[6pack] Battery or Starter

[Mark Steph]

one "bubba" way to test the battery is to pull the caps off of it and 
have someone turn the key to put it under load.  If you see bubbles that 
means a dead or dying cell in the battery.  (Though the post saying to 
get it tested is really the right answer.)

Bob Danielson wrote:
> After 10+ years of driving I was finally "stranded" today.......though I did
> manage to avoid getting put on the tow truck hook. I had just filled up with
> gas and when I went to start the car all I got was a "click click". No
> attempt by the starter to turn the engine over. No amount of rocking the car
> in gear changed anything. Just click click.....sometimes fast and sometimes
> slow. My wife arrived with the nylon tow straps and give me a short pull at
> which point I dropped the clutch and it fired right up. This is when I
> noticed that I had lost all of my radio stations and that the horn sounded
> very weak. I looked at the battery and noticed that the label was coming off
> and it was wet-ish on top. The battery is about 8 years old. The starter is
> 2 years old. I got the car home with no problem but noticed that the volt
> gauge hovered around 13 instead of it's normal 14+ range during the drive.
> My multi-meter on the battery shows 12.72 volts with the car shut off. Right
> now it's completely dead when I turn the key. No click click even. I tried
> to jump it with my wife's car and got nothing. Checking the battery while
> turning the key has no impact on the battery reading. The alternator also
> seemed very hot to the touch but it's a pretty warm day and it was very hot
> under the hood.
> 
> Next steps? Suggestions? New battery? New starter?
> 
> Thanks
> Bob
> 
> Bob Danielson
> 1975 TR6 CF38503U
> Running w/ Throttle Body Injection
> Toyota 5 Speed & Nissan LSD
> http://tr6.danielsonfamily.org 
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