Q: Battery dying but immediately recharging.
Just replaced the battery last week. Went to start it today and as soon as I tried to crank it, it died. Checked it with a multi-meter and it showed ~14 volts. Put it on charger anyway. After two hours, it was charged. Went to start it again and it died. Left the ignition on and after about 5 seconds, the battery slowly started charging again, all while off the charger. Put the charger back on and set it to start instead of charge. Went to start it and the starter clicked, but the positive terminal started to smoke. After charging it another hour, I took it off and turned the headlights on, to put a strain on the battery, and checked it again with the multi-meter, and it again showed ~14 volts but the headlights or interior lights were not on. The only thing wrong I can see with the battery is there is some corrosion around the positive terminal and the smoke coming from the terminal when it actually tried to start. The car has less than 150,000 miles on it.
My car has 150000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
It is possible that at some point a larger fuse than what the Vehicle Manufacturer recommends was installed in the charging system portion of the fuse box. I would recommend making sure all fuses related to the battery and alternator are the correct rating. Fuses with the higher rating than what the manufacturer originally installed can cause excess current to flow through a particular circuit. Excess current flowing through a particular circuit can cause parts to not work properly and also can cause a burning electrical system worst case scenario.
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