<html><head></head><body><div style="color:#000; background-color:#fff; font-family:times new roman, new york, times, serif;font-size:16px"><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17238">Took the battery...which I had charging for a couple hours...to an Auto Zone....again with all cells showing "good" on the bulb battery tester.</div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17277"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17538"> Auto Zone's serious high tech battery tester came up with "Bad Battery". Don't know what that actually means...but battery is under warranty at Pep Boys where it shall be duly returned tomorrow. It was new in November...just 5 months ago...and I have receipts.<br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17537"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17356">Now to see if some charging does enough so the car can be moved to a no-ticket zone before Monday . Charging worked twice before. Fingers crossed.<br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17358"><br></div><div id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17525" dir="ltr">Message: 2<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17469">Date: Fri, 08 Apr 2016 22:14:21 -0500<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17470">From: "Jim Adney" <<a id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17471" href="mailto:jadney@VWType3.org">jadney@VWType3.org</a>><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17472">To: <a id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17473" href="mailto:type3@vwtype3.org">type3@vwtype3.org</a><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17474">Subject: Re: [T3] Battery Mystery<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17475">Message-ID: <<a id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17476" href="mailto:5708738D.19666.229EEB3@jadney.VWType3.org">5708738D.19666.229EEB3@jadney.VWType3.org</a>><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17477">Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17478"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17479">On 9 Apr 2016 at 1:42, J. Jonik wrote:<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17480"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17481">> Battery only about a year old.?? Car sat for about 4 days...cold out,<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17482">> but not below freezing and all.? Wouldn't start today.? Horn and<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17483">> lights test said Battery Faded.? Last time that happened I left the<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17484">> radio on for a couple days...volume off.??? Charged battery and all<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17485">> was well again. But this time, no lights, battery or anything on.? The<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17486">> squeeze ball batter check thing had all the battery cells right up<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17487">> near the top.??? Charged it for a few hours and, voila...car started. <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17488"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17489">It's most likely that your problem is one or more bad connections <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17490">somewhere. If this is an AT car, wiggle the shift lever while you <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17491">turn the key. Make sure the clamps are ALL the way down on the <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17492">battery posts, but don't hammer them down. Spread them with a couple <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17493">screwdrivers, slip them down, then tighten. Check all the high <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17494">current connections: battery (plus & minus), starter, tranny ground <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17495">strap.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17496"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17497">Watch the idiot lights when the starter doesn't work. Do they stay on <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17498">or do they dim out? That tells a BUNCH about where the problem is. <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17499">It's not at the VR.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17500"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17501">> .Is there any way to test to see if there's anything in the car that's<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17502">> "on"...draining the battery when the car sits for some days??? Some<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17503">> wire problems? <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17504"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17505">Doesn't sound like this is a drainage problem, but if you have a DVM, <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17506">you can remove the ground connection and insert it there, reading <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17507">amps. Careful, if you're not familiar with what this means.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17508"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17509">> Question 2:?? Can all battery cells test OK but the battery still not<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17510">> doing its job properly? Then...found that the battery ground strap was<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17511">> very frayed...more than I noticed before...it being kind of hidden.??<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17512"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17513">Could have been the connection at either end of the ground strap. <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17514">Both are equally important. I'm afraid that modern battery wires are <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17515">mostly junk, so take a good look at your OE ground strap. A bit of <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17516">fraying doesn't hurt anything. What counts is how many strands make <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17517">it intact from one end to the other. More than half is probably okay.<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17518"><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17519">-- <br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17520">*******************************<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17521">Jim Adney, <a id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17522" href="mailto:jadney@vwtype3.org">jadney@vwtype3.org</a><br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17523">Madison, Wisconsin, USA<br id="yui_3_16_0_ym19_1_1460328386122_17524">******************************* </div></div></body></html>