a couple battery questions...

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Suanne Lippman - 27 Jul 2006 19:16 GMT

First the easy one... What size battery does a 2001 GC V6 AWD take?

The more difficult one. The caravan wouldn't start this morning. I put a
battery charger on it. It took 6a for 15 minutes then went to zero. So, it
is either charged or defective. Wouldn't start then either. I jump started
it and ran it a few miles. Turned it off. 20 minutes later it started
fine.
Now the odd thing is that the interior lights were fine all the time.
Usually with a dead battery the interior lights don't go on.
The electrolyte level is fine. I "think" the battery is about 2 years old.
Should I try it for a while or avoid the aggravation and just replace it
now?

Thanks.

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maxpower - 27 Jul 2006 21:00 GMT

> First the easy one... What size battery does a 2001 GC V6 AWD take?
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
>
> Thanks.

If the battery cables aren't corroded and you charged the battery and it
still wont crank, more then likely the battery is bad. read the top of the
battery to determine the size you need. You can also have the people selling
you a battery put a load test on your to see if it is any good or not

Glenn Beasley
Chrysler Tech

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Suanne Lippman - 28 Jul 2006 03:46 GMT

I think I did something stupid.
I bought a new battery at KMart. I installed it and it was dead. The
batteries I have bought in the past have had charges on them.
I looked at the side and found it was made in 12/05. A FAQ I found on the
web said that batteries over 3 months old were no good.
I have a charger on it now and it seems like it is charging.

Should I see how it goes, or take it back. Geez, KMart had about 20
batteries in a rack designed to hold about 200. I should have realized with
their turnover... Argh. Well, anyhow, what do I do now?
Thanks.

> If the battery cables aren't corroded and you charged the battery and it
> still wont crank, more then likely the battery is bad. read the top of the
> battery to determine the size you need. You can also have the people
> selling
> you a battery put a load test on your to see if it is any good or not

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Robert Vogel - 26 Sep 2006 06:43 GMT

Suanne,
Most lead/acid batteries (your car battery) recommend that they be charged
and equalized every 6 months (or more often) when in storage. It is true
that they will lose a certain amount of life even in storage, but it is way
less than when they are in use (charging and discharging). That is not a
particularly old battery. Yes one fresh off the shelf would be ideal, but
if you got a "good" built battery it might last longer than a poorer fresh
one. I think the FAQ on the web is either incorrect or discussing other
types of batteries (to which I still don't think that is very accurate).
Bob

As long as it appears to charge and discharge OK (the first charge is likely
to be long)

> I think I did something stupid.
> I bought a new battery at KMart. I installed it and it was dead. The
[quoted text clipped - 13 lines]
> > selling
> > you a battery put a load test on your to see if it is any good or not

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Marcus - 27 Jul 2006 22:45 GMT

Glenn is right as always! :)

Batteries don't always act the way you'd think. A battery with a bad or
shorted cell can still provide plenty of voltage to run lights and
accessories just fine, but cranking the engine takes hundreds of amps, and
fuel injection and ignition add a lot more electrical load today than in the
past, all of which exposes a bad battery pretty quickly.

It sounds like you're on the verge of not being able to start it even with a
jump-start, and you'll end up having to get a new battery and bring it to
the van wherever it's finally decided to quit moving for good. Happened to
me twice, where I couldn't jump-start -- the engine could turn over but just
would not fire. Once with a '97 Grand Cherokee 4.0L and another time with a
2001 Durango 4.7L. New battery was a miracle cure in both cases.

> First the easy one... What size battery does a 2001 GC V6 AWD take?
>
[quoted text clipped - 11 lines]
>
> Thanks.

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Morgans - 27 Jul 2006 23:18 GMT

> Glenn is right as always! :)
>
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> would not fire. Once with a '97 Grand Cherokee 4.0L and another time with a
> 2001 Durango 4.7L. New battery was a miracle cure in both cases.

It is also possible that a dome light or something was left on all night,
and a quick charge was not enough to bring the battery up. If it acts OK
for a few days, you might have dodged the bullet. I've done that more than
once, unfortunately! Too many times of discharging a battery until it is
totally flat will take it's toll on a battery, and kill it prematurely.

A load test at an auto parts store would tell the tale, for sure. Try to do
it after the battery has been charged for at least 1/2 hour by the
alternator at road speed, though.

Here is a little know fact. If a battery gets discharged to the point that
it does not have enough amps to start the engine, but almost, there is a
trick you can try. Turn on the headlights for about a minute, let the
battery rest for a minute, and sometimes the engine will start. It has
something to do with shocking the battery, heating it up, and it conditions
it to be able to temporarily pass come extra amps. As strange as it sounds,
I have seen it work!

Signature

Jim in NC

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damnnickname - 28 Jul 2006 10:35 GMT

Appreicate the compliment but that isnt true, im not always right!!!

Glenn

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