"Art" > wrote in message
nk.net...
> My battery on a Chrysler 300M was over 6 years old when I replaced it. I
> live in NC. It was still going strong and most people would have let it
> be. Batteries can die instantly from an internal short even when new.
>

More common than an internal short is what I believe is a cracked internal
connection at one post or the other. The battery will suddenly seem dead or
nearly dead, but a judicious whack (or two or three) on each post with a
hammer will get it working again. The battery isn't fixed, just temporarily
patched. It is fairly common in the first year or two of a battery's life.

I taught the technique to my daughter, and she used it when I was out of
state and her mother's car died in traffic and wouldn't even click. She
scrounged a hammer out of the back of the car and did the trick. My wife was
astounded!

Mike