I have a 1996 Sebring Coupe LXI V6. I have a Plus Start battery charger with a 120 volt plug that I've been trying to charge my battery that I bought last year at Wal-Mart. It's charged it twice (once I left it plugged into the wall outlet & it charged the battery quickly.) This was about two weeks ago. I have tried to use it since then. The charger charges up & no matter how long I leave it connected to the battery, the car will act like it's going to start, but doesn't. Then it won't turn over after that. I have been leaving the charger plugged into the wall outlet. However, if we jump it off, it will crank. I had been turning it off when I get to where I am going and it does start back up. I did leave it running the last time I drove it because it had been a few days since I drove it. I did take the car to AutoZone to have the alternator tested when this first started happening. They told me the battery wasn't fully charged. And, of course, I am unable to get it to that point (I assume). Any suggestions?

 

1. How old is the battery? It may be too old to hold a charge.

2. You may have a partial short somewhere. Current draw with everything off should be less than 50 milliamps. If it's more than that, you'll need to trace down the problem.

3. You can easily disconnect the battery by removing the ground connection. If the battery will accept a charge while disconnected from the car and hold it, then the problem is in the car. It could be something as simple as an interior light being left on, but could be a chafed wire somewhere.

 

Thanks for the information above. I finally got the battery to fully charge and had the alternator tested. It's the alternator.