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Possible bad battery

Tiny
JR47
  • MEMBER
  • 1999 PONTIAC GRAND PRIX
  • 3.8L
  • V6
  • 2WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 271,534 MILES
I went out to start my car this afternoon and nothing, it will not even crank at all, no dash lights come on but my gas, tachometer and speedometer gauges all jump up and down a bit. I drove it yesterday and everything was fine and I did not leave any lights on at all I always check to make sure I did not. I have not checked anything yet but car has had the same battery since I bought it which was six years ago now. I just want your opinion on this.
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Sunday, August 26th, 2018 AT 2:15 PM

5 Replies

Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,465 POSTS
Could be a bad battery but before I condemn it I would verify that you have nice clean tight connections at both ends of the cables. On GM's especially any acid seepage tends to get inside the side mount cables where the connectors are crimped and causes a lot of problems. I have seen more than one cable that looked like new but inside the actual wire was corroded to the point that it was barely hanging on. If you have a local chain parts store or even a WalMart, most will test a battery for free.
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Sunday, August 26th, 2018 AT 2:36 PM
Tiny
JR47
  • MEMBER
  • 100 POSTS
Could it be my positive cable it had the most corrosion on the connectors at both ends of it and inside the cable itself at both ends. Battery is fine and I cleaned all other connections which had very little to no corrosion on them and nothing has changed.
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Monday, August 27th, 2018 AT 8:25 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,465 POSTS
Could very well be. They love to corrode inside the insulation.
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Tuesday, August 28th, 2018 AT 3:28 AM
Tiny
JR47
  • MEMBER
  • 100 POSTS
Well, I managed to get the interior lights on and the main dash lights when the ignition is on but the dash lights flicker and dim out after a bit. I have just been changing the connections on the battery cables with some spare ones I found in my garage. It still does not crank it.
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Thursday, August 30th, 2018 AT 6:03 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 13,465 POSTS
How did you test the battery? It still sounds like either a bad battery or bad connection.
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Thursday, August 30th, 2018 AT 7:48 PM

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