Woman Gets Her Battery Checked. They Say It’s Fine—It’s Not: ‘Probably Only Checked The Voltage'

“I literally was maybe sitting here for 20 minutes."

Woman gets her battery checked. They say it’s fine

Photo by: Pixel-Shot/taylormade1023/Hopman

Braden Bjella

By: Braden Bjella

Oct 17, at 11:35am ET

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A woman says a mechanic checked her battery and told her it was fine. But just one week later, it was dead. How is that possible?

Taylor (@taylormade1203) says that she recently got an oil change. Upon returning home, the TikTok creator decided to kill some time in her car as her daughter had fallen asleep in the back.

According to Taylor, she shut her engine off until she started to get warm. Then she opened her car door. That’s when she realized something was wrong.

“It started flashing a triangle,” Taylor says of her dashboard. “The company left my front headlights on.”

Not thinking this was a major issue, Taylor turned them off. But when she tried to start her car, it wouldn’t run. It appeared that the battery had died

“I literally was maybe sitting here for 20 minutes. So I don't feel like that should have run my battery down,” she states. Taylor claims she had her battery checked a week prior and that the mechanic told her it was fine.

How Did This Happen?

Taylor is right that it’s a bit suspicious that a “good” battery died after just 20 minutes of running the headlights.

That said, headlight can drain a car’s battery faster than one thinks — and if a battery is already near empty, it’s feasible that leaving the headlights on can end with you needing a jump.

According to AAA, a fully charged battery can be completely drained after just one to two hours of running the headlights with the engine off. If a battery is not fully charged, it can be completely drained even faster.

But how is that possible if she was recently told her battery was “good”?

What It Means To Have A ‘Good’ Battery

Provided that the previous mechanic was being honest about the state of her battery, and there’s no reason to believe they weren’t, there are still plenty of situations where a battery can test as fine one week and die the next.

Testing a battery does not necessarily tell you if it’s fully charged. Instead, it could just mean “not in immediate need of replacing.” Car batteries are charged and discharged throughout normal usage. If a car battery can still accept and hold a charge, a mechanic may mark it as “good,” even if its charge is low.

However, Taylor may have only taken short trips, or simply not have driven enough to recharge her battery. Even if her headlights were on for just 20 minutes, it may have been enough to fully deplete it.

Second, other parts of the car may have failed, thus leading to a dead battery. For example, she may have a faulty alternator. A car alternator’s job is to recharge the battery and supply power to a vehicle’s components. If this part fails, the car may not function, even if the battery is in perfect health.

Finally, the mechanic may have just done a poor job of testing the battery. Many people, including some mechanics, think a battery is likely fine if it holds 12.6 volts. While it’s an okay rule of thumb, it doesn’t tell the whole story. Instead, experts recommend looking at both the voltage and cold cranking amperage to determine a battery’s health.

What Should She Do Now?

Having your battery die can be inconvenient, but typically it’s a simple fix.

To start, she should get her car jumped. Thankfully, this is a pretty easy process that most people can accomplish on their own or with help from a neighbor, friend, or even a passerby. Your insurance company or AAA, if you’re a member, can also send someone to jump start your vehicle.

If problems persist, Taylor may want to get her battery and electric system checked. While the problem is likely just a drained battery, there may be issues with the alternator.

In the comments section, Taylor said that she doesn’t blame the mechanic.

“I didn’t think it was the shop’s fault. I was going off being told my battery was fine and wondering what else could cause it,” she explained.

What do you think?

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Eventually, Taylor managed to find the source of the problem. As she explains in a comment, “It ended up I needed a battery after all.”

We’ve reached out to Taylor via TikTok and Instagram direct message. This will be updated if she responds.

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