No Hold Charge

[sammcgee]

93 Festiva
new walmart battery but won't hold a charge. no dash lights come on.
took the alternator off last night....4th parts store today was able to test it. (3 before couldn't find right plug connector)
it tested fine...
I've done a little searching....should I start with grounds?

thanks sam

[packrat427]

New Walmart batteries are good for that , I have one go bad every 6 mos , I do not buy them anymore , as I was standing in line the last time , 5 people in a row had the same battery .

If you have done a test to see if anything is pulling voltage , with the car off ?

Did you test the battery itself yet ?

[25Horseplay]

I bought a Walmart battery that was bad when new before, take it back and get another one.

[Pu241]

Yeah, have the battery tested first and save your self some trouble!

Had a Walmart battery go on me in less than 30 days!
Told myself can't be the battery, so had the alternator checked at a Advanced Auto who told me it was only putting out 15 Amps!
So sent an old alternator out for rebuild and slapped the battery on the charger.
Noticed the battery wouldn't take more than 5 min on a trickle charger, but still wouldn't start the car.
That's when I suspected the "new" battery.
Took it in and Walmart checked it and found it "bad" and replaced it!
That was 2 years ago and I haven't swapped in the rebuilt alternator yet.

[neanderpaul]

Bought a walmart battery swapped it in the parking lot.... bad.

[WmWatt]

I bought a second hand battery in 1998 from a battery shop in the industrial park. A couple years ago I pried the sealed top off and topped up the fluid. Still using it. I thought it should have died by now so bought a 2yr old battery off a Toyota at a garage sale last summer for $20. It's still sitting in the garage. I top it up with the charger every couple of months. Since I bought the Festiva in '89 I've only replaced the battery once. I have 2 used battery chargers and charge the battery once a month or so. Strategy seems to be working okay.

[25Horseplay]

If it was second hand in 98 and you are still using it that's great! Almost unbelievable!!!

[Gforcefd]

Most people don't realize a battery has a expiration date. Something to check before going on a long trip. I have never bought a new battery for a car, unless it froze during the winter from not being used.

[Quickslick4444]

When your car is on... do the lights and wipers work fine? I also got my alternator tested by 2 parts stores ( 1 said it was OK and 1 said it had a bad diod ) I had a autozone battery for 3 months and It wouldnt hold a charge. So its really not uncommon that a new cheapo battery goes bad.

[Pu241]

Most people don't realize a battery has a expiration date.

Here we go again!
Where do you get this stuff?

The reason most people don't realize batteries have expiration dates is that car batteries DO NOT have an expiration dates!
They have a date of manufacture which is incorporated into the identification code burned into the battery housing!
This code is usually fairly easily "broken" to determine the date of manufacture.
So you can get an old battery which may not live up to its designed/advertised life, but you can not get an expired battery!
Even AA batteries have a "use by date"!

Consumer Reports® does a auto battery report every few years!
Find the latest one and do some reading.
Everything I mentioned above will be detailed.
You might even learn something!

You have provoked an interesting question.
If batteries did have expiration dates (which they don't), and you put one in your car, would it make your car sick?

[SimonTuffGuy]

I love my Optima Red Top!

[sammcgee]

Maybe it is the batt. The alternator tested good....I cleaned up the ground but haven't got it back together yet....we'll see.
I've always bought WM batteries...I like the fact that they take them back after 2 1/2 years no questions.

Packrat....I'm not good with auto electrical.....real simply how do you perform a voltage test?

thanks sam

[packrat427]

I have a Milton battery tester that I use .

If you do not have something like that , take it to a battery shop and have them load test it , they can load test and see if it is weak , Walmart will do it also .

Just tell them it will not hold a charge and the charging system is OK , they will check it .

[sammcgee]

muchas gracias

[Damkid]

i have some old battery that i grabbed out of a parts car a few years ago, and have never once had trouble with it, the only thing is that it went dead after sitting for 5 - 6 months, boosted the car let it run for a while and was good to go again