[Sumit Jain]

All was normal the whole day . In the evening when returning from work , my wife's car stopped in middle of traffic when she was in waiting for signal to be green.
It didn't start , she had to get it jump started. She got the battery checked at autozone , discovered its a bad battery (our car is >5 years old , 2015 Murano SV, bought new) . I will anyways get the battery change but have questions.

1. How can car get stop while driving? I am suspecting battery but can it be any other thing which may happen even if i change the battery ?
2. Any specific battery recommendation , dealership or costco or any other place?

Thanks
SJ
Murano 2015| 40K Miles

 

[vortex]

Not too sure on how our cars are setup but if the electrical passes through the battery during operation then a bad battery can cause a host of things.

I know some cars once started will use strictly the alternator to run the car but others will use the battery which is supplemented with the alternator (meaning all electricity produced by alternator passes through the battery and then goes to vital components). So if the Murano is the second setup then a bad battery would cause a stop in electricity delivery from the alternator to the vehicle components.

 

[maxfan]

I don't think that's correct. The alternator must recharge the battery + supply power to everything running thru the car (included your plugins) + some margins so it doesn't got overtaxed. The battery will never be needed to keep the car running, except when the alternator was bad then the car shuts off once the battery drained.
My '97Maxima did this to me many years ago. (Taking VP to lunch. Car shut off while slowing to enter the lot. VP pushed car. haha). Had it towed to the shop and the guy called asking what was wrong since it started up on 1st crank.... later we just replaced the alternator.

 

[Sumit Jain]

thanks guys , so if i get battery changed, will it fix alternator issue as well . I am hoping dealer or mechanic should able to diagnose the right issue and we should not face this problem again. I am not fan of going to dealership for repairs and will go to my local mechanic . Do you guys think if i should take it to dealership ?

 

[Michael Martin]

thanks guys , so if i get battery changed, will it fix alternator issue as well . I am hoping dealer or mechanic should able to diagnose the right issue and we should not face this problem again. I am not fan of going to dealership for repairs and will go to my local mechanic . Do you guys think if i should take it to dealership ?

Sounds like you should also check the alternator. If that is good then you'll be fine.

 

[vortex]

I don't think that's correct. The alternator must recharge the battery + supply power to everything running thru the car (included your plugins) + some margins so it doesn't got overtaxed. The battery will never be needed to keep the car running, except when the alternator was bad then the car shuts off once the battery drained.
My '97Maxima did this to me many years ago. (Taking VP to lunch. Car shut off while slowing to enter the lot. VP pushed car. haha). Had it towed to the shop and the guy called asking what was wrong since it started up on 1st crank.... later we just replaced the alternator.

Interesting... some cars you can pull the battery out while running and it will continue to run, meanwhile on others the car will shut off if the battery is pulled.

I was thinking this was due to the setup. One being the alternator powers the car and charges battery separately and the other setup running all electricity through the battery charging the battery but also passing through electricity to run the car?

This is how it was once explained to me..

 

[vortex]

Let us know what happened. Just curious

 

[maxfan]

thanks guys , so if i get battery changed, will it fix alternator issue as well . I am hoping dealer or mechanic should able to diagnose the right issue and we should not face this problem again. I am not fan of going to dealership for repairs and will go to my local mechanic . Do you guys think if i should take it to dealership ?

The dealer would install a new alternator ($800-900?+labor) & you get a 12mo/12Kmiles warranty. A local mechanic can install a re-manufactured one ($150-200?) & 90-day warranty? My guy would change 1hr-labor ($70). If you're a handy person, you can do it yourself. Many autoparts store carry the part. Bad alternators are usually due to a simple diode. Anyway, make sure the guy do the test first.

 

[Worldon1finger]

If your testing the alternator on the vehicle please make sure to have either a new battery in the car or a fully charged battery. Otherwise the test can be off as it could be using more energy to keep the car running while trying to charge the battery. Best way is to take it out and have it bench tested but not sure of your technical skills or if you have the proper tools to do so. Please let us know what ends up being the issue. Good luck

 

[Pilgrim]

You haven't determined there is any problem with the alternator, so don't get crazy about it. Chill.

Step one: get a good battery in the vehicle, and make sure it's fully charged.
Step two: get a digital multimeter, start the car and check voltage between the battery terminals. Right after starting, it should be around 14.4 volts.
Step three: if voltage is under 14V, you probably have an alternator problem.

BUT....

The charging system is smart, and when the battery is fully charged, the alternator puts out less voltage. This is why you check the voltage immediately after starting the car, while the battery is still being recharged from the starting process.

 

[Worldon1finger]

You can also go to autozone and have them test the alternator on the vehicle for free with their tool. It will even put a load on the vehicle so you can see how the alternator is under load.

 

[Sumit Jain]

Thanks guys for all the feedback .Will get it done this weekend and will reply back.

 

[Sumit Jain]

ok , got it fixed. It was the battery only . Showed it to dealer (free battery/ alternator test) and also to autozone. bothe says changing battery will fix the issue. On asking that why it got stopped while driving , dealer said that he has seen the issue before that once the battery is old ,it starts loosing connection while driving as well (I wasn't convinced with the answer but then autozone guy also said the same).

I ended up buying interstate battery from Costco for $80 (cheapest i found). Dealer was asking for $190.

 

[Pilgrim]

Unsolicited advice: when you buy a battery, always buy more cold cranking amps than the OEM battery. When it comes to batteries, more power and more capacity is always better than less.

 

[Sumit Jain]

Unsolicited advice: when you buy a battery, always buy more cold cranking amps than the OEM battery. When it comes to batteries, more power and more capacity is always better than less.

Thanks for the advice , will keep it in mind for my another car. The one which i bought from costco has 640 Cold Cranking Amps and i am not sure how much Amps OEM battery has it ?

 

[Pilgrim]

I don't know. You might check with the dealer's parts dept - they probably have a spec on the battery.

 

[vortex]

Good to know I wasnt far off with my initial post on bad battery causing a car to stop running. Glad it worked out for you.

 

[Sumit Jain]

Good to know I wasnt far off with my initial post on bad battery causing a car to stop running. Glad it worked out for you.

yup , you were almost spot on. Thanks

 

[maxfan]

Thanks for the advice , will keep it in mind for my another car. The one which i bought from costco has 640 Cold Cranking Amps and i am not sure how much Amps OEM battery has it ?

OEM stuffs usually have the cheapest specifications. The OEM battery was the discontinued 24410JA10B (made by Johnson Controls). It has only 550 CCA.
My sister went to Lexus dealer for her Bridgestone tires & complained "Lexus Tires" only lasted 2year. Same exact retail tires have 4x treadwear-rating for $$$less.
It's like keep buying the starter-ink for your printer.
I noticed Costco reduce the warranty from 42month (early 2017) to 36month now (so they did studied the math).