2006 Kia Spectra battery?

THESKATER1993

MEMBER
2006 KIA SPECTRA
2.0L
4 CYL
FWD
AUTOMATIC
150,000 MILES

Okay so I was driving and my head unit shut off and reset itself and lights were not as bright so I took it to my house shut the car off so I went to start it again and nothing the lights were really dim or sometimes it wouldnt show I event tried to lock my doors with the lock button on my key and nothing so I checked the battery it is shows its 12 something volts so is it my battery or something else?

thank you

1 Reply

CARADIODOC

MECHANIC
33,871 POSTS

"12-something" is not helpful. It must be measured to at least one decimal place. A fully-charged battery will read 12.6 volts. A good but discharged battery will read 12.2 volts. If you find somewhere around 11 volts, it has a shorted cell and must be replaced.

The place to start is by charging the battery at a slow rate for an hour, turn the headlights, (or any other load), on for about ten seconds, then remeasure the voltage. If it's 12.6 volts, suspect the charging system. To test that, the first part of the test simply involves measuring battery voltage again with the engine running. You must find between 13.75 and 14.75 volts. If it is low, the main suspects are the generator and voltage regulator. At that point the next measurement of value is at the large bolted-on output wire on the back of the generator. You should find full battery voltage there with the engine off. If you find 0 volts with the engine off, and much higher voltage than battery voltage with the engine running, look for a break in that wire between there and the battery positive terminal. Most vehicles now have a large fuse bolted into the under-hood fuse box for that circuit.