Time for a new battery?
01-08-2003, 12:18 AM
#1
Drifting
Thread Starter
Time for a new battery?
Alright, here's the deal. I'm not sure how much of this is related, but it seems like my battery just doesn't like cold weather. Let me know what you think:
7/3/02 - Bought car
7/3/02 - 11/30/02: Car never had problem starting
12/1/02: Hit guardrail on driver's front fender, drive car rest of way to school & park in lot.
12/7/02: Try to get into car to get snow brush & clean for pictures. Remote for alarm doesn't work, have to use kill switch to turn off alarm. Kill switch is broken (must've hit w/ my knee at some point), can't turn off alarm, turns self off in about 30 seconds.
12/8/02: Replace kill switch, start engine just to make sure it works, works.
12/15/02: Go to start engine to drive to bodyshop for estimate, battery 90% dead (~1.0 v).
12/16/02: Get jump, find that battery cables are real loose (REAL loose), no time to tighten now, drive to shop, get estimate, starts slowly when done, but starts & drive back to school.
12/28/02: Go to start car to drive to mechanic for allignment. Not even enough power to turn on clock on dash. Tighten battery cables & get jump. Drive to mechanic (about 60 minute drive, I got lost) & park car.
12/31/02: Pick up car, mechanic says had no trouble starting the half-dozen times he had to in order to move around shop. Says might have been because he was in a heated shop.
1/1/03: After driving another 30min to a friends house for New Years party go to start car in morning (about 40* low that night) & has no trouble at all. Drive car home.
1/1/03 - 1/4/03: Drive car daily, 30 minute commute, warm weather. No troubles at all.
1/7/03: Car has sat in garage for 3 days, is below freezing (not sure of actual temp, but the snow hasn't melted off the car). Battery is putting out 0.7v, turning key seems to do nothing.
At first I thought it was the alarm draining it, but I got that fixed, but still has trouble starting.
Then I thought it was the loose cables causing the problem, so I tightened them. Problem disappeared, until it sat a few days in the cold.
Now I think it's the battery, anyone think otherwise before I go & buy a new battery?
Also, what kind of battery should I get? The one it has now looks like a $30 wal*mart special, would just any one off the shelf at napa work/fit for this or should I get a special kind? What's a good brand? Where's a good place to shop? About how much power do I need?
7/3/02 - Bought car
7/3/02 - 11/30/02: Car never had problem starting
12/1/02: Hit guardrail on driver's front fender, drive car rest of way to school & park in lot.
12/7/02: Try to get into car to get snow brush & clean for pictures. Remote for alarm doesn't work, have to use kill switch to turn off alarm. Kill switch is broken (must've hit w/ my knee at some point), can't turn off alarm, turns self off in about 30 seconds.
12/8/02: Replace kill switch, start engine just to make sure it works, works.
12/15/02: Go to start engine to drive to bodyshop for estimate, battery 90% dead (~1.0 v).
12/16/02: Get jump, find that battery cables are real loose (REAL loose), no time to tighten now, drive to shop, get estimate, starts slowly when done, but starts & drive back to school.
12/28/02: Go to start car to drive to mechanic for allignment. Not even enough power to turn on clock on dash. Tighten battery cables & get jump. Drive to mechanic (about 60 minute drive, I got lost) & park car.
12/31/02: Pick up car, mechanic says had no trouble starting the half-dozen times he had to in order to move around shop. Says might have been because he was in a heated shop.
1/1/03: After driving another 30min to a friends house for New Years party go to start car in morning (about 40* low that night) & has no trouble at all. Drive car home.
1/1/03 - 1/4/03: Drive car daily, 30 minute commute, warm weather. No troubles at all.
1/7/03: Car has sat in garage for 3 days, is below freezing (not sure of actual temp, but the snow hasn't melted off the car). Battery is putting out 0.7v, turning key seems to do nothing.
At first I thought it was the alarm draining it, but I got that fixed, but still has trouble starting.
Then I thought it was the loose cables causing the problem, so I tightened them. Problem disappeared, until it sat a few days in the cold.
Now I think it's the battery, anyone think otherwise before I go & buy a new battery?
Also, what kind of battery should I get? The one it has now looks like a $30 wal*mart special, would just any one off the shelf at napa work/fit for this or should I get a special kind? What's a good brand? Where's a good place to shop? About how much power do I need?
01-08-2003, 05:13 AM
#2
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Jul 2001
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Hi,
Batteries last for some 3 years, then need replacement.
Your problem could be 3 things
- dead battery (low ambient temp reduces capacity)
- poor charger circuit
- power drain
I assume you cleaned the cable connections when you tightened them.
If you drain a battery completely, the plates will get coated and exchange surface is lost, resulting in reduced capacity.
Completely drained batteries re-charge very quick in a car, the generator output is huge compared to an standard battery charger.
This generates an nice temp increase in the battery that might cause some plates in a cell to warp, adding to the reduction of capacity.
Conclusion: December 2002 just might have killed your battery.
Replacement: the biggest that fit in the box, DIN standard sized, 65 AH / 300Amps.
VW / BMW / Mercedes are using the same type with different capacity.
TakeCare
Batteries last for some 3 years, then need replacement.
Your problem could be 3 things
- dead battery (low ambient temp reduces capacity)
- poor charger circuit
- power drain
I assume you cleaned the cable connections when you tightened them.
If you drain a battery completely, the plates will get coated and exchange surface is lost, resulting in reduced capacity.
Completely drained batteries re-charge very quick in a car, the generator output is huge compared to an standard battery charger.
This generates an nice temp increase in the battery that might cause some plates in a cell to warp, adding to the reduction of capacity.
Conclusion: December 2002 just might have killed your battery.
Replacement: the biggest that fit in the box, DIN standard sized, 65 AH / 300Amps.
VW / BMW / Mercedes are using the same type with different capacity.
TakeCare
01-08-2003, 06:45 AM
#3
Instructor
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Columbus, OH
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Sounds like a bad battery to me, possible weak ground? I don't know if anyone uses the Optima dry cell batteries(approx $130) in these cars, but it saves a decent amount of weight and can be mounted in any position(upside down if you want). I'd stay away from the die hard batteries. An uncle of mine is a federal judge and just went through a case involving die hard batteries and defective materials. Other than that you can pick up 5-7yr battery for < $60. The more cold cranking amps the better.
Chris '86 951
Chris '86 951
01-08-2003, 12:24 PM
#4
Drifting
Thread Starter
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Hans:
<strong>Hi,
Batteries last for some 3 years, then need replacement.
Your problem could be 3 things
- dead battery (low ambient temp reduces capacity)
- poor charger circuit
- power drain
I assume you cleaned the cable connections when you tightened them.
If you drain a battery completely, the plates will get coated and exchange surface is lost, resulting in reduced capacity.
Completely drained batteries re-charge very quick in a car, the generator output is huge compared to an standard battery charger.
This generates an nice temp increase in the battery that might cause some plates in a cell to warp, adding to the reduction of capacity.
Conclusion: December 2002 just might have killed your battery.
Replacement: the biggest that fit in the box, DIN standard sized, 65 AH / 300Amps.
VW / BMW / Mercedes are using the same type with different capacity.
TakeCare</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I didn't actually clean the contacts when I reconnected the cables, but the terminals looked pretty darn clean (like new).
I know the alternator is fine because it puts out about 14v when the engine is running.
As for the drain...this still could be. Everytime it has sat for more than 3 days it has had this problem & it is going COMPLETELY dead. I know batteries get worse in the cold, but do they get this dead (0.7v) this quick?
How would I diagnose if there is a drain on the battery?
<strong>Hi,
Batteries last for some 3 years, then need replacement.
Your problem could be 3 things
- dead battery (low ambient temp reduces capacity)
- poor charger circuit
- power drain
I assume you cleaned the cable connections when you tightened them.
If you drain a battery completely, the plates will get coated and exchange surface is lost, resulting in reduced capacity.
Completely drained batteries re-charge very quick in a car, the generator output is huge compared to an standard battery charger.
This generates an nice temp increase in the battery that might cause some plates in a cell to warp, adding to the reduction of capacity.
Conclusion: December 2002 just might have killed your battery.
Replacement: the biggest that fit in the box, DIN standard sized, 65 AH / 300Amps.
VW / BMW / Mercedes are using the same type with different capacity.
TakeCare</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">I didn't actually clean the contacts when I reconnected the cables, but the terminals looked pretty darn clean (like new).
I know the alternator is fine because it puts out about 14v when the engine is running.
As for the drain...this still could be. Everytime it has sat for more than 3 days it has had this problem & it is going COMPLETELY dead. I know batteries get worse in the cold, but do they get this dead (0.7v) this quick?
How would I diagnose if there is a drain on the battery?
01-08-2003, 05:06 PM
#5
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Louisville, KY.
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Make certain that all accessories and lights (dome lights etc.) are off. Disconnect the negative cable, connect a 12 volt test light between the cable and the negative battery terminal. If the light burns, you have enough parasitic draw to pull the battery down over several days. Pull fuses in turn to isolate the curcuit involved. My hunch, though is that you've just got a bad battery. The lick on the fender could have been enough to loosen some of the internals and cause an intermittant problem.
01-08-2003, 05:24 PM
#6
Drifting
Thread Starter
</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Mark Parker:
<strong>Make certain that all accessories and lights (dome lights etc.) are off. Disconnect the negative cable, connect a 12 volt test light between the cable and the negative battery terminal. If the light burns, you have enough parasitic draw to pull the battery down over several days. Pull fuses in turn to isolate the curcuit involved. My hunch, though is that you've just got a bad battery. The lick on the fender could have been enough to loosen some of the internals and cause an intermittant problem.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Did that & actually used an ammeter instead of a test light. Measured 0.04a.
<strong>Make certain that all accessories and lights (dome lights etc.) are off. Disconnect the negative cable, connect a 12 volt test light between the cable and the negative battery terminal. If the light burns, you have enough parasitic draw to pull the battery down over several days. Pull fuses in turn to isolate the curcuit involved. My hunch, though is that you've just got a bad battery. The lick on the fender could have been enough to loosen some of the internals and cause an intermittant problem.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Did that & actually used an ammeter instead of a test light. Measured 0.04a.
01-09-2003, 06:17 AM
#7
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Jul 2001
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</font><blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">quote:</font><hr /><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Originally posted by Scootin159:
<strong>Did that & actually used an ammeter instead of a test light. Measured 0.04a.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Battery dead, internal short, please bury at safe place or dispose of it in envrionmental frendly manner
TakeCare
<strong>Did that & actually used an ammeter instead of a test light. Measured 0.04a.</strong></font><hr /></blockquote><font size="2" face="Verdana,Tahoma,Arial,Helvetica,Geneva">Battery dead, internal short, please bury at safe place or dispose of it in envrionmental frendly manner
TakeCare