Dead Battery?

[KenC]

Well my car ran fine. Now it wont start. I remember a thread about tonytony's car having a similar problem; but I don't remember what Jordan did to fix it. I guess it's a good posibility that my battery is toast. I think it might be the original one from 1984; it has all of the holes on top to add water (at it says BMW on it). I guess after 20 years it probably has to go. Any recomendations on a new one? Or thoughts on what it might be?

[Super Eta]

Its the original battery! :shock:

[Werksmini]

Test the alternator, then chuck the old battery for a new one. wow if its oridgnal that would be amazing that It lasted that long. I fried a new one in a month n a half.

[KenC]

Test the alternator, then chuck the old battery for a new one. wow if its oridgnal that would be amazing that It lasted that long. I fried a new one in a month n a half.

How do I test the alternator? Wouldn't the car just have died on the road if the alternator was bad? It drove to the driveway, then when I tried to start it it won't turn over.

[Werksmini]

Well I had a bad alternator and it started with a jump but killed the battery in a matter of 2 months or so.
Jump the car (or charge it) and get it running, test with a voltage tester on the positive and neg terminals of the battery. If its about 14 volts then your alternator is good. Make sure its running to test the alternator.
To test the batter just bring it to any shop or like checkers schucks or kragen type of store.

[Brew]

Wait wait wait.... If the car "won't turn over" then I assume you mean that it cranks when you turn the key? If the starter cranks, then the battery is good, and you have a problem elsewhere.

[KenC]

Sorry, I meant that it just clicks. no turning.

[Brew]

oh.....okay. that would most probably be a dead battery then. sorry for the mis-understanding.

[Spaz]

i can guarrenty that is not the orignal battery, battery last 7year at the MOST! i have not seen any last any farther then that.

1)have you had cold weather lately? if so that will finish off a weak battery.
2)to test a battery you will have to bring it to a shop so they can preform a load test on it.
3)to test the alternator you will have to bring it to a shop also. measuring just the voltage
will not show a faulty alternator. as it may produce 14 volts but only 20amps, what good would that do right? so bring it to a shop so they can perform a load test on the alternator as well.

my shop only charges $24.95 (cdn) to test both of those things, and the starter if nessary.

hope that helps.

[KenC]

Well it's running just fine after a jump. I think the battery is just dead. It sat for a while and it's been really cold here. I'm wondering just how old the battery is; it has a bunch of big plastic screws on the top to add water to the battery. It's also a BMW brand battery.

[Kavkazia]

There is no possible way that it can be 20 years old, maybe somebody had it replaced at BMW dealership.

Did your car come with service records, etc.?

[Spaz]

it was mostlikely an oem replacement battery.

just replace your battery and your all good to go now :)
and cold weather is the time a battery will fail for sure.
the only way to see is if they have date markings on it.

[KenC]

I'm assuming that the battery is probably withering away. It starts up fine now, but I don't want to be stranded some time. I'll probably replace it tomorrow.

[DaN]

When having problems such as this, its best to have your charging system checked out by a shop.
If you replace the battery and the alternator is weak, overcharging, or it has bad diodes, you could ruin the new battery. A shop will load test it, and measure maximum output, they can also load the battery and observe the voltage to determine if the batt is bad.