Hello everyone, it's been a while since I've been on here, now that I am here I have a few questions. What reasons for the battery to not charge? What can drain a battery? Why won't my car start properly? I started my car a few days ago since the weather finally was nice where I'm at but every time I have to start it, it needs to be jumped and luckily I bought a portable self-jump cable! I ask because it has never done this and there isn't much to check for! I also bought a dash cam bought decided to use the light port and not hotwire it into the car until it is restored! There aren't many aftermarket product in the car other than the stereo system, dash-cam, and other gauges for the car, other than that I can't think of why the car won't start! if someone could let me know what might the cause it would help a bunch, Thanks! Also I do plan on replacing the battery today so that will remove one issue but I should say this is my 3rd time relacing it in less than a year and am convinced that it isn't the battery it has to be something that I might be forgetting about in the car!
Have you had the alternator checked for proper output; it should be putting out somewhere in the realm of 14 volts? It's highly unlikely you need another battery. That is where I would focus on first. If the alt checks out, I wud look for something draining the battery using an amp tester. First-things- first, alt test.
If you have to jump it every time after it sets but starts OK after first time, the battery may be at fault... Could have have excessive parasitic drain(camera, radio memory, etc), maybe the alternator has weak output or a leaky diode(that qualifies as parasitic drain)... A $2.99 Harbor Freight VOM can tell you a lot, of course assuming you know how to use it...
I would test your voltage regulator. I had a voltage regulator on an F150 worked part time, and occasionally drain my battery right down to nothing in a matter of a couple hours. One day the thing would start great, and the alt was charging 14.4-14.6 volts routinely, yet I always had a dead battery, and the regulator for one reason or another must have been shorting internally and drawing my battery down.
