2 weeks ago my battery was dead. I took it to autozone and they charged it tested it and said it tested good ( battery is 5 years old ) today I drove 190 miles but when i tried to start car it was dead again. I got a jump and the car started no problem. Is this a dud battery or could it be an alternator issue ? No warning lights or any other issue is happening
It could be an alternator. It could be a current sensor. Both can act like a bad alternator. Have it diagnosed by an actual auto shop.
A battery that is more than 3 years old can give problems at any time.
Some parts stores will test the battery and the charging system for free.
Tester
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I took it to autozone and they charged it then tested it and said it was good. Would this rule the battery being bad out completely ?
Do you remember what kind of battery tester was used?
Because the new battery testers don’t require recharging the battery in order to test it.
Tester
I know when they tested it first they said it needed charging Once charged then they tested it again and said it was good
It was an electronic display tester. It flashed up good on the screen when they tested it. I’m thinking to just go ahead and replace the battery as it’s 5 years old. I’d hate to take it to the Nissan dealership tomorrow and they charge me $165 diagnostic fee just to tell me it’s the battery.
Sams club and Costco both have good prices on batteries and will do a good job of testing the charging system As @Tester said a battery over 3 years old can give trouble, a five year old battery has provided a decent amount of service and should be retired. A friend worked at a McParts store and based on battery returns, even 5 year life batteries, any battery over 3 years was at risk of failing.
Perhaps Sam’s Club tests batteries, but Costco does not. Costco has good prices on their Interstate batteries, but they don’t install them, and they don’t test your old battery.
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Sounds like alternator. Measure the Voltage with engine running and the headlights on. Some cars lower the Voltage to 13.5V after it warms up, and that won’t fully charge an older battery. It should be at least 13.5 Volts. 14 to 14.7 would be better.
I took a battery from a modern 6 cylinder car that had a battery bad warning. I put it in my 4 cylinder car that charges at 14.4 Volts and after several months I have no issues. It may have reduced capacity, but I don’t leave stuff on for an extended period. I did leave my lights on for 4 hours, but that’s what the jump starter is for, and I needed it.