Funny Battery Issues

[robdog09]

Ive replaced the battery in my 2006 SR5 three times since 2015, at approximately 24 months of life each. Typically the starting begins to slow, maybe for a month or so, then it will eventually die. I was always able to get a few extra weeks by jumping it and getting it on the highway, but it always resulted in a battery swap. It just became the norm.

This past wk, something new happened. On Thursday, the battery light came on, and then when driving home from work on Friday, I barely made it home. The radio turned off while driving, AC flickered on/off, dash lights came on, etc. I was able to make it, but when I finally turned the car off, it had no juice to start again and was completely dead.

Obvious attention goes to the alternator, but I figure I wouldn't have survived this long if the alternator was the problem. Do alternator's have a slow death (i.e. 5-6 years) like this?

Anyone ever have an issue with a short draining the battery? Other culprits to look at that would be of interest?

One item worth mentioning is that I just completed an 850 mile drive ATL=>DFW in the car, straight through. That is the longest Ive ever driven it bofore. Not sure if that matters.

 

[vipergrhd]

Battery

Let me start by saying that most of my batteries I have owned in all of my vehicles lasted an average of at least 5-6 years I even had a few that lasted 9 years not just once but twice. All my vehicles are Toyota and had good luck with Toyota batteries the last 15 years. I would suggest try it and see what happens check your charging system and also current draw check the battery cables for corrosion and poor contact, if you have aftermarket alternator go back to OEM or get a Denso unit. Post up what you find.

 

[Syr4RinNC]

I agree with your thoughts. I’d evaluate the alternator, Eval for a parasitic draw or short. I think it’s also worth mentioning the Panasonic oem battery is a solid 10 year battery. The aftermarket ones just don’t last very long

 

[Seasparrow]

In my life alternators usually went bad quickly/instantly, however I did have a GMC truck that had an alternator go to 11.8 volts and was hard starting. I would do both alternator and battery and watch out driving on low voltage and jumping a lot, electronics do not like it, just my 2 cents.

 

[robdog09]

I tried jumping and charging the battery to no avail. Ended up getting a new battery, and obviously the car cranked up.

The guy at advanced auto said that when the car is running, the charge from the cars system should be reading north of 13.9 volts -- thats what the alternator puts out. If its somewhere in the 12 range -- implying the alternator is not contributing anything to the circuitry -- that would imply an alternator issue.

Is that true? My batt read at 12.37 while running.

 

[phatcheeks]

I tried jumping and charging the battery to no avail. Ended up getting a new battery, and obviously the car cranked up.

The guy at advanced auto said that when the car is running, the charge from the cars system should be reading north of 13.9 volts -- thats what the alternator puts out. If its somewhere in the 12 range -- implying the alternator is not contributing anything to the circuitry -- that would imply an alternator issue.

Is that true? My batt read at 12.37 while running.

He's right. It should read at least 13.4ish to 13.9. 12.37 means its not getting a charge. Most likely your alternator.

 

[Buckaroo]

I have seen performance on alternators degrade over time associated with bad diodes. Check for AC voltage if you can - a good quality meter like a Fluke is required.