My 96 850 Wagon is completely unresponsive. It is as if the battery is disconnected. I had work done on it a few days ago --- replaced air pump and secondary 02 sensor and all seemed to be fine after that. I drove it a couple of times and was not aware of anything being amiss. Today I went to start it (in a heavy rain) and absolutely nothing happened. I have no emergency flasher light, no dashboard lights of any kind.

The battery is only 2 years old (EXIDE with 60 month guarantee) so it seems unlikely to have died.

I have looked under the hood for the possibility of a newly installed wire (from the recent work) that has come loose, but don't see any likely culprits.

I suspect that there is either a problem with a main relay or fuse but I don't know where to look for either of those (or if they even exist), but that is a blind guess.

Any suggestions?

Might be you left your lights on have you tried to boost the battery or checked the voltage? Also could be your alternator, autozone will check them for free they are just a pain to get out and they can also test them on the car.

Definately have the battery checked or at least initially check it with a multi-meter. Testing the alternator will take more work, as testing it on the vehicle is very limited (they usually want you to bring it in the store), besides you need the car running to test it on the vehicle.

Check the ground wire to make sure it is grounded (main one from the battery). It doesnt go far from the battery. Never know, for some reason it could have come loose...chances are slim but it will cause your problem as well.

There aren;t many things that will cause a complete lack of any power whatsoever, so start from the battery and work your way forward...you shouldnt have to go far if it isnt the battery itself.

I did some recent work on my car awhile back where I removed the battery completely. The battery was fine when I removed it, but was completely dead un unrevivable when I put it back in. No clue why, but I had to jump start it to get it down the street and replace the battery, afterwards that problem was fixed.

Didn't/Can't leave the lights on. They go on and off with the car automatically. I don't think I have ever seen a dead battery this absolutely dead - no sign of life in any way when I turn the key - not even the vaguest glimmer of a dash light - so I would be very very surprised if it were the battery.

On the other hand, I took my neon bulb tester (6-12 volts) out to the car and got nothing between the + terminal and ground or between the two terminals... I am taking this battery back tomorrow.

I was amazed when mine went dead also. It was perfectly fine when I took it out. I set it on top of the forklift nearby. 2 hours later I put it back in and it wouldnt even register 0.1V.

Something flat out killed it in those 2 hours, but I have no clue.

Aliens, must be them pesky aliens :P

:haha: :haha: :haha:

I'm sure it was a real eye-opener to some of us too.
:)
Same as mine.
Just one fine day, crank goes crazy and all...

Mystery solved - I hope. Replaced battery and as soon as I hooked up the second terminal the new air pump started to run. Went back to the repair shop and they replaced the ancient relay that was apparently sticking (it had stopped by the time I got back to the shop) and all seems to be okay.

Only Odin knows why this air pump relay would be energized with the ignition off. This sticking relay is apparently what caused the battery to drain - which would not have happened if it only worked when the engine was running ... and it may also have caused the original air pump to die even before that. This damned relay comes as part of a set of 3 -- about $55. And it cost over 10 times that by the time I replaced the pump and the battery (the battery warranty is a pro-rated replacement at this point).

Or one of your friends swapped it with theirs.




Dascher,

What does a pro-rate replacement mean? How does it work?
I thought you said it was on a 5year warranty?

I dont know the full intricate details on pro-rating, but basically it works something like this:

Example: 5 year warranty (60 months)

months 1-24 would be a direct replacement at no charge
months 25-60 would be pro-rated, thus they pro-rate the expect amount of life the battery should have had left and create the value of the battery at that time, and you pay the difference between the lost value of your battery and the new replacement one.

Something like that.

My battery troubles in the past:
Had one blow the top off when I turned the ignition about 3 years ago. Last month, my girl takes the car 2 blocks down the road parks it for 10 minutes comes out, all the engine would do was click. Registered 8volts. If it happens again im buying an optium battery.

Wow, you guys have really long-lasting batteries. I have been changing them like every year!

Shucks.

Bear, look into getting an optium brand battery. They have a lifetime replacement warranty.

I will. Thanks for telling.

There is a fair amount of lead sulphate suspended in the electrolyte of a battery. Over time this sulphate gradually falls to the bottom of the battery and in rare cases it can build up to a point where it will actually short out plates in a cell.

So, if you shift a battery around that has been working O.K, you may inadvertently tilt the battery sufficiently enough to cause some of this sulphate to move and bridge out a plate or two.

Bingo, an apparently good battery - now useless! :haha: :haha:

hey bang, it might also be the heat and humidity in malaysia that is causing your batteries to die out every year. or that at the speed that you are driving at, the charge has been left behind from where you started off from and lost you on the way to where you were going. wha.............crap, even i didn't get that. no more hair gel.

Yeah, the weather is definitely something. And whenever the AAM guy comes to change the batteries, they always say, i see you got ICE in there? No wonder these dont last...

Like whatever...

And since its my daily driver, i dont feel so bad.
:|

Oh I know what you are talking about, kinda like Doc did in back to the future with the Delorian right? Black strips in the drive way for the lady next door on that one! :clap: and Dancing banannas. :banana: :banana: :banana: