Would a completely dead battery not even start when jumped?

An interesting development:

Now that we've replaced the battery, we've found out WHY the battery
died.. My wife just called and said someone told her that her lights
were on.. Well, her lights are switched off, but her center brake light
will not turn off.. So now i've gotta run to her work and do something
about it.

 

Correction, after looking.. NONE of the brake lights turn off... Luckily,
I quickly found the problem.. The brake light switch (at the pedal) is
not getting pressed because the piece of plastic in the pedal is gone..
I'll have to find a bolt or screw to put it its place..

 

Why not replace the missing plastic piece or the pedal? I'm sorry,
but some of your homemade fixes sound really scary. Fix it right.
Someone's life could depend on it.

 

(Tomas) decided to join the conversation on 05 Aug
2004 with message

Well, instead of a plastic piece which has already broken once, i'm
replacing it with a metal nut/bolt that ain't goin nowhere.

How is that scary?

 

I wouldn't agree that it's scary, but have you considered whether a
metal nut/bolt will wear out the brake light switch? Isn't that made out
of plastic too? You may want to put a loose rubber strip over that to
offer it additional protection.

Abe

 

That may not be a bad idea.. I'll have to look into that.

Thanks.

 

Actually, I'll tell you what's scary... Scary is getting damn near rear
ended because your brake lights are constantly on (so they look like tail
lights), which is what happened to me when I went to get the bolt and
nuts to do this.. Then as I was backing out of my parking spot, the guy
across from me almost hit me cause (i'm assuming) he thought i was
stopped. After that, I started putting my hazards on when I stopped. That
at least got peoples' attention.

How long would I have had to wait for a replacement piece to come in? How
long would it have stayed in there (granted the old one stayed in for 13
years) ..

I wouldn't dare let my wife (carrying my unborn child) drive for a few
days like that..

 

One possible caveat: thickness. Be careful that the total thickness of
your stud and protective layer isn't such that it puts excessive
pressure on that switch.

A thought: if the plastic that normally goes there is so flimsy that it
comes off all the time, wouldn't Honda do something about it? Perhaps it
was a fluke that it came off, and simply replacing the missing piece
with a Honda OEM part would be fine.

Such a little thing inspires such considerations...

 

Most overlooked starting problem... Corroded terminal connections.

JT

-

 

That is not necessarily true.

I left the lights on my truck a few months ago only to return to deal
with a completely dead battery that was nearly seven years old. Got a
jump start, (yes, let the battery charge for about five minutes first on
the jump prior to attempting a start), and it has been fine since.

It depends on:

1. Battery quality/rating

2. Good maintenance

3. Luck

 

Another sin that most people commit... Cheap battery booster cables.

A good set will cost $15-20 and even then, run the engine on the donor
car for a few minutes and let the the recipient battery charge.

Common sense really...

 

Regarding AutoZone cheap batteries, you're correct.

I have been buying the "gold" batteries with a three year free
replacement. If a battery is going to fail prematurely, it will be most
likely during that time frame. Also, the better batteries have a
significantly higher cold cranking rating which means less stress on the battery.

 

Thar's more than one way to skin a cat, eh?

<G>

 

You did just fine Chris, don't let the peanut gallery get to you...

 

Grumpy au Contraire <> decided to join the
conversation on 07 Aug 2004 with message

I wouldn't call it "getting to me" .. I was just stating my point of view
of the situation, and my reasons for wanting a "same day" fix.

 

isnt the car a '91? stuff happens over time.

 

SoCalMike <> decided to join the
conversation on 08 Aug 2004 with message

Yup.. '91 .. Has about 165k miles on it.

 

____________________________________
Great advice! It's much better to try and jump a car off of 12v battery
instead of a 14.5v live system. Nothing like TWO dead batteries.....LOL!

Not anymore : )