Dead battery. Very strange.

[Kelemvor]

So, we were on vacation for a week. When I tried to start my 2001 Camry this morning it was dead. It rev'd a couple times and then gave the wonderful clicking sound. I took my truck to work.

I checked that the head lights were not on (it doesn't 'ding' if I leave them on, is it supposed to?), the interior light was off, etc so I have no idea why it was dead.

After work, I connected my charger to it and used the Quick Start setting and it fired right up. I let it run for 5-10 minutes and shut it off. It fired right back up. I set the radio to my normal station and went to an hour long meeting, then drove to a store, then drove to another store. After the last store, I came out and the radio had reset to the generic ones like when the battery is dead again.

I'm going to check it in the morning and see what I get. I wanted to leave my charger trickling all night but it's rainy out so figured that wasn't the greatest idea. Any insight as to what the problem could be would be great.

Thanks.

[BMR]

Hard to say for certain without testing it. Take it to an auto parts store and ask them to hook up their tester. Most places will do it for free. They'll test the battery and the charging system.

[fenixus]

if battery is more than 5 years old, I would just swap it with a new one like Interstate Megatron Plus MTP-24F+ or Duralast Gold 24F, those are very strong units, way above OEM specs.

Autozone and Advance Auto Parts should be able to help you for free with battery testing and alternator testing on car.

make sure the alternator actually charges the battery correctly.

also make sure the terminals on battery are shiny clean and not rusted, oxidized and full of crap. replace them if needed and make sure all connections are tight.

lastly check the tension on the alternator (and AC) drive belt, it cannot be loose or the alternator won't get enough pull to do its job. if belts are older than 5 years or look bad, just replace them with Dayco belts.

[TrailDust]

Originally Posted by fenixus

if battery is more than 5 years old, I would just swap it with a new one like Interstate Megatron Plus MTP-24F+ or Duralast Gold 24F, those are very strong units, way above OEM specs.

What he said. Interstate FTMFW.

[ghettosled]

make sure all the terminals connected to the battery are secure. i had a similar problem and they were on pretty tight but i wrenched a bit on the connections and havent had a problem since.

[Kelemvor]

Just checked the battery and it's an AutoCraft Titanium battery. There's a sticker on it that says 3/08 which I'm assuming means it was installed in March of 2008 so it is 3.5 years old.

Looks like those might be sold at Advance Auto Parts but don't know if any warranty or something would be good on them. I guess I'll give them a call.

[touringcamry]

You might have just passed the free replacement warranty and in the pro-rated period. Check the warranty for those batteries to see what you can get. I think the warranty is 36 mo free replacement and 84 mo prorated.

As for the Interstate Megatron Plus, make sure you get the Plus version, there's a big difference between that one and the Megatron.

Costco Kirkland, Autozone Duralast Gold and Walmart Everstart Maxx are also good performers. Costco is the best value out of the four mentioned here if you have a Costco membership. Kirkland, Duralast, and Everstart are all made by Johnson Controls.