No juice at all after having battery recharged

[Tommylee1282]

I went a couple months without driving my 98 explorer xlt 4.0. I figured the battery would be dead. So i took it to advanced auto it was completely dead it's a little over a year old. They fully recharged it, popped it back in and I still have no electricity at all, not even the blinking alarm light on the dash. I hooked up some jumper cables to it and have all the lights on the dash but not enough juice to turn it over. I left the cables on for 15 minutes makes no difference. As soon as I take the cables off I'm back to no power at all. Any ideas where i should start looking?

 

[96eb96]

Putting connector issues aside, a battery sitting totally dead for any length of time will have some damage, or even completely be completely ruined. Maybe some very premium batteries could handle that situation once or twice.

This is because of plate sulfation, you can read up on that. Did advance get a CCA reading on the battery after it is charged? Even that may not be always accurate. Can you measure voltage on the battery?

If they test the battery in the store and it don't meet the CCA requirements after a charge they should warranty it after a year, they probably won't ask questions.

 

[XLTrunner]

Agreed...I'd suspect a bad battery. First of all, a healthy truck battery sitting idle for a coupe of months should not drain down to the point of being dead...unless, it's sitting here in MN in the dead of winter with sub-zero temps. Or, unless you have a significant battery drain in your electrical system. Also, I've quit taking batteries to the parts stores for testing because of too many false positives that they were good...only to learn that they weren't when I replaced them. My own battery charger has been 100% accurate so far in showing whether the battery is good just by how it does or doesn't take the charge.

Can you borrow a battery from another vehicle (or, from someone else) and try it before running out and buying a new one? And, if a borrowed battery does fire it up, you need to explore why that battery died in the first place.

 

[chefduane]

Can you borrow a battery from another vehicle (or, from someone else) and try it before running out and buying a new one?

Or get one of these:http://www.harborfreight.com/3-in-1-portable-power-pack-with-jump-starter-62306.html

$55. Or $44 if you have on of the 20% off coupons. Saved my butt a few times.

 

[XLTrunner]

Problem is...batteries with a dead or weak cell inside will usually not take a jump. They may still test as being good, though. Been thru that numerous times.

 

[koda2000]

Problem is...batteries with a dead or weak cell inside will usually not take a jump. They may still test as being good, though. Been thru that numerous times.

Also, if you're using cheap-ass thin jumper cables, they wont carry enough current to jump a dead battery. The thicker the gauge jumper cables are the better they work. Spend the money on good quality jumper cables. They are worth every penny when you need them. They'll last you a lifetime if you don't lend them to anyone...

If Advance doesn't want to replace the battery under warranty, make a stink and ask to speak to the manager. If that doesn't work call corporate. I had to do this once when I bought a battery that wouldn't hold a charge. They tested it twice and insisted it was good, but after a couple of days it would good flat. I told them they needed to just give me a replacement battery because I was sick and tired of getting stuck. They finally did and all was good after that.

 

[XLTrunner]

Excellent point on the quality jumper cables! I've seen some pretty cheesy ones that came in a roadside emergency kit somebody got as an Xmas gift.