Dead battery?

[howardc64]

After sitting for 4 days, not enough charge to crank the engine. So I charged the battery overnight. Started the car this morning briefly and sat in the garage all day until after work at 5pm. Not enough charge again to crank the engine.

Static current draw shows 30mA which is fine.

I think this pretty much points to a bad battery. Alternator and other parts of the charging system don't seem to be involved. Conclusive? Anything else I should check?

** Update 9-17-05

Replaced the battery and everything is back to working order. A couple of notes on engine computer reprogramming/relearning for those doing this in the future

- Battery was disconnected for a few hours (taken to store to exchange for a new one). The first start after new battery was installed ran rough for just a few seconds. Then back to normal.

- Wouldn't idle while in park even after 10 minutes of keeping the idle alive with my foot. Then I just started driving for about 5-10 minutes (idle doesn't die while in drive for whatever reason) and now everything is back to normal. Idles fine in park.

[uscharalph]

After sitting for 4 days, not enough charge to crank the engine. So I charged the battery overnight. Started the car this morning briefly and sat in the garage all day until after work at 5pm. Not enough charge again to crank the engine.

Static current draw shows 30mA which is fine.

I think this pretty much points to a bad battery. Alternator and other parts of the charging system don't seem to be involved. Conclusive? Anything else I should check?

How old is the battery?

[howardc64]

How old is the battery?

Not sure. Got the car used 3 months back. Have a lot of the service records but no indication of a battery change.

The battery white and has no date or brand markings. Have no german words on it. It says manufactured by DBMC Winston Salem N.C. Would this be the original battery? I'd figure any aftermarket replacements have clear brand markings.

[uscharalph]

Not sure. Got the car used 3 months back. Have a lot of the service records but no indication of a battery change.

The battery white and has no date or brand markings. Have no german words on it. It says manufactured by DBMC Winston Salem N.C. Would this be the original battery? I'd figure any aftermarket replacements have clear brand markings.

Could just be a new battery is in order. I've been told the cars are pretty hard on batteries.

[BigKriss]

its probably dead. i know the cca of my old oem battery was 740cca