A few weeks ago my car's battery totally died. I knew that the battery was not that old but the mechanics convinced me that the harsh Maine weather killed the battery. So they put in a new battery and they replaced "some wiring connecting the battery to the alternator."
A little less than two weeks later the car died again. I had the battery jumped and I brought it back to the same folks and they looked it over, could not find much wrong, and they replaced more "wiring" and a cap on the alternator.
In both circumstances, before the old (year-old) battery and the new battery died, the car had trouble starting up quickly.
It has been a week since I had those folks tinker with my car for a second time and slowly over the course of the week the car does not start up so quickly as it did on the day when I picked it up from the garage. I am just waiting for it to die again......
Yes I know she is 20 years old but she only has 154k and she is in pretty good shape for a car that has spent her life in Canada, CT, ME, CA and now VA.
Any suggestions on how to approach my dilemma would be greatly appreciated.
'85 240, New Batteries Keep Dying Topic is solved
The mechanic should have done a conplete charging system check. The battery will only be as good as the charge it receives. If a diode in the alternator is "leaking" a full charge will not be available and there will be a draw on the battery when the car is not running.
Check all wiring, especially the ground wires which are known problems in the 240 (there is one right by the alternator that often gives troubles). Check the alternator output and check for current draw when the car is not running. Check for voltage drops on both the power and ground sides of the system. Make sure the belts are adjusted correctly. Just because your car is 20 years old makes no difference, mine is 25 with over 200K and still runs great.
On a side note you can replace the older 240 alternator with the 100 amp 700 series, the alternator fits the pivot bracket but you will need the adjuster bracket from the 700, the wiring harness may need to be lengthened slighly but the Bosche unit used on the 700 is better and far more powerful than the 200 series alternator.
Check all wiring, especially the ground wires which are known problems in the 240 (there is one right by the alternator that often gives troubles). Check the alternator output and check for current draw when the car is not running. Check for voltage drops on both the power and ground sides of the system. Make sure the belts are adjusted correctly. Just because your car is 20 years old makes no difference, mine is 25 with over 200K and still runs great.
On a side note you can replace the older 240 alternator with the 100 amp 700 series, the alternator fits the pivot bracket but you will need the adjuster bracket from the 700, the wiring harness may need to be lengthened slighly but the Bosche unit used on the 700 is better and far more powerful than the 200 series alternator.
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