Possible battery issue

S

SKroads

New member
Joined
Jul 24, 2011
Messages
60
Reaction score
0
Points
0
Location
SK
Driving home from a friend's place and was driving for about 10 minutes when it happened.

I was coming off a freeway onto a service road. I slowed down after turning and my battery indicator light comes on and my van comes to a dead stop. Started it once by hitting the gas a little, but the engine stops. Started it again by keeping the gas on it for about 30 seconds and finished driving home within the next few minutes.

Did take my van into an auto shop earlier in the month to have the starter replaced as it drop dead on me one morning after a work shift. They did mention the battery had before average cranking amps for its type and the battery is not even a year old yet. Also, they sure the side terminals were tightened good and cleaned. The alternator was tested as well to make sure it was still good. This is a battery from CAA, so I'm thinking of getting this replaced since it still under warranty and I suspect it has been partially causing me odd problems when starting up my van in the past year since getting it.

Anyone have any insights if there could be another possible issues relating to this or is it just the battery itself?
 
If you have a voltmeter you can do a quick test,read the voltage of the battery before you start the van and it should be around 12 - 12.5 volts and then start the van and then measure the battery and should get a higher reading around 13 - 13.5 volts . That is a check to see if the alternator is working, I believe some auto parts stores can do this test as well. Good luck and report back.
 
The stalling incidents occurred right after slowing my van down from highway speed (100km/h).

Had the alternator and battery checked at a Partsource last Sunday. They turned up okay, although a misfire code did come up. Did have the P0341 code for the Camshaft Position Sensor come up about three times during the two weeks previous. Replaced the Cam Sensor on Wednesday.

However, Friday evening, my vehicle refused to turn over. Can hear the clicking from my new starter plus I have lights (including brights) and can hear the fans working. Fuel Filter was replaced last year (although have put on about 20,000km in that time).

Consulted a friend and he mentioned that his brother kept having issues with an old Ford that had an intermittent short from his radio that was draining his battery. This explained why he required boosts very often.

A similar incident occurred as well about 4-6 weeks ago where it would not start. CAA Battery Assist discovered the cranking amps were low, but the battery was good and the connections were tighten. It was still weak from the drain for about a few hours later, but managed to get it running to go out for groceries and managed to get back home.

With the info from my friend, I am now starting to suspect a short from a powered item in the vehicle that is slowly draining the battery. Could be an interior light I thought was burnt out, but did come on one time.

Going to have to get the van a spin on the highway for about 20-30 minutes without the radio on and try and get the battery amps re-powered.

Plan to go over to my friend's place tomorrow or Sunday to try and get some minor electrical tests to find out which electrical-powered component is drawing too much power if any.
 
Went to start my van in the late afternoon and it started as it never had an issue. Took it for a drive on the highway for about 20 minutes to make sure that a steady charge was going to the battery.

Greatly suspect for sure that something is causing a slow drain on my battery.
______________________________
 
I guess you can do a test ,try measuring the current draw on your battery with the van off and all the doors closed. I would expect to see a very small draw from the radio(clock,memory). Then while watching the meter try opening a door and watch the current increase. Is there any "after market accessories " added to the van ?
 
sometimes when the starter solinoid starts to go bad it will cause a drain on the battery..take it in so they can bench test it..have them run it about 10 times to make sure it is still good...this test makes the starter get hot and makes sure it works in all conditions..
 
Roadrunner - when you mean the starter solenoid, do you mean part of the starter itself? I actually had the starter replaced with a brand new one last month as it was literally dead after finishing work one morning.

Whenever this stalling/starting situation happens, I can hear the starter clearly trying to click.

This afternoon as I was doing some recycling, I discovered I can no longer get away with doing a temporary parking in neutral while in the Off key ignition position as it gave me some difficulty to start the engine. Was able to restart my vehicle after putting it back into Park and gave it a little gas to make sure.
 
sometimes you could get a not so good rebuild on a starter..so it could very well be the problem..did you check all battery cable connections to the battery and the starter? but still get the alternater checked
______________________________
 
I had the battery cable connections and alternator checked as well. The starter that was replaced with a brand new one.

Any other parts of the ignition system that can drain the battery?
 
Is there anything else that has been done/replaced to the car in the last year?..how did the parts store check the alt.?
 
The parts store had a battery diagnostic that collects to the terminals which also can find possible misfires in the system. When I had my starter replaced, I told the guys at the shop to check the alternator and it can back negative for any issues.

About 10 months ago, a cable within the ignition system was totally fried out and I believe it was a part that had to be bought at the dealership. Any attempts to start the van were fruitless as nothing came on at all as everything was dead.

The battery that I have currently was one from CAA that replaced a previous battery. The CAA is now just over a year and a week old in my van.
 
so you fixed the fried Wire?..but what about where the wire went to? it could have done damage to what it hooks up to. I would still get the alt re-checked at a different place..
______________________________
 
The fried cable was replaced by a relative that is a mechanic.

My van is a 2001 3.4L V6.
 
Morning of Tues., Mar. 13 - planned to go into the mechanic to deal with issue further. First was taking a short trip to a store to look for something and it stalled out twice. First time was right after a slow turn. Both instances required me to put vehicle back into park and restart the engine. Then went straight to the auto shop.

Between afternoon of Mar. 13 to morning Mar. 14 - Full bench test was done on the battery, alternator, starter solenoid, and starter motor. Alternator and starter components passed. Battery was bearing registering 80 amps (of a 800 CCA). Called CAA to get a warranty replacement.

Morning of Mar. 15 - Bench tests redone to ensure no issues. They passed.

Evening of Fri., Mar. 23 - had three stallouts and restarts. They all happen as I was turning or just right afterwards.

Afternoon of Sat., Mar. 25 - went to PartSource to get my battery checked. it only registers 21 amps of 800 CCA. Some friends came over to take a look at the situation while I while was using a trickle-charger for a short time. Remembered that this vehicle once had a command/auto start that stopped working at least a year and a half ago. Relay/fuses for the command start were removed. Trickle-charger was re-applied and indicates charging no longer required. My keyless entry also stopped working some time ago. Replaced the batteries a few months back to test it and it possibly requires a reprogramming (but rarely used it to begin with).
 
so problem fixed ? bad remote start I guess ?
as far as the remotes go, there is a section in the manual that talks about reprogramming .
______________________________
 
The stalling issue came back last week once while I waiting to park in a lot. Last evening, I was driving to a friend's place, it stalled twice briefly. I was able to restart my vehicle in neutral.

In these instances, the temperature was around freezing and there high humidity in the air or moisture on the ground from rain/snow mixtures. Note that my front inner-fender liners were cracked open from the end of winter last year to sliding sideways into a freeway ditch due to black ice forming on a curve.

Also, the engine light came on for several days, then went away. Checked with the OBDII reader and it's the P0341 code. However, this time, I could not erase the code. The terminal connector may be a little bit loose. A buddy has a OBDII reader that uses just the vehicle's power supply and it could not get a reading.

The battery and alternator have tested fine twice within the last few weeks and have been totally okay with no signs of the previous power draining. A power steering test was done (full-crank steer each way) and it did not stall.

A friend has a Caravan and keeps getting engine light issues at around freezing as well since there is a high moisture content in the air on those days.

Greatly suspect something underneath the van may have exposed wiring somewhere due to the inner-fender liners cannot adequately protect against moisture.

Any ideas on what could potentially cause a short that would lead to a stall? I'm going to check places that look into automotive electrical issues.
 
coil pack and coil pack socket plugs & wires , I had an issue with my 2000 montana when I first bought it used(110,000 miles and 6 yrs old) it would run rough and miss almost stall in wet/damp weather and what I did was change the plugs and wires and it fixed it and never had an issue since .
 
Yesterday afternoon, it stalled again while I was in waiting at a light. Was able to start it in neutral with ease. It was about -2C at the time.

Each time this happens, it is always when I'm idling after driving a for short distance or shortly after a turn and I am going straight (without acceleration). The temperatures that it is happening at is around freezing (0C +/- 4).

Steelcity - What is a coil pack and coil pack socket plugs & wires? Where are they located precisely?
 
plugs = spark plugs there is one for each cylinder (total 6 ) and wires = spark plug wires,they run from each spark plug to the coil pack(total 6 wires) and of course if you follow the spark plug wires back from the spark plug you will find the location of the coil pack and the coil pack sits on top of this socket/connector . all of these items are located under the hood and all of these items play a role in giving you a strong highly charged spark to fire each cylinder , if one/more than one of these items are degraded/worn it will cause weak/no spark and will cause a miss or even stalling and it seems to be worse in wet weather . Good luck and go buy a service manual ,keep us posted.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top