Re: Thoughts? - battery. alternator or other problem?
Thanks - I am going to check the "strength of the electrolyte" and do an ingition off draw test. According to the Service manual it should not exceed .035 amperes and hopefully one of these tests will point me in the right direction. I am guessing battery problem only because it's a 3-4 year old car that sat its first 3 years of life. I also found something called "Acid stratification- A common cause of battery failure is acid stratification. The electrolyte on a stratified battery concentrates on the bottom, causing the upper half of the cell to be acid poor. This effect is similar to a cup of coffee in which the sugar collects on the bottom when the waitress forgets to bring the stirring spoon. Batteries tend to stratify if kept at low charge (below 80%) and never have the opportunity to receive a full charge. Short distance driving while running windshield wiper and electric heaters contributes to this. Acid stratification reduces the overall performance of the battery." Sounds like something that could have happened to a 3-4 year old car too.