It died on ya? Imagine that!!
You might as well call beforehand and arrange for a flatbed to take you home after the show, that is if the car even makes it there.

 

well since it died that once, I've started it...probably about a dozen times without issue. I did take the car to O'Reilly's this afternoon, and lo and behold, I do have a bad battery, as confirmed by the guy's testing equipment and by the fluid testing (after charging the battery, only one cell was above 50%). So looks like I'm gonna have to pick one up this week.

 

Any reason you didn't get a new one while you were at the parts store? Just saying because you were there and you definitely need a battery.

Did they perform a test on the alternator while you were there just to ensure that it isn't what killed the battery. You battery probably died of old age, but you never know.

I had a Chrysler minivan a few years ago that killed a brand new battery in less than a week. Took the battery into Schucks and they replaced it no problem. Less than a week later, and the battery was toasted again. This time I had them check the alternator while I was there getting a second replacement battery (free BTW). Alternator was good to go.

Long story short, turns out that I had a bad starter that was killing the battery. The starter gear was not completely disengaging every once in a while. New starter and end of all electrical charging problems on that ride.

 

I didn't get one at the parts store because I wanted to get back to my friend's house and charge it for a while and see if it made any difference. After trying that and testing it again myself and still finding it turned out it was bad, I went back to my apartment (in Dearborn, MI. The parts store I went to was in Toledo where my friend lives). I'm picking one up this afternoon.

 

so I bought a new battery, installed it, fired the car up, looked at my voltmeter, and...no difference

 

You need to get (even) a cheapo test meter, as I suggested earlier, so you know what's going on with the alternator. That or take the alternator in to get tested. A bad alternator can crap out a battery, especially when you keep pushing the battery hard by driving the car with a weakened charging system.

 

well I took it to a different O'Reilly today, and sure enough, bad alternator. Going to make some calls for pricing tonight, then I'm going to buy it tomorrow.