I agree with Triedaq and asemaster about load and voltage testing.
A simple voltmeter is more effective at diagnosing a battery than one of those small handheld testers used by Wal Mart et al.
@Triedaqā
Speaking of fixing them . . .
Sometimes our ācustomersā bring donuts for the mechanics, as a thank you.
Itās not a big deal, since we all work on the same ābaseā . . . the carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc. check in, then they head out to their job sites. So they just drop off donuts before they head off.
Anyways, when somebody does bring donuts, Iām always joking āDid we fix something, or maybe we just didnāt screw upā
Not screwing up isnāt always the same as actually fixing something . . .
LOL
asemaster "Yeah? Wait until you have to replace a battery in a late-model German car."
I have never owned a German vehicle. I learned in the mid 1970s to stay away. Having never owned one I will never miss one. I have had the misfortune to work on a few. Never again. Which is easy as I no longer work on anything. Your excellent advice is wasted on me as I would never consider purchasing a German vehicle.
The best tip I ever got was when a supervisor for a local beer distributor dropped by the dealership one day at lunch and left me a case of ice cold Coors.
Unfortunately, management would not allow me to test drive them so they got stuffed into the breakroom fridgeā¦
I wouldn t mind a super beetle
wesw Desire for old air cooled beetles is nostalgia driven. would you really want to drive a death trap? Stick with your Cherokee.
a friends mom had a really nice super beetle. I think it was one of that last model years they were sold here. it was pretty cool. we even hit 90 in it one day on a country road.
I can t remember what it said on the speedo, but I remember saying something about it never going that fast.
my friend got it up to 90. it took a while to get from 80 to 90 tho.
I wouldn t want to drive on I-95 with it, but I m a pretty good driver and don t consider it to be a deathtrap if used wisely. not any more than a geo metro, or smart car, or fiero, or MG, or corvette for that matter.
āSometimes our ācustomersā bring donuts for the mechanics, as a thank youā.
@db4690āI have a shop where I have been a customer for 20 years. I never thought to bring them donuts. However, I have sent them customers who now have all their work done at this shop. Unfortunately, these customers are old geezers like me and just as crazy, so I am not sure I did them any favors. One of my friends who I sent to this shop as a customer was 800 miles from home and couldnāt start his car. He called the shop long distance and asked what to do. He gave them a description of what was happening and the mechanic was able to tell him what to do to get the car started.
Iāve bought my last two replacement batteries at this shop. One reason is that I am too lazy anymore to remove and replace a battery and secondly, they have been good to me so I think they deserve to make a profit on the battery.
The first service that they did for me was for free. I had had a new starter installed in the car my son was driving at Western Auto. When the car was hot, the engine would barely turn over. I went back to Western Auto and the response I got was āIt starts just fine for usā. I took it to this shop when it was hot and the proprietor measured the current draw. He then disconnected the ignition to be sure the timing wasnāt over advanced and again measured the current draw as the engine barely turned over. He then wrote the values on his letterhead and had me go back to Western Auto. When Western Auto saw the current draw, they immediately replaced the starter. From that point on I became a customer.
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My auto repair shop says when the battery tests 50% or less on the CCA amps, then replacement is required. Easy to remember and my shop has top marks for diagnosis and auto repair.