1992 Volvo 240 dead battery

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sanworker - 26 Oct 2005 04:19 GMT

My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
I have had the battery checked and it checks out okay. I have cleaned and
lubed ground connections in past. In the summer the car is okay, now that
a chill is in the air she goes dead. Can someone explain any possible
causes, and also specifically how to trouble shoot such a problem?
Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
Thank you for the help.

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Randy G. - 26 Oct 2005 05:23 GMT

>My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
> For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
>Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
>Thank you for the help.

Winter is difficult for batteries. When they get cold they produce
less current. A cold car is also more difficult to turn over.

One of the worst things that can be done to a battery is to let it go
dead andd stay in that state. Batteries are happiest at full charge.
If this is the same battery and it has been allowed to go dead this
many times then it probably needs replacing.

The best alternative is to wire a trickle charger to the battery with
an easy-to-access lead. Plug it in each time after it is parked if
possible. Thre are lots of new chargers with logic that keeps them
from over-charging the battery.

As far as a home battery tester for curent, not worth the investment.
Try putting a voltmeter on it when it is cranking.

__ __
Randy & \ \/ /alerie's
\__/olvos
'90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
"Shelby" & "Kate"

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John Robertson - 26 Oct 2005 11:38 GMT

btw using a timer to connect the battery charger for a few minutes every
day saves money .Here down under their about $5.00 dollars .

>>My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a
>>week.
[quoted text clipped - 27 lines]
> '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
> "Shelby" & "Kate"

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blurp - 26 Oct 2005 16:05 GMT

I don't know where you are but if you're in Canada take a look at
Canadian Tire for a solar trickle charger:

http://makeashorterlink.com/?V56321D0C

Not too cheap but cheaper than buying new batteries and the cost of
charging them. Plus you can use it in any other vehicle etc..

blurp

>btw using a timer to connect the battery charger for a few minutes every
>day saves money .Here down under their about $5.00 dollars .
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>> '90 245 Estate - '93 965 Estate
>> "Shelby" & "Kate"

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Michael Cerkowski - 26 Oct 2005 05:24 GMT

Assuming you don't have an unusual current drain - the glovebox
light staying on is a common one - the most likely explanation is
that the car isn't being driven enough to recharge the battery, which
loses power to various circuits even when it's off. This is more of
a problem in Winter, because of diminished battery capacity in cold
weather. If it isn't losing extra power, then it either needs a longer
drive once a week (and remember to turn off all the power accessories
before shutting off the engine), or a battery maintainer.

> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
> For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
> Thank you for the help.

Signature

http://freevision.org/michael/index.html

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James Sweet - 26 Oct 2005 05:36 GMT

> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
> For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
> Thank you for the help.

If you have a multimeter, then set it to DC Amps, disconnect one of the
battery cables and connect it through the meter to the battery and see
how much draw you have with everything off.

If you don't have that, the first thing to check is the glove box light,
if the door gets tweaked the light can stay on and drain the battery,
same with the under hood and trunk lights.

It's also possible that the battery is simply worn out.

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John Robertson - 26 Oct 2005 11:35 GMT

SOMETIMES they open circuit when the cold sets in ,have you tried a stress
test as it picks up any weakness quickly .

>> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a
>> week.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> It's also possible that the battery is simply worn out.

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Michael Pardee - 26 Oct 2005 13:45 GMT

> If you have a multimeter, then set it to DC Amps, disconnect one of the
> battery cables and connect it through the meter to the battery and see how
> much draw you have with everything off.

Remembering not to crank the engine when the ammeter is in the circuit!
8^O

(I'm thinking the car battery is shot.)

Mike

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........................................................ - 27 Oct 2005 10:08 GMT

>> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a
>> week.
[quoted text clipped - 16 lines]
>
> It's also possible that the battery is simply worn out.

That was my first response. I also have a 240...an 84 turbo that I
bought new. I made another response to the original poster about how the
car is parked.

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User - 26 Oct 2005 06:34 GMT

In article <a0cb93ae06421c81d00167ba4d781838
@localhost.talkaboutautos.com>, corbette_g@hotmail.com says...

> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
> For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
> Thank you for the help.

One simple check is to remove the caps or strips from the top of the
battery, turn on the head lights for a minute or two and have a helper
crank the engine. If there is a weak cell it will bubble. If the battery
is over four years old it probably won't hold a very deep charge. If it
has been drained flat from sitting more than a couple times it won't
recharge properly. The parasitic draw if you measure it as suggested
earlier should be in the neighborhood of 100mA DC give or take (doors
shut, all accesssories off, key in your pocket).

Bob

Signature

The goal when driving is to miss the maximum number of objects.

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........................................................ - 27 Oct 2005 10:22 GMT

> My wife's 240 is parked most of the time. She may use it maybe once a week.
> For the past several years in the winter the car will go absolutely dead.
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Specifics on how to do a current drop test and amp check in particular.
> Thank you for the help.

Make sure that the trunk lite is going off when the car is parked. I
don't know what your particular situation is while the car is parked,
but I still have my '84 two door Turbo (Just turned 189K) that used to
get parked in front of my house, sometimes for two or three days at a
time. The battery used to go dead during that time until I discovered
that the trunk lite wasn't going off. When I lived in Los Angeles, I
lived on one of those streets where a lot of old silent films were
made...VERY steep street. While facing down the hill, it was just like
the trunk was opened about a foot or two if the vehicle was to be parked
on level ground. Have your wife get in the trunk and slam it. I'll
leave the rest up to you....

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