Q: Car battery issue
This morning I went out to my car and it wouldnt start, I then noticed i left an interior light on so that probably meant I had a dead battery. My grandpa got home to jump it and when he plugged in the jumper cables he didnt realize he let them touch wrong so it caused a spark and he quickly pulled it out. (Within about 5-10 seconds) After making sure they werent touching the car jumped on just fine. It runs and idles fine but as soon as I turned the headlights on it died. After giving it a little more charge I could turn the headlights on without it dying. I thought I could pull away but once I pulled out the driveway my car felt like it didnt have enough charge to go past 15 mph. You could tell it was slower than usual. Could I just need to charge the battery overnight?Or did my grandpa do serious damage letting the cable touch incorrectly.
My car has 166000 miles.
My car has an automatic transmission.
It is possible the systems that charge the battery and the battery itself may be damaged from the shorting of the wires. I would recommend charging the battery and the recheck the battery holds a load or needs replaced. Then the charging system tested to see if the system is charging and then test the computer with a scanner to see if it sustained any damages. If you need help with the tests then call a mechanic like one from YourMechanic to come to check the entire electrical system for damage or problems.
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