van battery dying HELP!!!

[ivonadestroi]

Ok I Live In My Car So This Is Really Important For Me, Im A Girl Who Doesnt Know Shit About Cars, So If Anyone Can Help I Would Greatly Appreciate It

I Have An 84 Chevy Van G20, Its Got A Rebuilt Engine And Recently We Had It Tuned Up, And Checked Out By A Bunch Of Mechanics. Then We Got A New Muffler. Everything Was Fine For A Couple Of Days, But Now My Baby's Battery Keeps Dying And I Dont Know Why. I Dont Think Its The Muffler, But Maybe The Mechanics Did Something?

When I Try To Start It It The Battery Guage Goes To Zero. It Makes A Repetetive Clicking Sound Every Time. We Keep Getting It Jumped But Whenever I Turn It Off, (even If I Let It Run And Recharge Fully) It Dies The Second I Turn The Car Off And I Cant Start It Again. Its Never Done This Before, Although We Have Run The Battery Down A Few Times And Had To Get It Jumped.

What Could It Be? Also If You Guys Could Tell Me How Much Whatever I Need Might Cost
<and Perhaps I Could Do It Myself?>
I Will Very Greatly Appreciate It.
Thank You

[djay1991]

First, get a new battery. If it was good it isn't any more. There are a few simple tests that you can do that will tell you the problem. Put in the new battery drive your vehical for about 1 hour with your lights on. Shut it off and restart it. If it turns over normally then your charging system is good. Next let your van sit over night, make sure everything is off. If it starts normally you had a bad battery and your problem is over. If your vehical does not start normally the you have a short and yes the mechanic is probably to blame but it is hard to prove. If you have a short take it to a mechanic that you can trust. Hunting down shorts tends to be time consuming and expensive.

[pod]

first how old is the battery
seccond check the water level in the battery this can be done by looking at the side if its one of those clear white batterys if it is pour in distiled (bottled watter) to the line on the side. if that doesnt work try what djay said and buy a new battery

[beef_bourito]

it might also be the alternator, i dont know much about engine ignitions but my dad's truck's alternator died and he couldn't start it.

[Shrocat]

A dead battery has nothing to do with the muffler. You could have bad connections, corroded or loose. Or it could be a bad battery, or voltage regulator, or bad alternator. Or it could be that you are running something with the engine off for an extended time. Radio, lights and so on drain the battery, and you have to run the engine for a while to keep the battery charged up.

Start by checking the connections, if you have tools, take off the negative post, then the positive post. The negative post will usually have a black cable, the positive a red cable. Do not pry up on the cables, do not hit the cables or posts, twist the connectors back and forth to loosen, or use a battery puller to remove them.
Then clean the posts and cable connectors with a wire brush, wash with a mixture of baking soda and water, the rinse with clean water. Be careful, try not to get anyof the corrosion on your hands, it is part acid. It probably won't burn, but it is poisonous and smells and tastes terrible. Wash your hands when you are done. Check the cables to make sure they are good, then put the positive on nice and tight, then the negative. Do not hammer on the connectors. The posts are lead, and they connect to lead plates, and the connections break easily. Once broken the battery is no good.
Not check the other ends of the cables, make sure they are clean and tight. If you have access to a volt meter, and someone who can show you how to use it, or will do this for you, read the voltage on the battery while the van is running. It should be about 13 volts, or higher, at idle, and when you rev the engine up a bit it should go up
to about 14 volts. If the voltage doesn't go up very much, or if you hear a squealing then check the belt for the alternator. if it still doesn't go up, or it is reading low, then either voltage regulator, or your alternator is bad.
Good luck.

[ivonadestroi]

ok well we ended up taking the damn thing to midas and it was the alternater...

hmmm, somehow the alternator was fine before we took it to those mechanics so i dont know. we did find a pair of wire cutters they left in the engine...hmmm...

thanx for all the advice guys!

[curtis73]

Glad its fixed. Alternators just go bad sometimes. Its a common problem. There is nothing you can do to cause it to die since its a completely stand-alone unit. Its just a little generator with a couple wires, and they just wear out.

I just say that so you can rest easy knowing your mechanic didn't cause it.