My car will not start. Battery is dead, left idle for three months. Can jump start but batey keeps dying. Is the problem the battery or alternator? Should I bring on a long drive first. No warning battery LED lights up on the dash. Thanks
by 
garythemong
ANSWERS: 3
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Maybe you should hook the battery up to a charger for a while...then try it
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After you jump start your car, let the car run for about 20 minutes. That should charge up your battery. If not, bring it to a auto parts store and have them bench test the battery so you can decide what the problem is.
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Put it on a charger for 12 to 24 hours. It should be a minimum of 4 amps and 10 would be good. There may not be enough left in the battery to even light an LED. Sounds like you can jump start it and when you disconnect there isn't enough juice to keep it running. Leaving a modern car for 3 months will run down the battery even if things like the trunk light or glove box light (or under hood light) is stuck on (darn switches-once costs me a frozen battery). There are other things that use a trickle amount of juice including the clock and stand by electronics. I have a light that flashes on the dash as an alarm. You can't do a jump-start from a completely dead battery. A charger then a jump start could do it. I doubt very much that it is the alternator if it was running fine when you left the car. It would be the last thing I would look at after trying the above.
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