Strange Battery Problem, Please advise.

[cbutters]

Strange Battery Problem, Please Help!

I am having a problem with my battery/alternator, (not sure which)
I have a MP3 with 90,000 miles on it, a battery from 2003.
I replaced the spark plugs last week.

Here's my problem:
I parked my car last night and locked it. I am sure the lights were off and nothing was draining the battery.
Early this morning I go to my car to get to work, and i go to start it and the car wont even try to start, the battery is completely dead, my dimmer lights would barely even flicker, so anyways I just roll it down the road and compression start it and drove it about 10 miles to work without any problems.
When I got to work, I turned off the car, then immediately tried to turn the ignition again to start the car and the battery was still dead. it was so weak it could barely power lock my doors. I thought that was strange because usually if you have a low juice battery if you drive on it a few miles it charges it back up enough to start the car again, my battery was the same as before i drove it.

So im not sure whats going on, I figure it is one of these possibilities:
A)my battery is shot and I need a new one
B)my alternator belt is broken and isnt charging the battery
C)my alternator is shot.

those are just my guesses, but im not an expert with ignition or starting systems. Based on my symptoms, what is wrong with my car and what do I need to do?

 

[Revs]

So im not sure whats going on, I figure it is one of these possibilities:
A)my battery is shot and I need a new one
B)my alternator belt is broken and isnt charging the battery
C)my alternator is shot.

Ok, lets elimate then one at a time.
a) if you battery was dead the car would not start period, but push starting would start the car so that it would run off the alternator

b)well if your belt was broken then pushing starting the car with a dead battery would result in your car still not starting.

c)same as B, also if the alternator was the culprit then the car would not run more than 30mins on a good battery, been there done that, it doesn't last long.

So conclusion is your correct answer is A, your battery is dead.

If you want to be sure and elimate any alternator issues get the car fired up by push starting it and get a multimeter and carefully and I mean keep your hands clear of the moving belts attach the positive end to the power cable coming out of the alternator and the other on a ground, if you see 14v then your golden.

 

[cbutters]

Ok, lets elimate then one at a time.
a) if you battery was dead the car would not start period, but push starting would start the car so that it would run off the alternator

b)well if your belt was broken then pushing starting the car with a dead battery would result in your car still not starting.

c)same as B, also if the alternator was the culprit then the car would not run more than 30mins on a good battery, been there done that, it doesn't last long.

So conclusion is your correct answer is A, your battery is dead.

If you want to be sure and elimate any alternator issues get the car fired up by push starting it and get a multimeter and carefully and I mean keep your hands clear of the moving belts attach the positive end to the power cable coming out of the alternator and the other on a ground, if you see 14v then your golden.

Thanks for the quick response Revs,
That makes complete sense since I have noticed some battery acid leaking a little from my battery for the last couple months. So it must be the battery then. Thanks for ruling out my alternator questions, ill still take a look at the voltages though to make sure

 

[cbutters]

So I got a Kirkland (Costco) battery to replace my other battery, and when we removed the old battery, It was very apparent that that was the problem, I knew that it was leaking a bit on the top, but i had no idea it was leaking all the way down the side, it stripped my paint and corroded the bolts under the battery. One of those Bolts heads broke off trying to take the battery shelf off! it was a total mess underneath that battery and I had no idea!
I removed the battery shelf, and washed the acid off the best i could and poured water on it. I also sanded other parts that had the paint stripped by the acid. Should I repaint the golfball sized portion of engine bay that got corroded? or should I not worry about it as it isnt visible with the new battery installed?

 

[toucci]

just paint it to prevent corrosion. it doesn't have to be pretty if it's concealed.

 

[Revs]

Thats a great reason to get an Optima battery...no acid.

 

[TheMAN]

if the alternator belt breaks, your engine will overheat in 5 mins! that same belt drives the water pump too

now, don't buy a cheap piece of s*** battery again... get a QUALITY battery such as an interstate (the expensive kind) at least... but **** it, get a dry cell and not have to worry about this bulls*** again