Odds of battery just dying?

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BB73Challenger

BB73Challenger

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I've never come across a problem like this, so I figured I'd throw it out there.

I have a 1967 273 Barracuda, and is pretty original.
No extra accessories or hack jobs.
No air, just motor and typical items, lights, AM radio.

After nipping a slight power steering leak I figured I would get a little more drive time in.
I drive to work, no issues. Drive home afterwards, no issues.
Get home and Mother in Law is over and blocking drive, so I park behind her.
She goes to leave and I hit the key and it clicks as if the solenoid is going to engage and then nothing.
And then I realize even the dome light is out.

I still had the original Amp meter and was functioning but honestly on drive home paid zero attention to it.

So I get my multimeter out the next day and do a little searching.
12.7 at battery. I know this is NOT the full story of a healthy battery.
12 plus volts all the way through bulkhead and was pleasantly surprised to see a PO has done a VERY good bulkhead terminal elimination for the "hot" in and alt through as well.
Now I notice dome light is on.
I turn head lights on and it goes off.
Unhook battery and dome light back on.
Honk horn and it makes a rather croaky noise.
Hit key to start and nothing happens and dome light back off.
I can get very low power things to "come a little alive" but any serious draw shuts everything down.
I pull dash as curious as to the Amp meter and the multi-splice for all power in cabin.
Everything looks great.
No previous hacks, no "heated" or "melted wires" or nothing.
So I measure volts at the splice after Amp meter.
As I turn on accessories I see the volts drop, like a lot.
Dome light goes to around 11, flashers to less than 10 and so on.

So back to my battery, it's an old battery of unknown age.
Heck I've had the car 2 years now alone.

So, can a battery just go like that?
I figured I'll run it up to a parts store and have them test it, but I've had batteries crap out before and never like that.

Thanks for the input.
 
I used to sell auto parts in a previous life. This has, can, does and will happen. "Just like that."

However, until you have done some testing, you are just guessing.

Turn the lights on. Measure battery voltage right at the posts. I mean, stabbed RIGHT into the tops of the posts.

Move first one probe, then the other, over 1/2 inch so it's stabbed into the CLAMP. Voltage should NOT change. If it does......loose / bad connection

Move one the hot probe from the post/ clamp to the starter relay battery stud. Voltage should not change. If it does, bad cable

Same with ground.

If headlights don't give results try adding any other heavy loads.......4 x flashers, blower motor, even a "big" stereo.

Try wiggling the bulkhead connector, look for changes.

If voltage is low in these tests right at battery, it is either low (discharged) or defective. Charge it up, have it load tested.

If it has caps, remove them, WEAR A FACE SHIELD. Jumper the starter relay while looking into the cells If one cell bubbles "more" than others, that battery is toast
 
Had a 97 pickup as my daily driver, never had a problem! Drove it to work one snowy day and met the plow truck coming down the hill, I was going up! I pulled into a driveway so he could go by, backed out and started up the hill and stalled it, manual trans! Started it up, no problem, stalled again! Go to start it again.....dead! Just like that, the battery went, and I mean went! A lady in a Cadillac got me jump started, made it to the job, push started it to get home, tested the battery.....dead!!!

As the great philosopher and thinker of thoughts Forrest Gump once said...."it happens"!!!
 
Classic suddenly bad battery symptoms if I ever saw them.

Of course I would do a quick cables and whatnot check, and try charging or jumping it to get it running and another voltage check running. (should be 14. something or so)

If all that checked out I'd be pretty secure in getting another one.
(If I'm sure I didn't leave something on and kill it) :)
 
Excellent thank you all.
I'll give a test on the cables/connections/battery over the next couple of days.
With Mom's day Sunday I'll be busy but I'll get cracking on it early next week.
 
Clean the battery terminals and cable ends,, check belt condition and tension, adjust as nec..

Charge battery and check battery.voltage running...
 
Yup, seen batteries go out exactly like that and THEN recover to just like new after a few minutes of running! My theory is a loose/fracture cell connection on the grid. You can get "12.7 volts", but no ampacity to speak of.

A 3 yr. old battery is at the end of my comfort zone.

A great tool that makes those problems somewhat easier is a battery load tester, a relatively inexpensive must, imho. It thins out the guess work.
 
I had one go totally dead like that, well worse.

Drove to work in the morning, everything good,

Go out to get in the truck at lunch, turn the key, nothing, and I mean NOTHING !

No dome light, no radio, completely dead.

I've been told, that's the way they go these days, they start falling apart internally, and short out, and gone.
 
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