Cant find the battery

[jambo101]

Friend of mine is in the hospital long term and asked if he could park his late 90s Impala in my driveway. OK no problem, i've been starting it a couple of times a month to keep the battery charged however this week it seems the battery is totally dead. first thing i want to check is the battery contact terminals and make sure they are clean,problem is i cant find the battery
Its the 3800 v6 motor and looks a lot like this.

[liberal N proud]

1. In the trunk, under the back seat or...

Some cars have them located behind the front bumper.

[edgineered]

2. You don't need to access the battery to charge or jump start.

Look at the photo (in your case the car). See the the black box to the left? On the bottom of it is the ground wire. The red wire on top is the positive. Make your hook up there.

on edit - the battery is right there too! down a little lower and more to the front. it is a side post type.

[jambo101]

4. Lets try that again.

I just took a pic of the engine bay, seems its a I-3100 motor,still no sign of that battery.
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

[edgineered]

5. Ah, this is a different car and/or motor. I'm looking. . . tick, tick, tick . . .

Basically we are looking for a red plastic cap, usually has a + stamped on it, but not seeing it. I'll keep looking during lunch.

[edgineered]

6. It looks like the positive post on the alternator is accessible.

The gauge of wire on that post would be too small for jump starting, but you could easily charge from there. Also try following that wire to either a junction box or fuse box, that's where it would tie in. What car/year is this that we are looking at? I'm only here for a little while now, but will be back tonight if you aren't here now.

edit to add - viewing an unrelated video regarding that car showed the battery beneath and forward of the coolant reservoir, passenger side, near the headlight, and fairly low.

[jambo101]

7. Heres a pic of the car.

[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

\
[URL=.html][IMG][/IMG][/URL]

Looks like to get to the battery some disassembly is in order, if it were my car i'd let the scrapyard figure it out.

[jambo101]

8. Update

Its a 99 lumina and to access the battery to clean the terminals one must follow this procedure..

How do you access a battery in a 1999 Chevrolet Lumina?
The battery is located on the driver's side of the vehicle, behind the headlight. You'll need to remove the cross-bar (2 bolts on the front, one in the back). Next, you'll need to remove the windshield-washer reservoir (small lag screw in the back, a couple of plastic pins). Don't forget the electrical connector on the back of the reservoir.
The battery should be exposed at this point.

This is why i drive a Toyota..

[edgineered]

9. Well don't junk it.

I've had cars a lot worse than this. The battery is almost certainly beneath the cover just forward of the right wheel well, beneath the fuse block. Depending on how the cover is attached you will either need a phillips or straight screwdriver or a small socket (guessing 8 mm).

It is easy to see why this is a pain for you, not your car, a mile and a half away from an electrical outlet even if you did have a charger, and if you can get the cover off you'll need to find a set of jumper cables and someone to help. Depending on whether you have some wire laying around and another vehicle available you may be able to run a few amps into the dead battery for an hour or so through a bridged connection. It is best not to discuss that here so pm me and I'll try to help with some back-yard tricks.

[jambo101]

10. If it were my car

I'd go to the trouble of fixing it if i wanted to continue to drive it however this car has been so neglected and has so many other problems that its overdue for the scrapyard,The only reason he keeps this piece of junk is he's to cheap to buy a newer car and he's got free parking for as long as he remains in convalescence.

[JohnnyRingo]

11. Though I assume you found it by now....

...it's there on the lower left side of the pic right behind the radiator cap. It has "MAXX" written on top in yellow. I can see the black negative cable attached to the side.

I believe that's a Buick 3.8. Probably a Regal. I'm not sure where it is in an Impala.

On edit:
I just saw the updated pic of the actual car. I don't see it either, but it's not far from where it is on the Buick I bet.

[jambo101]

12. I gave up

Last edited Sun Sep 14, 2014, 11:43 AM - Edit history (1)

Its not my car, so theres nothing in it for me to ensure the car remains running, she can deal with it when she gets out of convalescence something she seems to be milking for all its worth as its free room and board for as long as she remains.
And obviously free parking for as long as needed.