HELP....Viper won't start

[pocketAA]

HELP....Viper won\'t start

Here is what I know.

I had a battery charger hookedup to the car from 12/30/2006 until 3/24/2007. I disconnected the battery charger last saturday and the car stared right up. Here is a link to the charger I have:
http://www.autozone.com/servlet/UiBroker...7ESCM%7C%7Etrue

I went to start it last night and the car would not start. When I opened the door I had lights on in the cabin and the alarm worked. When I turned the key the engine would just not turn over. I got a noise like it was trying to start, but it just seemed like there was just not enough juice to get it going. I hooked the battery charger back up and the light came on that said it was charging, that was about 7:30 last night. I got up this morining at 7:30 and it still said that it was charging. I am not sure how old the battery is because I bought it off the orig owner. The car is a 99 RT with about 6500 miles.

Is this a battery issue or is there something else wrong? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[Steve-Indy]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

I'll BET that you need a new battery.

A 1.5 amp charger will take MANY hours to fully charge a battery 9if it can even do it at this point)...in one case, my own Deltran tender took nearly 30 hours!!!

I just replaced the OEM battery in our 99 ACR last Saturday...noting that it has served us WELL.

You will need several sizes of sockets to get the job done (US and metric)...contact me for a list if you like.

 

[Roland L-Ocala FL]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

You might want to search this site for other threads like yours. This seems to be a fairly common problem and if it is a 99 and has the original battery, then that means the battery isnow about 8 years old, and could croak at any time. Mine lasted 11 years believe it or not. I used a trickle charger and it worked just great. Did you have the alarm system off? If not, that can drain the battery down as well. Hope this helps, but try to find out how old the present battery is, that may tell the entire story.

 

[pocketAA]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Okay thanks for the replies. Let's say I need a new battery. Anyone know of a good type of battery to get? Any suggestions would be great.

Steve-Indy,
Please provide the socket sizes to get the job done.

I am also going to need to pickup a low-profile jack. Anyone know where I can pick one up? Do they sell them at Sears or an auto-parts store?

Thanks again for the help!

 

[pocketAA]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Roland L-Ocala, FL:
Forgot......the alarm always stays on. Is there a way to turn the alarm off when in the garage? Is it easy to do?

Thanks,

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

There are many brand names of batteries, but only a few manufacturers. I got my replacement at Wal-Mart and it is better than OEM and only about $50.

 

[CitySnake]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

My '01 has now had 2 replacement batteries. Depending on how you use your car, my understanding is that only 3 years on a Viper batery is not that unusual.

I replace mine with Tator and get some warantee $ towards the new one. In my 2 experiences, I went through similar issues with trying to charge/jump a dying battery to try to extend battery life....but in the long run, with all the Viper "wierdness" that seems to always result when batteries begin their slow death, it's best to just replace the damn thing at the first sign of trouble and move on.

 

[Steve-Indy]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

8mm, 10mm, 11mm, 19mm...5/16", 1/2",...and a 3/4" for the lug nuts if you don't have a 19mm.

Have FUN !!!

 

[pocketAA]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Anybody know where to get a jack that can be used on a viper at a decent price? I would assume it would need to be a low-profile jack correct?

 

[Purdue_Boiler_Viper]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Try Harbor Freight. http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=91039

A few of us have this one, and it works well for $80

 

[AJT]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Northern tool

This is a great set. All Allum.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200313355_200313355

 

[RoadiJeff]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Here's mine from Harbor Freight: Harbor Freight Low Profile Racing Jack

 

[pocketAA]

Re: HELP....Viper won\'t start

Thanks guys. I will buy one of these and a battery and see what happens. I went home at lunch to check to see if my battery tender had charged the battery enough just to see if I could at least start the car to make sure the battery was the problem and not something else. At that point charging was going on 17 hours.