Problem PROBABLY solved, but a Battery question nontheless...

[bodega1027]

So my car stalled while I was making a right turn in 107F degree weather, so I pulled over and tried to restart. I was getting power down at the S-Terminal, but nothing was happening. All my grounds were tight, and the Starter, Solenoid, Alternator, and Neg Battery Cable are all relatively new. Even redid the wiring from my battery to my starter not too long ago. The transaxle position switch is pretty new too, but I knew it wasn't that anyways since I was still getting power to my S-Terminal.

The ignition switch seemed to be functioning properly, as my dash lights would do that dash light thing. I didn't have a voltmeter to check, but my gauge was still reading 12v on the battery. So I tried a screwdriver start, but just got a spattering of sparks. The top of my battery looked wet, and when I popped the cap on the battery I was low on fluid and there was steam coming out of it. I figured I was out of things to change, and I luckily had an extra battery in the trunk that I had been meaning to put in because I didn't know how old my current battery was, so I put it in and the car started right back up.

So problem solved, right?

My question is just this: could an old battery cause a vehicle to stall? It seems to me that I should just run on the alternator, unless a bad battery would actually cut me off from the ground. And why would a fully charged battery refuse to activate the starter? Will a bad battery have a problem translating volts into amps?

[white89euro]

No, I've never heard of a battery failing in hot weather, only in freezing weather. That is unless it is a total failure of the battery. You can have your old battery tested for free if you have an Advance Auto store in the area.

George

[86euro]

If a battery is being overcharged it can spew it's fluid out of the caps on top. I don't know if this has anything to do with your problem, I just wanted to mention it.

[Prospeeder]

Batterys fail when its gets really cold OR really hot outside, a weak battery teetering on the edge will shurly be pushed over from high temps. Yes a bad battery will cause the car to stall out bad, my 3.1's and 2,8 cars iv worked on have been the same way.

[dcjredline]

I am leaning towards what Prospeeder said. There is a possibility so you cant ignore it.

[bodega1027]

Thanks guys. I changed it on the spot (I already had the battery because I didn't want to hit 120 deg weather on a battery with a mystery age!), so if that was the problem, then it is solved. I'd just never heard of a battery stalling a car before.

[SilentWing]

Actually,the battery in a car acts as a capcitor absorbing and dealing with the AC voltage (albeit slight) comming from the Alternator. When the battery fails and even moreso in this case where there was no electrolyte in the cells, this will tax the alternator with the full burden of running the entire car with no reserve. All of This can cause exsess AC to get into the DC power feeds for the ECM and also on the 5V, 8V ECT reference signal lines to various sensors such as MAF,MAP,TPS,CTS,O2....you get the point... when this happens the ECM can only compensate so much before ineveitably someing is either misread or the load is too great (like say when the AC compressor kicks on) and perhaps one or two injectors won't open due to low voltage and causes a cascading misfire leading to engine stall, bottom line is yes it is extremely likely and more likely than not the battery that caused your grief, if in doubt have a charge/start system test done at a shop.

My fiance just got all professor on me....