> If it were dying the way a car battery dies
> eventually, could this produce the behavior of seeming to recharge
> very quickly?
Sure. What you have there is basically just a car battery, and a charger,
in a single box. When batteries age, they lose capacity (as well as the
internal resistance going up).
> Possibly because high resistance make the charging
> system think it is fully charged?
More likely (IMO) the loss of capacity means it _is_ charged to as much as
it will take.
> I sent a query like this to Schumacher and received the ambiguous
> and unhelpful answer:
>
> > I would suggest that it very well could be the battery breaking
> > down, and needing replacement.
>
> Uh, which battery?
Pretty sure they were talking about the battery inside the Instant Power.
> I'll replace the Instant Power if necessary.
Although I've not dealt with that particular unit, I think it's very likely
that it's battery is replaceable separately, without having to buy a whole
new unit.
You might try asking Schumacher about testing procedures for the battery
inside their unit ... or just take the unit apart and read the markings on
the battery.
> Or the starter and/or solenoid. The motor has always
> been weak turning over the engine against the compression when the
> engine was hot, and lately it has begun making unhappy spinning
> noises when releasing after the engine starts.
Well, could be that, too. Easiest test might be to try jumping the Spit
from another car. If that works noticeably better than jumping it from your
Instant Power, then it's fairly clear the Instant Power unit has a problem.
>From the sounds of it, your Spit has a problem, too.
FWIW, my local independant auto parts store told me just the other day that
they could get basically any starter (including my Stag) rebuilt for $50.
You might want to investigate a similar option.
Randall
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