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2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine


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Versa09
User

Aug 13, 2017, 10:04 AM

Post #1 of 9 (2817 views)
  post locked   2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  

Continuing my previous post (http://autoforums.carjunky.com/...replacement_P191249/, after fixing an intermittent ground wire that caused the engine to run roughly, we're now having what seems to be a battery issue.

Before fixing the ground wire, we saw no indication of a weak/bad battery. The car cranked fine every time. After fixing the ground, we got two starts out of it before the battery seemed to go dead. no dash indicators or door chime with the key in ON position. Sometimes, we will get a door chime or a weakly lit dash indicator, but turning the key seems to sap whatever little current was there, i.e. the chime/lights go off and the starter doesn't turn at all.

We put a jump starter on the battery and the dash light lit up, the door chime sounded, and we were able to crank the engine. I put a charger on the battery yesterday and topped off the charge (it didn't read low), but no change.

I did find another grounding problem (below) where a ground lug wasn't attached to anything, but re-attaching the lug doesn't seem to affect the problem.

So, assuming the battery is okay, why would I only get adequate electrical power when a jump pack is connected? The battery terminals are clean and the battery is reading 12.5 V both across the battery posts and across the battery connectors.

I'd really like to try a different battery, but the only other battery we have has side posts. I haven't yet asked Autozone if they'd take a return if I buy one and it doesn't fix the problem, but I may drive into town today and see what they say.

Potential grounding issues:

Don't know if these issues would affect the battery power issue, but I'll include them here.

The negative battery cable has a middle lug (marked TO BODY EARTH] below) that's apparently supposed to attach to body ground. Mine isn't attached to anything but reattaching it doesn't change anything. The last lug on that cable is marked TO ENGINE EARTH. On my vehicle, that lug is bolted to the frame, not the engine.



Middle lug on the vehicle:



But attaching the lug doesn't affect the issue.

The earlier issue was that the ground wire highlighted in green below was only loosely attached to the body. This other end of the cable is attached to the engine crank housing (at least that's what my kid says it is).



A photo of a similar engine kind of shows that cable attached to the alternator bolt but I'm not sure (too hard to make out). Dunno if moving that lug to the alternator bolt would make any difference, but my cable definitely isn't long enough to reach the alternator.


-
2011 Dodge Nitro SXT
SUV 4D (3.7L V6 SMPI)
Odometer: 100,800 miles


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Aug 13, 2017, 11:01 AM

Post #2 of 9 (2813 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  

The first step in this process is to determine what is actually happening.
The choices are..........

Battery is bad and not capable of holding a charge
Battery connections are bad
Charging system is not recharging the battery
Parasitic drain on the battery when parked.


You have to start testing to determine which of those paths we need to follow.
If it comes down to parasitic draw, here is the method to check that but the other issues have to be addressed first and in the order I listed them.



You will need a digital ammeter and a jumper wire with clips on the ends to do this.
First rig any door switches so you can have a door open without triggering the interior lights and unplug the hood light. Remove one battery cable and attach the meter in series between the battery cable and battery post. Take the jumper wire and also attach it the same way. Leave the jumper wire on for at least 30 to 40 minutes to expire all the automatic timers. Now remove the jumper wire and read the meter. Anything over 50ma is too much draw. The way you locate this is to start removing fuses one at a time until the meter drops to normal level. This will be the circuit with something staying on. Determine what components are part of that circuit and check them individually until the problem is isolated.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Versa09
User

Aug 13, 2017, 1:52 PM

Post #3 of 9 (2792 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  


In Reply To
The first step in this process is to determine what is actually happening.
The choices are..........

Battery is bad and not capable of holding a charge
Battery connections are bad
Charging system is not recharging the battery
Parasitic drain on the battery when parked..


Thanks, HT. We looked for parasitic draw a couple days ago when this started, and I checked again today using your instructions with the jumper. Then, as now, the multimeter reads ~6mA when wired in series between the battery post and cable.

The battery has consistently read 12.5V since the issue started, so it seems to be both receiving and holding a charge. Even after topping it off with the charger yesterday, I still only got a trickle of juice to the instrument cluster; enough to sound the door chime, but not enough for the headlights to glow or the starter to turn over.

So I dunno... it acts too much like a bad battery to not be a bad battery, but I'm still perplexed by the multimeter reading 12+V and Autozone's tester showing a good battery.

I guess I'll have to put a new battert in it tomorrow. I hate to spend the money without knowing that I need to, but at least I'll be able to take battery condition out of the equation if the problem persists.

Thanks again!
-
2011 Dodge Nitro SXT
SUV 4D (3.7L V6 SMPI)
Odometer: 100,800 miles


(This post was edited by Versa09 on Aug 13, 2017, 1:53 PM)


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Aug 13, 2017, 2:07 PM

Post #4 of 9 (2783 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  

Believe me, one of the things I listed is wrong with this. Don't go throwing parts at it without something testing bad.

If the battery tests good and if fully charged and it still won't start, then you have a connection problem. Could be on either the power or the ground side.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.



Versa09
User

Aug 13, 2017, 2:15 PM

Post #5 of 9 (2775 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  


In Reply To
If the battery tests good and if fully charged and it still won't start, then you have a connection problem. Could be on either the power or the ground side.


Ok. The kid took the vehicle to work, so I'll pick up a post cleaner tomorrow and give those posts & terminals a good cleaning. I'll also see if I can pick up the right bolt at the dealership to re-attach the body ground and get that issue out of the way, too.
-
2011 Dodge Nitro SXT
SUV 4D (3.7L V6 SMPI)
Odometer: 100,800 miles


Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Tom Greenleaf profile image

Aug 14, 2017, 2:50 AM

Post #6 of 9 (2744 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  

? What's with the green ground cable? Is that so painted it doesn't work? Just a thought, T



Versa09
User

Aug 14, 2017, 9:03 AM

Post #7 of 9 (2728 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  


In Reply To
? What's with the green ground cable? Is that so painted it doesn't work? Just a thought, T


Nah, I just shaded them green in the photo to help identify them. No paint.
-
2011 Dodge Nitro SXT
SUV 4D (3.7L V6 SMPI)
Odometer: 100,800 miles


Versa09
User

Aug 14, 2017, 9:42 AM

Post #8 of 9 (2726 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  


In Reply To
Believe me, one of the things I listed is wrong with this. Don't go throwing parts at it without something testing bad.


Wow, this is pretty embarrassing. When I started removing the positive terminal, I found that the terminal nut hadn't been tightened down. I tightened the nut, the car starts, and the issue seems to be resolved.

Sorry to have wasted your time on this one HT, but without your help, I'd still be out there poking it with a stick.
-
2011 Dodge Nitro SXT
SUV 4D (3.7L V6 SMPI)
Odometer: 100,800 miles


Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky / Moderator
Hammer Time profile image

Aug 14, 2017, 9:46 AM

Post #9 of 9 (2722 views)
  post locked   Re: 2009 Nissan Versa - Battery acts dead but Autozone says it's fine  

No problem. That's what we are here for. We don't mind when people actually listen to us.

I'll close this one now.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.







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