KHawkins Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 My husband plugged a tire pump into the cigarette lighter to pump up a low tire. After a bit, the pump overheated and shut down and now my car is completely unresponsive. No dash lights. Nothing happens when I turn the key. It does not respond to the keyfob buttons nor will it manually lock with the buttons on the door. The only thing I can hear, is a light clicking sound coming from the dash. WHAT HAPPENED??? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 Simple....you ran down the battery with the inflator. That's probably why it stopped. Jump it and recharge the battery. If the battery is more than 3 years old you probably need a new one. In the future make sure the engine is running while running the inflator. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KHawkins Posted November 13, 2016 Author Share Posted November 13, 2016 Thanks! He checked the battery and it's about 1/2 down so he's charging it. It's original and I was going to replace it before this winter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 13, 2016 Share Posted November 13, 2016 I'd go ahead and replace it now. Once they go bad they're done. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyross Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 An inflator shouldn't kill a battery that fast, unless you were filling multiple truck tires from 0 psi! As you noted, your battery was probably going bad to begin with. 5+ years is very good for an original battery. Mine went bad in less than 3. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Anything over 3 years is gravy. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propwash Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 Anything over 3 years is gravy. I'm paying close attention to my battery. The car is four years and nine months old, and it still has the original battery. I had it checked at a place that uses the new style load tester, and they said that it still tests good. I figure with winter coming up that I'll probably have to replace it pretty soon. So far there has been no sign of any strange electrical problems that usually precede a battery failure. At the first sign of any problems, I'll just go ahead and replace it. I'm just curious to see how long it will last before it starts acting up. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyross Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 The changes are subtle. The main note is that it may seem to crank slower at startup. But, if you are regular user of the car, you may not notice it until one day it just clicks. The difference between my old and new battery was obvious the first time I went to start it with the new one. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drolds1 Posted November 14, 2016 Share Posted November 14, 2016 (edited) Thanks! He checked the battery and it's about 1/2 down so he's charging it. It's original and I was going to replace it before this winter. What does that mean? Was it showing 6 volts? If so, it's had a deep discharge, which causes permanent damage, If it's not new, it's a goner and you should replace it before the winter. Edited November 14, 2016 by drolds1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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