Charging problems

[MoparDan]

It happens at night (with lights on) I have to have it jump started sometimes, when I stop for a traffic light sometimes the radio goes dead and turns back on when I hit the gas, the battery looks swollen I'm not sure if its the battery, alternator, voltage regulator, or the battery terminals: The terminals I believe are original they don't look that great, the voltage regulator is only about a year old, but that's about how long they seen to last, the alternator is a few years old (2015ish) and the battery was replaced in early 2016 and still has two years left on the warranty (but the receipt turned to ashes in the hotel fire)

 

[69-]

If the battery looks swollen, replace it. Check the voltage of the battery after it had a couple minutes to settle. If below 12V - just replace and don't worry.

Being swollen is a sign of a bad battery.
Last year I had a bad battery (<11V) in my Charger that I tried to re-charge (trickle, bulk charge and all that stuff). Did not help, but got the battery swollen. And it did not take the charge.

Bite the bullet and get a new one.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

If battery looks questionable replace it.
Use volt meter on battery when its running, it should be around 14.5v.
Dimming and loss of power at stop is classic symptom of bad voltage regulator but bad alternator or battery will also cause problems especially if it's going dead.
Check that all connections to battery and alternator and grounds are clean and tight.
You might want to pay a garage to check it. It doesn't cost much and something causing this is probably frying the voltage regulator so often. Spending a bit of money getting it physically looked at will save on replacing any parts for no reason.

 

[MoparDan]

I know just the place to have it checked I'll call them Monday

 

[69-]

If the battery is bad and you have a lot of current consumers running (headlights + brake lights, fans, wipers) it's not necessarily alternator/regulator. The alternator might just not be beefy enough to keep the car running in those situations. Then the symptons might go away if you raise the rpm (as you noticed).

That is easily checked as Mikes5hAve said. Check the voltage at the battery terminals while engine running (idling) - it should be something between 14 and 14.6V. Try with lights&fans on and off. If battery voltage decreases with increasing consumers that just shows that the alternator cannot supply what is needed. That's not generally a fault by itself - depends on the installed alternator.

If its lower but goes up to 14-14.6V when a friends foot hits the gas and holds her at say 1500 rpm, that would be proof for me that the regulator + alternator should be fine.

Let the shop first check on the battery - not that they'll sell you a new altenator and regulator as well; I'd say they are just fine.

 

[MoparDan]

I don't have a volt meter so I can't check it myself, the place I'm going they are pretty honest I trust them

 

[Aspen500]

The biggest destroyer of alternators is a weak battery. The car runs off the battery, and the alternator is there to maintain the battery voltage, not supply power to run the car. Have to wait and see what the test shows.

Unless the battery is not being maintained by the alternator (like if it isn't putting out enough voltage and amperage), having to jump start is a sign of the battery going bad. Remember also, there's excellent batteries on the market and some that aren't so good, despite the warranty they put on them.

 

[MoparDan]

When the old battery died I had a little extra money at the time so I bought a brand new Interstate battery with a 6 year warranty, my mechanic has said its a really good one

 

[volare 77]

I had a swollen Red Top Opitma battery and it was because of overcharging. It was seeing 15 plus volts. I had a short in my wiring. harness. The battery was toast.

 

[Aspen500]

Interstate's are excellent. It's what we sell at the shop. Replaced the Interstate in my Dakota last year, not because it went bad but because it was 11 years old. Load tested fine yet but I replaced it anyways for peace of mind, especially since the Dakota is my only winter driven vehicle. Last thing you want when it's -20 is a dead battery, lol.

 

[volare 77]

For some reason the original OE battery seems to last a very long time. The replacements not as long. Walmart batteries are the worst from my experiance. I had one in my daughters car and it only lasted about 2 years.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

Lately all my replacements have been walmart ones. They've lasted longer then anything else which isn't saying much. I just replaced one that was 5 or 6 years old with seems to be the new norm.
Interstates used to be good but in the last 10 years I haven't had one that's lasted more then a couple years.
It seems brand of battery is always that way- you'd get ones that last 10+ years, then suddenly that brand no longer lasts too long but another does. In the 90s Delcos always lasted forever. Had to give up on them too.

 

[MoparDan]

Update: I went to Advanced and had the battery tested: its bad.

 

[MoparDan]

I'd also like to replace the terminals, what's the best way to do that?

 

[69-]

Although they do not look too nice, I wouldn't be too concerned about them, as long as they tightly grab on the battery.

You would need to identify where (how long) the wires go to and how they are connected and get appropriate replacement.
Especially the thicker wires should not have additonal and mostly too small connectors inbetween.

There are generic terminal connectors. You'd just fasten the blank ends of those existing wires in them. Have no pic ready, but someone might chime in. Positive and negative at the battery have different sizes.

 

[MoparDan]

They grab tight I was just concerned about the way they look, but if they're OK

 

[Aspen500]

AS long as they're not cracked, they tighten to the posts good, and the wires aren't corroded or loose in the terminal, good to go. The clamp on terminal ends are OK as a last resort or for temporary use. They do not hold up well. Some are better than others but none of them are all that trustworthy (JMO).

Did you (they) check the charging system voltage with a load (high beams, heater fan on high, wipers on, etc. or with an charging system load tester) just to be sure it isn't too high or too low? Amperage is good to be checked also. Generally though, if the voltage is OK under load, the amperage is adequate as well.

 

[Mikes5thAve]

DId you get them to test anything else? Like what's been said in previous replies if other parts are bad they could have killed the battery and will also kill the new one over time.

 

[GregG48213]

used to be good

The shortest-lived new battery I ever had was an Interstate: a little over two years. I have no idea how long it was sitting on the shelf before I bought it. OEMs (from Ford or GM) were typically the longest living batteries I've had.

good to go

The last time I replaced a battery cable was on my '88 Diplomat. At the time, I got a new positive cable from the dealer. After a few weeks, I noticed that some critter had chewed his way through the insulation in a couple of spots near the starter. There must have been something tasty in the plastic.