Battery advice

[Disco Mike]

@Mike I never said I knew anything ... all I know is from what I read on the forums... i'm not a retired service manager of 30 years. I never expected it to fix it self ... give me a break. Why are you so ******* people? I've read alot of posts where you come off kinda arrogant... alot of us come on here to find out stuff about our vehicles and get advice on fixing it ourself. I did plan on getting it tested but I've had bad experiences with getting my cars fixed at auto parts stores, so for me personally I don't trust what they tell me and all I was looking for was opinions from the guys on the forum. Give us a break we're all not certified mechanics like you.

You are a little sensitive today, I didn't say anything about you and your skills.
What I did do is answer you question with a reply and figured you would just do it so as to get this issue resolved. I didn't tell you to go have a bunch of $8 an hour counter people fix your truck, just test it with their automated testing equipment so you would then know what is going on.
Now if that doesn't work for you then you can listen and reply all day long to every other thought, idea or guess and still not know whats wrong time the weekend is over.
If you will follow my advice then post the voltages they will give you, then maybe someone on here will be able to help you thru this.

 

[drivesafe]

@drivesafe thanks for the response but it's only gotten worse in the last month going from starting after the first couple tries to taking like 5-6 minutes of turning the key all the way off then back on to start.

Whether it’s the battery or not, starting like that, taking a few minutes of trying, will stuff your battery, particularly as you are not driving much to allow the battery to be charged back up again.

Do you have another vehicle available and a set of jumper leads.

If you do, try set the LR3 up for a jump start, by connect the host vehicle to your LR3, and then with the host vehicle idling, see if the LR3 fires up straight away.

If you try this, make sure the positive lead is connected to the battery’s positive terminal and the negative lead is connected to an earth point, NOT the battery’s negative terminal.

There is a good earth point just in front of the battery box.

With the two vehicles connected, let them sit there for a few minutes with the host vehicle idling and your LR3’s ignition in the off position.

If you do still have problems starting, this pretty well rules the battery out as the problem.

The LR3’s have a known bad earth connection problem and this can cause similar starting issues like yours but, you need to rule the battery in or out as the potential problem first.

 

[RichL73]

ok so here's the update I took it to a European car shop and he said my alternator was only charging intermitently so it looks like i'm gonna be replacing the alternator, anyone no how big of a job this is for a novice like myself or should I just let the shop do it?

 

[RichL73]

@ Mike ... sorry if I misunderstood your intentions it seemed like you were being an ass so I apologize for any hard feelings.

 

[Disco Mike]

I may be an ass per some peoples thinking but I have been trying to help.
If you want some verbal help with this, send me your number and I'll be glad to call and walk you thru this.

 

[drivesafe]

ok so here's the update I took it to a European car shop and he said my alternator was only charging intermitently so it looks like i'm gonna be replacing the alternator, anyone no how big of a job this is for a novice like myself or should I just let the shop do it?

Hi Rich, did the shop give you a quote to repair/replace your alternator?

 

[RichL73]

He quoted me around $400... I checked at autozone and I can get one with a lifetime warranty for $207. I just need to find a friend that knows more than me about cars to help me put it in myself.

 

[Disco Mike]

You would need a lifetime warranty cause those from autozone always fail. Consider going to, http://www.bputah.com/ , where you can buy one of them good rebuild units for $240.

 

[MilehighLR3]

I did the battery check with my multimeter and it reads 12.5 standby and around 13.8 when I can get it started. When I turn it over it goes down around 11.5 before it starts.

Rich,

How old is the battery (OE from the factory or has it been replaced once?) Also, what part of the country do you live in?

12.5 is, by definition, partially discharged (ideal is 12.6-12.7 for a OE style battery, depending on temperature) but 11.5 is well within the SAE test requirements for a minimum voltage. It may be a simple case of age/climate.

DiscoMike is right though, the folks at the autoparts store should be able to diagnose the problem with their test equipment . . . . it really shouldn't matter what the make/model of the vehicle is . . . the testers are just going to look for voltage and current, measured against the established norms.

 

[Disco Mike]

Actually, ideal is 13.6 to 14.4 if you plan on running your computers.