choice of batteries, charging, et. al.

[John Larson]

They call battery chargers battery chargers. They do NOT call
alternators battery chargers. You risk destroying the alternator by
using it to charge up a nearly empty battery. Your choice. Further more,
it would take several (as in lots of) hours of driving with no
accessories operating to fully charge the battery. Charge the battery
for several hours at a low rate on a real battery charger, then have it
load tested. If it's good, then look for a drain, and check the
alternator/regulator performance as well, and look at the brushes. Check
the battery connections and the body and engine grounds. At 4 years, the
battery is ending its life expectancy anyway. Proceeding in a systematic
manner, testing each component of the starting/charging system, is gonna
be the most cost effective method of solving the problem. BTW, I'm
partial to Interstate batteries. Good luck, John