Battery / ALernator not starting questions, - thanks

[vdubpower]

Happy SUper Bowl everyone

 

 

So my vehicle is a 2006 denali yukon, 111000miles

 

Just today, the wife went out for an errand, got back to the car and it would not start....interior lights did go on, and the engine did try to crank....she is unsure if she had left the keys in the ignition ( i hope not)

 

So i came to the rescue and had to jump her car with mine and it started fine.

The gauge on the dash reads a touch over 14 so i am wondering if the alternator might be a culprit...

 

I have a basic volt meter, is there a way I can check these things at home?

 

Also a question when jumping a car?

The instructions always say to ground the negative on the engine bay of the dead car. Whenever i do this, i can never ever get the car to start....I have an old 85 benz and whenver it goes dead, same deal, I have to connect all 4 cables to all 4 terminals...what gives

 

another issue, which i think may not have to do with battery is the right rear window goes down but gets stuck going up and now wont close...I do hear some weird noise, when it is trying...

 

I tried to manually slide the window up with my hands but i guess the catch slide does not follow so it falls back down...ill try to take the panel off and look .

 

thanks everyone

[GeorgiaBII]

14v is normal.

 

You should see between 13.6 and 14.6 volts with the car running.

 

A fully charged battery is 12.6 volts.

 

It's not uncommon to need to hook the cables to the battery posts instead of how the instructions say. The reason is it's hard to get a GOOD ground from the engine.

 

Also the bigger the cable size on the jumper cables the better they work. Those light tiny ones you get at walmart are junk.

 

Hope this helps.

[diyer2]

How old is the battery? Less than 4 years. If it was me I would unhook the battery cables from the battery and put a automatic charger on it over knight to get a good charge.

The window I would guess the regulator is bad,

[vdubpower]

so the battery is 2.5 yrs old, interstate mt78

 

when i tested the battery i pulled all the same numbers that georgia posted.

 

i tried to check the alternator with the multimeter but i dont think i was doing it right.

 

so later tonight i was trying to sort out the window motor regulator issue i am having..I had put the key the 1st position so i could run the window and after 5 min all the lights on dash starting acting up....i started the car and it took a little effort

 

how can it be drawing so much for just 5 mins of accersory power being used...

[GeorgiaBII]

The battery is more than likely discharged. Charge it over night with a quality battery charger. At about 2 amp seeing and then try again.

[vdubpower]

Thanks. What brand do u like for chargers. Do these small noco or ctek brands do the trick. Will this be something different than a trickle charger I've seen sold like battery tender

[GeorgiaBII]

I have a small NAPA automatic battery charger that has given me great service for years. I suggest buying one that has a 2a and 6a setting. The 2 amp setting is the most important so that you can allow the battery to charge overnight.