a battery can still show 12v even if it does not have the amps to turn your motor. i used to see it all the time at my old job. get the battery tested first.

 

definately clean your terminals and wires with baking soda and water first. just mix it together so that the baking soda dissolves in the water and take an old toothbrush and dip it and scrub your terminals, it should bubble and turn blue. then you can dip your wires into the baking soda and water mixture until they stop bubbling. this should be common sense but dry off your stuff before reconnecting.

thats exactly right, a battery can show good voltage, which should be no less than 12.45 v, and the amperage could be "wasted" for lack of better words. they are called cold cranking amps. you do need to do a voltage drop test. this can be done by disconnecting your fuel so that your engine wont start. try to start your car while your DMM is attached. after you start cranking, put a load on, headlights would be best, and your battery should not drop below 9.6 v in fifteen seconds. this can be done even if your starter is not cranking because you are still drawing from your battery.

 

ok guys i had a load test done on my charging system and battery and the result on the machine after the load test was like -2.60 amps. so i guess my charging system is fine but the battery cant hold its charge anymore and needs to be replaced. does this sound about right?

i also did the alternator test trick, where you disconnect the neg battery cable while the car is running, to rule that out and it kept on running so it wasn't that..

 

yeah. before you go out and buy a new battery, you could try topping off your cells with distilled water and then charge it and then try starting your car again. you have to let your alternator charge your battery for a while before you call your battery scrap, like a few days of driving it regularly. if it continues to not start, its time for a new battery.

be careful not to get any battery acid on you! and be careful not to breathe the fumes when you open your battery up!

 

well my car hasn't been starting every morning for the past week and a half so far..its a no maintainance battery and sealed..can i still open it up?

 

no, don't open it. how often do you drive your camaro? mine had a draw on the electrical system. so if i didn't run it for 3-5 days then it would kill the battery. more than likely it's just your battery. FYI...your alternator is not designed to charge your battery when it's dead like that. so when you have to jump your car off get it home then put the battery on a charger. i've seen alot of alternator's life span cut short due to people doing that.

 

i drive it everyday..oh really? i will probably get a new battery this weekend then

 

If the tops aren't glued on, then you CAN open the battery quite easily just like any other maintainable battery. I've even removed glued on covers too. There's NOTHING dangerous about it. "Maintenance free" does not mean the water (electrolyte) level won't go down either. I found that out the hard way when a "maintenance free" battery exploded on me. That happened ONLY because the level was low, and the cavity filled with explosive gases. A full battery can't fill with gas, so it's much safer. I ALWAYS check my batteries, even if it is called "maintenance free." I now consider a "maintenance free" battery, that's never been maintained, nothing but dangerous. I would definitely check the level in your battery. Filling it back up (if it needs it) just could bring it back to life.