Battery went completely Dead. Jump-started, now engine is shaky and weak?

Hey all. Accidentally left the trunk open for 3 days straight and battery went completely dead. Tried a battery jump-starter and wasn't strong enough to power back up, so I got jumped from my neighbors car.
I let it run for 20 minutes and took it for a spin, Right away, I noticed the car is struggling to accelerate, the engine sounds WAY louder when accelerating, and when in idle (with engine on), the car shakes/jolts every 10-15 seconds or so.
Do you think I just need a new battery or could something else have went wrong?

BATTERY BATTERY...
I just put in a new battery myself this past week and it was totally worth it. For MONTHS I was dealing with sluggish, took forever to change into gears, higher rev, louder acceleration, and jerking especially between 5-25 mph, everyone kept telling me it was because 1st gear is rough. I kept feeling it the most when pulling into my driveway thinking its going to die because i'm not giving it enough gas. I drive standards as well so it was hard to judge what the cause was.

When the issue started the dealer told me it was the spark plugs, they said they had fouled out all at the same time....They tried to show me a set of plugs that I knew weren't mine, I disagreed with them because that's what I thought the problem was and replaced them myself at home a few weeks before with non factory plugs unlike the ones they were holding. They didn't want to look any further since I refused to pay for them to change the plugs that were maybe a monthish old, after all I did it was the battery for sure. I cleaned the MAP/MAF sensors, air filter (thinking it was 'gasping' for air), changed the spark plugs, changed the coils, the final straw was the battery. 2 years ago I had hail damage to the car, and while in the shop they killed my battery because the doors were off and they had the battery connected so they would drive it in and out of the shop during the day. The told me they replaced my battery but I could clearly tell by the date on the side of the battery when I pulled it, it was not replaced. I'd bet you're issue is the same as mine was. (PS-Alternator tested fine during this whole process)
 
What IS the best way to clean your engine bay? I've heard various people over the years say to use a spray hose on it, i've heard others say DOOONNNTTT lol.

Whats your secret Conrad?

No secret Mac. I just make cleaning the engine bay part of my cleaning routine. Whenever I wash my vehicles, after the wash and dry I open all the doors, the hood, and the hatch. I clean inside the door and hatch sills, along with the underside of the hood. I then wipe down anything that needs wiping down in the engine bay. It's easy enough if you make it part of the cleaning routine.
 
When I change the oil I remove the black plastic engine cover (it helps when pouring the new oil in and I can clean any spillage) and rinse it off.
 
BATTERY BATTERY...
I just put in a new battery myself this past week and it was totally worth it. For MONTHS I was dealing with sluggish, took forever to change into gears, higher rev, louder acceleration, and jerking especially between 5-25 mph, everyone kept telling me it was because 1st gear is rough. I kept feeling it the most when pulling into my driveway thinking its going to die because i'm not giving it enough gas. I drive standards as well so it was hard to judge what the cause was.

When the issue started the dealer told me it was the spark plugs, they said they had fouled out all at the same time....They tried to show me a set of plugs that I knew weren't mine, I disagreed with them because that's what I thought the problem was and replaced them myself at home a few weeks before with non factory plugs unlike the ones they were holding. They didn't want to look any further since I refused to pay for them to change the plugs that were maybe a monthish old, after all I did it was the battery for sure. I cleaned the MAP/MAF sensors, air filter (thinking it was 'gasping' for air), changed the spark plugs, changed the coils, the final straw was the battery. 2 years ago I had hail damage to the car, and while in the shop they killed my battery because the doors were off and they had the battery connected so they would drive it in and out of the shop during the day. The told me they replaced my battery but I could clearly tell by the date on the side of the battery when I pulled it, it was not replaced. I'd bet you're issue is the same as mine was. (PS-Alternator tested fine during this whole process)
If your original battery had no issues to start the engine routinely, it’s highly unlikely a new battery actually resolved the transmission problem. One possibility is the TCM got reset during the battery change, which may resolve some problems your transmission has experienced.

Yeah there’re many dishonest garages or even dealerships where they’re going to lie to you about car service. Charging you parts which actually didn’t replace is pretty common. We just have to be smart, and double check those parts they said replaced. And I usually ask for the old parts and packages / boxes on new parts they replaced including empty oil bottles if possible.
 
@AVC I put it exactly as the one was in before that.

This is what i put in: https://www.amazon.com/dp/ (commissions earned)

At autozone the measured the battery when the car was turned off. It measured at 12v.I Unfortunately i don't have anything to measure myself.

I purchased a 2A charger that is arriving today. Hopefully it will be enough if I leave it on for several hours.

Does anyone have a tutorial they can share how to remove one of the battery terminals before charging?

I have never done this before and want to make sure I do it correctly.

And I know I have no experience with this, but the issue has to have stemmed from the jump. It worked perfectly fine beforehand.

What the Autozone person should've done was remove the battery, bring it into the store, charge it, if necessary, and run a load test on it. This is how they determine if the battery is still good.
Is your 2A charger an automatic version? If not, you'll have to guess when the battery is fully charged. I would leave it connected overnight.

Each battery terminal is clamped to the battery post using a bolt and nut that opens or closes the circular clamp around the battery post. Simply loosen the nut using a hex or open-end wrench, or even an adjustable wrench (not preferable). Pull off the cable clamp and place it somewhere so that it is not touching any grounded metal component.

Before you replace the clamp, you should clean its inside diameter and the battery post with a wire brush terminal tool. Place the clamp over the terminal post and tap it down until it is fully seated. Tighten the clamp screw and if possible, spray the connection with anti-corrosion compound.

Note: Be very careful that you do not touch both the positive and negative battery terminals at the same time with a metallic tool. You could get seriously injured! You may want to have someone show you how to complete these battery charging tasks. But take your time and be safe!
 
When charging, I connect the positive, then the negative, and THEN PLUG it in. When finished charging, I UNPLUG it and then remove the clamps...positive first and then the negative.

How I remember which one to attach first and remove first....look at the battery and when there is only one clamp attached you want it to be red for positive.

This is true whenever working with a battery...when you look at the battery and there is only one clamp attached...it MUST be positive(RED). It is easy to remember RED ALONE.
 
When charging, I connect the positive, then the negative, and THEN PLUG it in. When finished charging, I UNPLUG it and then remove the clamps...positive first and then the negative.

How I remember which one to attach first and remove first....look at the battery and when there is only one clamp attached you want it to be red for positive.

This is true whenever working with a battery...when you look at the battery and there is only one clamp attached...it MUST be positive(RED). It is easy to remember RED ALONE.
Sorry, but that is absolutely wrong.
On both my cars, the Mazda and a Nissan (and other vehicles I had before that), there are multiple leads coming off the positive (red) terminal.
On the negative side, there is only one massive lead coming off it, and it's going directly to a spot on the chassis. Modern cars are wired using a negative ground system.
As for connecting a charger, you are correct to connect the charger to the battery first before plugging it in.
On my charger, there is a green idiot light that illuminates when I have the polarity correct.
Once I have that green light, then I know it's safe to plug it in.
I also unplug it first before disconnecting.
 
Sorry, but that is absolutely wrong.
On both my cars, the Mazda and a Nissan (and other vehicles I had before that), there are multiple leads coming off the positive (red) terminal.
On the negative side, there is only one massive lead coming off it, and it's going directly to a spot on the chassis. Modern cars are wired using a negative ground system.
As for connecting a charger, you are correct to connect the charger to the battery first before plugging it in.
On my charger, there is a green idiot light that illuminates when I have the polarity correct.
Once I have that green light, then I know it's safe to plug it in.
I also unplug it first before disconnecting.

No, he is not wrong. The negative battery terminal should always be disconnected first.

As for the connections for the battery charger, the order of connections to the battery makes no difference. But, the battery connections should be done first and then plug the charger in to power.
 
No, he is not wrong. The negative battery terminal should always be disconnected first.
Maybe you misunderstood my point: I wasn't talking about which terminal to disconnect first.
I was talking about how to identify the negative and positive terminals.
He said that the positive terminal can be identified as the red one with only one clamp.
That's the part that's wrong.
On my Mazda, the positive terminal has multiple connections. Same on my Nissan.
It's usually the negative (ground) terminal that has only one clamp and one thick cable coming off it.....usually going to a spot on the chassis, or in some cases, to the engine block.
Hope that clarifies things.
 
I believe what CX FIVR was saying is that the red cable connector (cover) is the last one to be removed so that if you have already removed the negative (black) connector, you will see the red one connected when you glance over at the battery.
 
Maybe you misunderstood my point: I wasn't talking about which terminal to disconnect first.
I was talking about how to identify the negative and positive terminals.
He said that the positive terminal can be identified as the red one with only one clamp.
That's the part that's wrong.
On my Mazda, the positive terminal has multiple connections. Same on my Nissan.
It's usually the negative (ground) terminal that has only one clamp and one thick cable coming off it.....usually going to a spot on the chassis, or in some cases, to the engine block.
Hope that clarifies things.

Gottcha
 
Ah, but he specifically said "one clamp". The positive connection may have multiple cables but only one clamp over the battery post. If this is incorrect, please let me know.
I hope this clarifies for everyone. :D
 
Ah, but he specifically said "one clamp". The positive connection may have multiple cables but only one clamp over the battery post. If this is incorrect, please let me know.
I hope this clarifies for everyone. :D
Well, unless there's some new battery design out there that I'm not aware of, every 12 volt car battery I've ever seen only has two posts....one negative and one positive.

With only one post for each pole, there's only one clamp on each post.

I have never seen a battery with more than one clamp on either post.

Stating that there is only one clamp over the battery post is kind of obvious and redundant.

As we both agree on however, there are multiple cables coming off those clamps, especially on the positive (red) side....so technically, it's one clamp per post (positive and/or negative) but many cables.

At the end of the day, the best visual clue to determining the positive side is two fold: the battery itself will have the negative and positive symbol etched or embossed into the housing next to the appropriate post, and secondly, on newer cars, the positive side will have a prominent bright red plastic cover over the post and clamp. It's hard to miss.
 
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