For voltage tests, a used but good battery should read 12.6-12.8 volts after resting a few hours since being charged/engine run. Below 12.6 battery should be replaced.

I find it unlikely that a 4 volt battery would turn the engine over. But as someone mentioned, an internal crack or break in the lead could cause intermittant problems. New car batteries, shocks, etc. are usually poor quality.

Batteries can cause a lot of issues with vehicle computers, they like full clean power.

After checking the charging system, it might be a good idea to change the battery.

Now, DO NOT get a battery that has more power than a stock battery. I guarantee you will be replacing it more often.

Buying a larger capacity battery is a win-win for the battery manufacturer. They get to charge you more, and you will be buying those batteries more often. Here’s why. To increase the capacity, they have to make the plates thicker. This now takes up more room in the battery case, taking away room for the water or gel which is the battery cooling system.

When the batteries cooling system is reduced, the battery can only be charged with a reduced amperage or it overheats.

A 500 CCA battery will always be able to handle more amperage than a 1000 CCA battery of the same size case.

Usually battery Cold Cranking Amps is about 1.5 times the cubic inches of the engine.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

Two years old is nearing replacement time for most automotive batteries.

I just replaced the original battery in my 2012 Camry last week. It was down to 27% and I didn't want to get stuck somewhere.

Not trying to be offensive or a smart-ass, but a lot of you need to find new shops to work on your vehicles.
Auto-Whatever can load test a charged battery and tell if it needs replacement.
Also look into an AGM battery. Will cost more but hold up better than El Cheapos from Walmart.

Aren't catalytic converters covered by warranty under federal law for 10 years? I would think the O2 sensors were bad before a cat.

FWIW, the original battery in my '96 Porsche 993 died in 2012 and that was after four summers in AZ.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Most new cars come with the cheapest battery one the company can buy. Two years or so is normal in my experience...if you are the originL buyer and it is now five years old, replace the battery

I'll argue you on that. OE batteries from GM averaged 6 years, that is from my experience with my own vehicles and working in dealership parts departments.

On our Jeeps, I replaced the one in my wife's that gets a lot of short trips during that below zero period in January. That one lasted 7 years almost to the day we bought it in 2012

We bought mine in August of 2012, at present it still has the original battery and I will probably replace it before winter as a precaution.

I replaced a Wally World top of the line battery in my 67 Pontiac last month. Build date of that battery was August 2010. While that car only gets about a thousand miles a year on it whenever it is garaged a battery tender goes on it.

My 2013 Accord still has the original battery. I try to stick to batteries manufactured by Johnson Controls.

quote:

Originally posted by Rick Lee:
Aren't catalytic converters covered by warranty under federal law for 10 years?

Federal emissions warranty usually is 8 years or 80,000 miles on gas engines.

quote:

quote:
Originally posted by sns3guppy:

Two years old is nearing replacement time for most automotive batteries.


Say what?

He isn't joking. Modern vehicles are harder on the battery than vehicles when I was a youth. Look at all the electronics in vehicles now, and often, they are getting their juice direct from the battery, not the alternator.

We bought my wife a used 2015 Ford Explorer at the end of 2017 and the battery had already been replaced in it (noticed it was an Interstate instead of Motorcraft).

quote:

Originally posted by PowerSurge:
My 2013 Accord still has the original battery.

Honda replaced the battery in our 2014 Accord under warranty before the 2 year mark.

Your original problems were probably caused by low voltage and a bad alternator. Check if the alternator is charging and if it is bad, replace it with a new one and not a re-manufactured one. Replace the battery as well.

Check out the South Main Auto Repair channel on YouTube. He does a lot of diagnostic videos and doesn’t just replace parts.

They changed out 2 out of the 3 catalytic converters, that must have cost some $$$. However even though I am not a mechanic nor do I play one on TV, if they did that to my car I would question why they changed them out. For random misfires, spark plugs I can understand, even ignition coils, and even fuel injectors as they are all part of that system that would cause misfires. Maybe even low voltage which could be battery or electrical system. However catalytic converters are part of the exhaust emission systems. Someone please help me see the reasoning why they may have changed them out. God Bless

I recall from my days as a dealer tech, step one of the diagnostics is check for a fully charged battery, and connect a charger or battery voltage maintenance device if diagnostics or programming may cause voltage to drop during programming service.

quote:

Originally posted by sns3guppy:

quote:

Originally posted by Erick85:


I'll check that when I get it home. I think I'm going to go ahead and grab a battery on the way home also and change that out. I can't figure out why it would read 4 volts, then be fine and no symptoms at all later. Maybe a bad cell, although wouldn't that show up?

Two years old is nearing replacement time for most automotive batteries. If it's been run down a time or two, then it's definitely time.

To test the battery, it needs to be charged first; fully charged outside the vehicle, then a specific gravity check done on each cell. What's most important isn't the specific gravity, but the consistency between cells. When you have 4 volts, you have an indication of multiple cell failures and a good chance your battery is shot...but it can't be tested until it's been charged overnight. Once it has been charged, it needs to be checked not just with a voltmeter, but a load tester to check capacity.

With a new battery in place, you'll need to do as another poster cited above; check for voltage as installed, and then voltage with the engine running; you should have approximately 2 volts more with the engine running than with the engine off. This is checking your charging system to ensure you have a higher voltage. To properly check the charging system, you'll need to load check that, too; most automotive stores will do that for you at no cost.

Spark plugs and cat converters going out at once? Unlikely, but it may be that the plugs were getting worn and needed changing. It sounds more like your mechanic isn't troubleshooting, but is taking a shotgun approach and throwing parts at your car in the hopes that something will fix it.

The fact that your mechanics ran the battery down to four volts and didn't catch that sooner or test it or check suggests that you might want to look at getting a different mechanic.

Definitely 110%

Several posters seem bothered by the comment that an automotive lead-acid battery is good for two years. They've pointed out that theirs didn't die until x number of years.

If the gold standard is running a part until failure, then all bets are off. I don't run anything to failure: I do preventative maintenance (imagine getting on an airline flight that's maintained on the basis of running items to failure...probably not a good choice). Car batteries can be run until they no longer operate, but they can be changed out preventatively sooner; the battery will begin to lose capacity and preventatively should be changed within 2-3 years. If you can stretch it until it gives up the ghost at the six year point, that's great, if thats your standard.

When a battery is not holding a charge, it could be the alternator. It could be a regulator (depending on the charging system), or more commonly, corrosion on the grounding strap or battery terminals. Certain engine components require minimum voltage for proper operation, which includes computer components, which control many engine functions.

I'm not a big fan of shops that take the shot-gun approach to troubleshooting: throw parts at a problem until it goes away. It's expensive, unnecessary, wasteful, and is the act of a parts-changer, not a mechanic. If other problems are occurring and go unnoticed or if the owner isn't notified, it indicates an unprofessional shop, or an incompetent one. I loathe a shop that will ignore an obvious problem because "that's not what we were asked to fix."

In this case, the shop should have recognized an electrical problem immediately and addressed it, understanding that troubleshooting other problems would not be possible until the electrical system problem is solved (especially if the electrical system IS the problem). A competent mechanic should have removed the battery, charged it, tested it and made a recommendation based on facts rather than guesswork, and used another or new battery to proceed with their assigned maintenance. That alone would suggest a wise choice in looking for another shop.

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
Batteries can cause a lot of issues with vehicle computers, they like full clean power.

After checking the charging system, it might be a good idea to change the battery.

Now, DO NOT get a battery that has more power than a stock battery. I guarantee you will be replacing it more often.

Buying a larger capacity battery is a win-win for the battery manufacturer. They get to charge you more, and you will be buying those batteries more often. Here’s why. To increase the capacity, they have to make the plates thicker. This now takes up more room in the battery case, taking away room for the water or gel which is the battery cooling system.

When the batteries cooling system is reduced, the battery can only be charged with a reduced amperage or it overheats.

A 500 CCA battery will always be able to handle more amperage than a 1000 CCA battery of the same size case.

Usually battery Cold Cranking Amps is about 1.5 times the cubic inches of the engine.

Not exactly. Buy the heaviest battery in the correct size works very well. Cheaper, lower capacity, batteries have less lead and less power. High quality batteries are packed tight with lead. Thin plates vs thick plates has more to do with starting capacity vs. deep discharge types. As a prior yacht mechanic for sail and power, we worked on battery and charging systems on a daily basis. A friend has a small battery manufacturing business in Sausalito, CA, and I have learned a lot from him as well.

Had a 2010 Acadia that showed similar issues. Changed the battery out with a new one. Made no difference. It would randomly shut off, go into limp mode, show the stabillitrack (however you spell that) warning light. A couple times the door locks would randomly lock and unlock themselves while every light and dinger would go off in the car. Scared the shit out of my wife, who was it’s primary driver.

Took it to the dealership a couple times and on the third or fourth trip the advisor said it was some electronic switch or solenoid (I don’t recall exactly) that was bad. I said Great! How much is the part? His response was, The part is $36. The bad news its located on top of the transmission. We’re gonna have to drop the tranny to switch out the part. It’s gonna cost you $1500. I asked him what would happen if we didn’t fix it. He said nothing but the issues you’ve already had.

I don’t know if the advisor/tech was full of shit or that was the actual problem. Maybe that can point your mechanic in the right direction.

What I do know is I wasn’t gonna pay $1500 dollars to fix a $36 problem and couldn’t have my wife in that car anymore. We sold the Acadia a few months later and haven’t looked back.

On a side note: Did you know the shop will charge you around $150 to change out a headlamp bulb in that thing? I can do it for $5.99 in my truck in 2 minutes. Had to YouTube it to figure it out with the Acadia. What a PITA that process was. 25 minutes of standing on your head and contorting to change it out. Don’t miss that at all! Over engineered if I’ve ever seen it.

Thanks,
CT

quote:

Originally posted by c1steve:

quote:

Originally posted by Shifferbrains:
Batteries can cause a lot of issues with vehicle computers, they like full clean power.

After checking the charging system, it might be a good idea to change the battery.

Now, DO NOT get a battery that has more power than a stock battery. I guarantee you will be replacing it more often.

Buying a larger capacity battery is a win-win for the battery manufacturer. They get to charge you more, and you will be buying those batteries more often. Here’s why. To increase the capacity, they have to make the plates thicker. This now takes up more room in the battery case, taking away room for the water or gel which is the battery cooling system.

When the batteries cooling system is reduced, the battery can only be charged with a reduced amperage or it overheats.

A 500 CCA battery will always be able to handle more amperage than a 1000 CCA battery of the same size case.

Usually battery Cold Cranking Amps is about 1.5 times the cubic inches of the engine.

Not exactly. Buy the heaviest battery in the correct size works very well. Cheaper, lower capacity, batteries have less lead and less power. High quality batteries are packed tight with lead. Thin plates vs thick plates has more to do with starting capacity vs. deep discharge types. As a prior yacht mechanic for sail and power, we worked on battery and charging systems on a daily basis. A friend has a small battery manufacturing business in Sausalito, CA, and I have learned a lot from him as well.

I do the same and agree totally. The higher cranking amp batteries also generally come with a longer warranty from the same manufacturer as well.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by VBVAGUY:
They changed out 2 out of the 3 catalytic converters, that must have cost some $$$. However even though I am not a mechanic nor do I play one on TV, if they did that to my car I would question why they changed them out. For random misfires, spark plugs I can understand, even ignition coils, and even fuel injectors as they are all part of that system that would cause misfires. Maybe even low voltage which could be battery or electrical system. However catalytic converters are part of the exhaust emission systems. Someone please help me see the reasoning why they may have changed them out. God Bless [/QUOTE

Unburned gasoline can damage Catalytic Converters. The worst example of that is when they are glowing red.