Help! Battery Dies After Sitting For An Hour

[Makaveli]

My car dies if I let it sit for an hour. If I let it sit like 10 minutes I can get it to start but if it gets up to an hour its so dead it wont even crank. I just put a new alternator in yesterday but its still going dead. I checked all of the fuses with a test light hooked up to the negative part of the battery. Does anyone have any idea what it could be? The battery is from 2010 btw.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Get a new battery. If it's your car and that is your stock battery, the battery is still partially under warranty.

 

[Makaveli]

Do you think its just the battery? Im pretty sure the regulator was stuck on the alternator and causing the battery to overcharge and smell like eggs. Im thinking maybe the battery was destroyed from that but I wanted to see what others had to say before I bought a new battery too. What battery would you recommend? I have 2 12" Subs and an amp and capacitor and a pioneer touchscreen headunit.

 

[W3bb3r04]

Dying that quick usually means a dead battery. It can mean a bad ground but anytime you replace an alternator you should replace the battery as well.

 

[skwerl]

Batteries cannot 'recover' once they have been drained. It doesn't matter if it is 4 years old or 4 months old, if it has gone dead to the point your car won't crank then it's not going to hold a charge very well and should be replaced.

This isn't to say that replacing the battery will completely resolve your issues. You also need to fix whatever caused the battery to go dead in the first place. If it was caused by something other than the alternator and your new battery goes dead again then you'll end up replacing it again before long.

 

[86GT351]

Your Battery is dead. Take it to one of the parts stores and have it load tested!

 

[07calspecial]

Your Battery is dead. Take it to one of the parts stores and have it load tested!

As well as the alternator.

 

[Makaveli]

Autozone claimed the battery and the alternator were both good before I even replaced the alternator lol which clearly wasnt true.

 

[TexasBlownV8]

Dont have them test those things; just replace them. If it's a duralast, they'll warranty it appropriately.

The rotten eggs smell was sulfuric acid that was probably boiling; the battery is toast (mmmm, eggs and toast...).

You did mention some important facts. There may be extra power consumption needs that your car is not able to provide (ie, the subs). You may need a heavier-duty alternator that can supply extra needed current.

 

[Makaveli]

Thanks for your help. I think im going to go with a Optima Yellow Top