After service battery wont hold charge

[ThaiWai]

Brought my 2006 Isuzu to Isuzu for a fuel pump.  They got ambitious and wanted to change a belt.  Rather than debate them I let them.  Now when I try to start the truck the battery is either dead or dying.  I replaced the battery with a heavy duty on almost 2 years ago and never had any power issues of any kind.  I called them and they are trying to say it could not have been them.  Give me some ammo.  What did they F up in my truck??  Additional info, they left three worn belts in my cab when I picked it up and I am starting it every day rather than letting it sit at all and it is starting every day but I am afraid if I skip a day it will be dead again.

[transam]

Does the dash "charge" light go out or come on..?

[transam]

I believe your ride has V-belts where correct tension is important as if slack will/may slip on the pulleys. Lift the hood, should only have about 6mm movement when you press on it. If a lot more take the ride back for adjustment.

PS. Some ride/batteries only last 2 years in high compression engines, l have the T-shirt....

[Just Weird]

"Now when I try to start the truck the battery is either dead or dying".

"I am starting it every day rather than letting it sit at all and it is starting every day..."

 

Make your mind up, which one is it?

 

You won't find any ammo, what do you think the dealer could have done to wear out your battery?  You've got a tired battery, that's all, just get a new one.

 

[johng]

Also check that the alternator is supplying 14.2 -14.5 volts @ about 3000 rpm any lower than 13.8 volts and the battery won't get charged up at all.

[Kwasaki]

Did you mark your battery before taking to dealer at some places staff like to change their old battery for a newer one. !!

[ThaiWai]

8 hours ago, HAKAPALITA said:

They didnt the Battery is old.

Wow so the battery was fine for 1.5 years.  It goes in for service and they tampered with the alternator belt for 3 days and now the battery is dead /dying and thats the best you got? Prepare to be raped every time you go for service.

[ThaiWai]

41 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Did you mark your battery before taking to dealer at some places staff like to change their old battery for a newer one. !!

I did not but I did note on the receipt that they "checked" the battery and of their own three choices the marked it as "Checked OK"

[ThaiWai]

3 hours ago, Just Weird said:

"Now when I try to start the truck the battery is either dead or dying".

"I am starting it every day rather than letting it sit at all and it is starting every day..."

 

Make your mind up, which one is it?

 

You won't find any ammo, what do you think the dealer could have done to wear out your battery?  You've got a tired battery, that's all, just get a new one.

 

Dead means I needed to jump it one day.  Dying means I needed to jump it a second day as it was nearly dead.  After I got it running it will start if I don't skip days.  My mind is made up.  I expressed it perfectly clearly in proper English so If you don't understand the question then you should not be replying.  The odds the battery which is not old or tired suddenly dies while in the possession of a mechanic is highly suspicious and I am not dropping another 6000 baht without an explanation and examination and neither should you in the same situation.

[ThaiWai]

8 hours ago, transam said:

Does the dash "charge" light go out or come on..?

Cant check right now.  Had to leave country in the middle of this issue.  Will check when back.

[ThaiWai]

8 hours ago, transam said:

I believe your ride has V-belts where correct tension is important as if slack will/may slip on the pulleys. Lift the hood, should only have about 6mm movement when you press on it. If a lot more take the ride back for adjustment.

PS. Some ride/batteries only last 2 years in high compression engines, l have the T-shirt....

Thats the tech talk I was expecting and suspected. Thanks.  For the advice and for not being a part of the douchebag barstool brigade.  Update: Today they, after some prodding, sent staff out to inspect the issue and are working on it now.

[ThaiWai]

2 minutes ago, HAKAPALITA said:

If You paid 6K for a Battery .!!

That's not a full sentence but if I recall that what it costs.  Point is I don't care if it was 50 baht.  If I didn't damage it I'm not paying to replace it.  I'll get the receipt for you when I get back home but in the meantime stop being a sucker.

[transam]

3 hours ago, johng said:

Also check that the alternator is supplying 14.2 -14.5 volts @ about 3000 rpm any lower than 13.8 volts and the battery won't get charged up at all.

My ride never sees 3000rpm, in fact it rarely sees 2000rpm....?

[Samuel Smith]

58 minutes ago, Kwasaki said:

Did you mark your battery before taking to dealer at some places staff like to change their old battery for a newer one. !!

Yep, that's what happened to mine.  Must've been the folks doing the "free" car wash out the back after the service.  They even replaced it with a cheaper brand of battery, & I only discovered it a couple of months later when my battery died.  Nowhere else had access to my battery, but too late & no proof to pursue it.  Lesson learned.  Now, i open bonnet before service & take a photo.  But what else gets switched....

[Briggsy]

If the garage has overcharged your battery somehow, there is potential for permanent damage of the battery.

 

Did they connect up a charger at any time (even though it wasn't required)?

 

I have found that a fair percentage of Thai mechanics consider the upper limit to actually be the lower limit. Thus one's engine oil is refilled way above the upper limit, tyres are inflated above the upper limit, coolant is filled above the upper limit, etc. The same could be applied to batteries. (The thinking may be some is good, more is better, or let's just add a little more to be on the safe side.)

 

Either way, this won't help you as the garage will never admit any wrongdoing.

 

Is the battery case swollen at all?

[Crossy]

Battery failing after a service is certainly a bit suss.

 

But.

 

Lead-acid batteries do fail suddenly in the tropics. I've had a few over the years that have been fine (maybe a little weak) that one morning simply failed to even work the lights or take charge. Dead!!

[KhaoYai]

There is nothing that would normally be touched when changing a fuel pump that could affect your battery - as a rule of thumb, if the charge light goes out when you start it, its charging. If the garage had touched anything to stop it charging, your charge light would be on. A more precise check as someone has mentioned already would be to connect a meter across the battery terminals with the engine running - your looking for a reading above 14 volts just above idle speed.

 

Most likely is either they 'swapped' your battery or its died.  Batteries can be strange things, I had an original one on a 320d bmw that lasted an amazing 12 years but on the other hand I've seen them die in less than 2 years.  Last year my Alfa diesel was used every day and never had a problem. I left it at Manchester airport for 3 weeks - started no problem on my return. Two weeks later I left it for a weekend and the battery struggled to even light up the dash lights by the Monday morning - battery simply died.  If your battery has been 'swapped' - can you prove it?

 

You ask for ammunition but there is none really, if your motor is charging correctly then the battery that's fitted, whether its yours or not, is most likely knackered.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, transam said:

My ride never sees 3000rpm, in fact it rarely sees 2000rpm....?

Sounds like you need a Morris Minor granny car these days. ?

[Scott]

Troll posts removed. 

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, ThaiWai said:

I did not but I did note on the receipt that they "checked" the battery and of their own three choices the marked it as "Checked OK"

Had OME batteries on cars only last just over a year, had truck batteries getting on for 6 years, my scoot battery is 7 year old at the mo, with battery in Thailand IMO luck of the draw.

Save hassle and treat yourself to a new battery when your back,  you can get a GS heavy duty battery for around 3000 bht or less.

[cooked]

For this kind of stuff I go to a B-Quick place, they are equipped to check everything and aren't pushy about selling you stuff. 

I believe that they don't charge for a check up if you buy something, at least that's my experience.

[Kwasaki]

1 hour ago, Samuel Smith said:

Yep, that's what happened to mine.  Must've been the folks doing the "free" car wash out the back after the service.  They even replaced it with a cheaper brand of battery, & I only discovered it a couple of months later when my battery died.  Nowhere else had access to my battery, but too late & no proof to pursue it.  Lesson learned.  Now, i open bonnet before service & take a photo.  But what else gets switched....

Yeah I was told years ago about batteries when getting a new car/truck along with check the spare wheel.

The only other thing to watch if you have a full tank of fuel and also check mileage if not stay/waiting with the car/truck.

Doesn't happen everywhere I have never had a problem locally except neglected checking and workmanship by a main dealer.

Fortunately I know enough about motor mechanics the thing is many people don't. 

 

[transam]

12 hours ago, Kwasaki said:

Sounds like you need a Morris Minor granny car these days. ?

Noooo, if you drove over 30mph in a Morris Minor it was doing over 3000rpm..

[pieeyed]

Buy a new battery.