[net.auto] Car Battery Problem?

david1@mhuxl.UUCP (Rick Nelson) (12/20/85)

My 1983 Datsun MAXIMA's battery (30 months old, 26400 miles) has gone dead
twice within the past 3 weeks.  The car will readily start with a jump.  There
have been no warning signs that the battery was weak, no other problems
starting the car.  It is kept in a garage, so temperature is not a factor.
The battery is a sealed maintenance-free one so the cells cannot be checked.
After jumping it the first time, everything was fine until 3 weeks later when
it was dead again.  The car was run earlier in the day with no incident.  That
night I measured only 7.5V on the battery after it wouldn't start.  There is a
voltmeter on the dash rather than an idiot light.  It shows that the battery is
being charged OK.  I had the charging system checked anyway and it's OK.

Does this sound like a bad battery problem or something more subtle?
  
                                               Rick Nelson
                                               mhuxl!david1