The battery was already dead when you connected the cables & the meter only showed .4 volts. I can't imagine why the charger was indicating a full charge.

It'* charging now, we'll see what it does tomorrow night. I had dirty terminals that I was checking from (the exposed bolts were rusty, even though the contacts were clean), and I think I got a few bad readings. Now the bolts are new, the terminals have been scrubbed with baking soda and coated in that jelly, and the grounds have been fully cleaned.

Michelle...I commend you.. great job...great way to approach it, and very thorough

Now we need to ask a favor..there'* this guy in Oregon...not far from you. Both of his cars are having issues..and we think it'* from him working on them. Do you suppose that you might be able to go over and fix his cars for him? We might be able to get you a dinner out of the deal.

Well, since my car is running no better than either of his, the question really is, does he really want me working on them?

It sounds like that daughter of his could take care of it just fine. And I bet she cooks, too.

I'm starting to get afriad to enter the state of Oregon...

Hey, my 'battery issue car' is much better now. She'* holding a charge overnight and hasn't done that in awhile (of course, I haven't been driving it much until recently). All I did to go from not starting after a couple hours to holding oa charge overnight was top off 2 or 3 low cells and charge the battery again.

Might be all you need to do, Michelle. At least for now. If it gets worse, I'll probably swap batteries between cars for now. At least until the 93 gets the new harmonic balancer. Then I'll look for a cheap battery. Get a sealed unit if you have to buy a battery. Less chance of corrosion that way.

Well, I got mine going today. I got my battery all charged up, checked the water level, and popped it in. I had already replaced the terminal bolts, cleaned the wires with baking soda, and sanded down the 3 grounds I could find. (2 behind the ICM and the one on the fender)

One funny thing, the alarm usually goes off when I reattach the battery, and I shut it off with the fob. But when I went to start it this time, I got lights but no click until I held down the secret alarm button under the dash, then she started right up. Which I believe meant the alarm was switched on. I leave the alarm off these days, because there'* a short in one of the doors that sets it off randomly, and the siren burnt out a few years ago. So I don't know if that contributed to my problems, but it'* switched off again and I'll find out soon enough. I drove it briefly, and it seemed fine.

I'm going to let it sit a couple of days and see if the battery gets drained or not. But if she'* ok, then it'* wax time. I couldn't justify waxing a car that wouldn't start.

Sounds good. She should be good. If she doesn't hold that charge after driving, you need to call in the warranty on that alternator, or have the battery checke out.

But I suspect an underlying reason behind your waxing, and I believe I'll have to do some waxing myself to prevent being shown up by someone next weekend.

Well, she can't be the ugly duckling of the green machines! Her spoiler is a mess, and she sits under a tree all day. 'Nuff said...

So, I took her out for another ride tonight, this time with the lights on. She started right up, and the gauge was just under 14, like it usually is. As I was driving, I noticed the gauge was creeping lower than normal, especially at red lights. After about 5 minutes, I saw that the needle was leaning to the left, close to the red, except when I was accelerating, and I turned around and went home.

I think the battery isn't holding a charge. I watch my gauge pretty religiously, and I've never seen it anywhere beyond perfectly vertical, and that'* with the fan on full, the defrost on, and the lights on while sitting at a stop light. It'* only about 6 months old. After it was charged last night, I checked the water, and it was touching the plastic at the bottom of the openings.

Will auto parts stores check the battery in the car? What should I do next?