[TR] Battery or Starter

[Bob Danielson]

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