime you're about to drive.

Any experts have a suggestion? Should I bit the bullet and replace the battery (FWIW, the battery is a factory original in a 2001 4Runner)? Or does is sound like it may be something else (e.g. starter, alternator, etc.)? Thanks!

 

[nakedfrog]

What happens when you start it? Does it turn over normally, but take a long time to start? Can you hear it turning over more slowly than normal?
Have you ever had the spark plugs/wires replaced?

 

[Assimilator1]

As above ,we need to know what you starting problems are ,cranking slowly or taking longer to fire up?

Right now it seems to hold a charge, but after sitting overnight for example, starting is a bit of a struggle
If you mean its cranking slowly & particularly only after it's been sat a while then that could indicate the battery is discharging itself & it's knackered. Best give more info though before we give a verdict .

 

[fredhe12]

It's cranking slowly, taking a hair longer to start, and basically feeling like it won't start until it finally fires up. Yes, only after sitting a while. It barely starts in the morning or after work. In short uses (running errands, shopping, etc.) it's fine.

My original post mentioned that I had a major (90K) service last month and everything that needed to be replaced was and other than that it all checked out. That's why I'm thinking the battery has to be the culprit. Normally, I wouldn't hesitate to replace, but the guy that tested it got me thinking.

 

[nakedfrog]

Does your dash have a voltmeter on it? I don't know the 4Runner dash layout.

 

[fredhe12]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog
Does your dash have a voltmeter on it? I don't know the 4Runner dash layout.

No it doesn't. That would certainly be helpful.

 

[dud]

OP,

You said:

"Any experts have a suggestion? Should I bit the bullet and replace the battery (FWIW, the battery is a factory original in a 2001 4Runner)? Or does is sound like it may be something else (e.g. starter, alternator, etc.)? Thanks!"

I just replaced my original OEM Nissan battery from my '04 Frontier (23,000 miles). I also had to replace the battery in my Lexus a few months ago. I think it's GREAT that you got 6-7 years out of the original OEM battery ... but yes, it's probably time to replace it. I never get that kind of life out of OEM batterys ... you were lucky. Here in Florida we average 3-5 years at most. Providing the year of your vehicle AND the fact that it is the original battery were the facts that meant the most to me. After the 3rd year I start getting nervous as to how many more starts I will get before it will start no more.

 

[Zenmervolt]

It's the battery. A 7 year old battery is dead.

The volts really don't matter (especially after a little bit of driving) since a battery will hold a surface charge for 30-60 minutes or so and look OK to a voltmeter. The fact that the person who tested the battery said the amperage is low is a dead giveaway. The amps are more important than the volts, which typically don't fluctuate much between a perfect battery (12.6 to 12.8 volts) and a nearly dead battery (12.0 volts).

The built-in meter is a rough electrolyte gauge and really isn't useful except for checking if the battery is completely flat. It's not worth even looking at.

Replace the battery. That will fix it.

ZV

 

[rezinn]

Agree with zenmer. The battery is old, it doesn't generate enough amperage to start your car. The guy at the store should have tried to sell you a new one.

 

[fredhe12]

Thanks everyone for the advice - you all confirmed what I suspected but it was nice to get a 2nd opinion.

Purchased new battery and now I can get back worrying about affording the gas to run it and not the battery to start it

 

[Assimilator1]

Better hope it wasn't a dodgy starter .

 

[LTC8K6]

Well, even if it turns out to be a dodgy starter, a 7 year old battery needed to be replaced. It was at the very end of it's service life and was going to be a problem soon anyway.

So I wouldn't be too worried about replacing that battery.

 

[Assimilator1]

True enough.
(Btw I was just looking on the 'bright' side )

 

[fredhe12]

That's my main concern; a problem elsewhere in the electrical. So far so good with the new battery. We'll see. Thanks again to all.

 

[crosshairs]

Originally posted by: fredhe12

Thought it was probably the battery, so I took it to local auto parts store for a quick test. Guy tells me that it's fully charged but amps are on the low side. He recommends not replacing.

Why he would recommend not replacing it is beyond me.....A fully charged 12 volt battery with low amps will not most often start a car......

Volts mean very little to a starter, its all about the amps..

 

[Assimilator1]

Well it's both actually , have you ever tried to start a 24v system with a well charged 12v battery?, it doesn't work very well .

fredhe12
Well if your car has started well after an overnight period then the problem's sorted .

 

[crosshairs]

Originally posted by: Assimilator1
Well it's both actually , have you ever tried to start a 24v system with a well charged 12v battery?, it doesn't work very well .

Unless you have 2 well charged 12v battery's and nice series parallel switch..

 

[Assimilator1]

Heh well yes but that wasn't my point .

 

[LordMorpheus]

whenever my car doesn't start with no obvious explanation (door ajar and interior lights on overnight, etc) I take it to autozone and have them test the charging system.

Stopped me from replacing the alternator at one point when it checked out.

Until starting last week it was needing a jump pretty often, the alternator failed autozone's test so I bought one and swapped it, and now it's fine.

 

[Assimilator1]

Yea their can be many reasons why a car won't start , bad battery, bad alternator causing the battery to drain, bad main earth/power leads to starter etc, blown alternator fuse ,lose wiring on alternator, loose belt, jammed relay keeping a component on causing a system drain, dodgy starter giving slow cranking or intermittently fails, parked up to long with the alarm active, etc etc best not to guess .