Lately I have been finding the battery in my 96 GT almost dead.

Yesterday I charged the battery up drove 50 miles, 25 at night.
Tonight I started the car and it barely started. The dash volt meter showed about 14 volts. Drove 10 minutes to the gas station and the battery was dead. Fortunately it was on a slope and rolled fast enough to get it started.
When I got home I restarted the car with no problem although it was a bit slower turning over than it should be. Checked the battery voltage with the engine running and it was 14.2. With the headlights on it maintained 14.2 with the engine idling. So the alternator must be working. The alternator was running fairly hot which shoud indicate a heavy charge rate due to an discharged battery.

With everything off the car is drawing 80ma from the battery which I think is about normal and would pull a fully charged battery dead in about 4 weeks.

The battery was new in April and is the 3rd one in 2½ years.

Any ideas or tests?

 

Problem solved, one cell in the battery was competely dead. Battery was 6 months old and 3rd defective battery from Canadian Tire in 2½ years. The original Ford battery lasted 7½ years.

 

cool glad you got it solved....throw down some extra money and get a red top batt. You know that old saying you get what you pay for...

 

The battery was on a pro rated warranty so I got a new one with a new 2 year replacement warranty for $15. Next time I will go elsewhere.