Re: "Battery Meltdown" or "Poltergeist"

[DeWitt Harrison <de@aztek-eng.com>]

On Tue, 9 Sep 1997 09:47:34 -0400, Paul Royal snuck back to write:

>Hi Folks,
>     Here's a nutty one for ya.  I go out to the parking garage in Boston
>last night [ stop me if you've heard this one, editor :-) ] and discover [
... ]

Car batteries can definitely fail in a "high resistance" mode, meaning they
can deliver almost no current even though a voltmeter says 12V. I apologize
that the details of the failure mechanism escape me but the result is an
internal open circuit. This happens without the helpful warning signs of
a weak battery. Anyway, "12.9 to 14V" and working everything when the
alternator is spinning but nothing working when the engine is stopped
means dead battery without hope of afterlife. Sorry. Many folks have
good luck with Interstate batteries. Someone else here recently recommended
another brand also. Look back a day or two.

DeWitt Harrison    de@aztek-eng.com
Boulder, CO
88 5kcstq