Battery Shopping
12-31-2001, 01:32 PM
#17
Advanced
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: New York City
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Thanks Guys,
My other question is ...Does anyone use a battery maintainer? This is important to me as Bad S4 sits idle for long periods...not a good situation,I know but unavoidable.
Bad S4
My other question is ...Does anyone use a battery maintainer? This is important to me as Bad S4 sits idle for long periods...not a good situation,I know but unavoidable.
Bad S4
12-31-2001, 04:48 PM
#18
Advanced
Join Date: Jul 2001
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
battery maintainer seems like a drag due to the local & crap u have to pull...my friend has a 968 & has had battery probs like me & uses one..way easier to get 2...
2nd Interstate 4 me MTP 91 lasted 1 1/2 yrs...not daily driver, but never sat 4 more than a week..?? need to investigate that cutoff switch possibly..
91 928GT
gretz99
2nd Interstate 4 me MTP 91 lasted 1 1/2 yrs...not daily driver, but never sat 4 more than a week..?? need to investigate that cutoff switch possibly..
91 928GT
gretz99
12-31-2001, 04:55 PM
#19
Burning Brakes
If your battery is not holding a charge then it is likely that your car may have a larger than normal drain on the system. My 928s have gone for weeks without charging and start right up. I live in a temperate climate, but the temps do get down to the teens sometimes.
I suggest you check the electrical system for leaks. Shorts or closed circuits may be present without you knowing it. I suggest you start with the cabin lights, door switches, etc.
~ Happy new year ~
I suggest you check the electrical system for leaks. Shorts or closed circuits may be present without you knowing it. I suggest you start with the cabin lights, door switches, etc.
~ Happy new year ~
12-31-2001, 09:39 PM
#20
Advanced
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: New York City
Posts: 82
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Actually, Bad S4 spent most of the summer
in the garage and would start after as
many as 4 or 5 weeks.Recently after
charging and testing of the battery did
it show signs of being weak.It is an AC Delco installed by the PO..who knows when?
New Question!
I assumed that the maintainer would install directly to the battery.Does it attach to the
+ terminal in the engine compartment?
Thanx
Bad S4
in the garage and would start after as
many as 4 or 5 weeks.Recently after
charging and testing of the battery did
it show signs of being weak.It is an AC Delco installed by the PO..who knows when?
New Question!
I assumed that the maintainer would install directly to the battery.Does it attach to the
+ terminal in the engine compartment?
Thanx
Bad S4
12-31-2001, 10:27 PM
#21
Chronic Tool Dropper
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
Lifetime Rennlist
Member
I'll jump in with a few thoughts:
-- Find the electrical drain and fix it if you possibly can. It can take some sleuthing, but a methodical approach will eventually find the problem. Start out with the light-bulb-on-a-fuse rtool to narrow it down, then go after it with the milliamp meter.
-- Batteries lose about 20% of their --remaining-- amp-hour capacity each time they are cycled to dead and back. "Dead" can mean anything less than 1 volt per cell or about six volts total, assuming that they are discharging evenly. That's not alays a good assumtion.
-- You can check the health a battery by charging it to full voltage, and using a handy tester to check the specific gravity of the acid solution in each cell. Cheap testers are less than a buck at Wal-Mart, more expensive/more elegant testers get as high as maybe $20. Do this at your annual battery remove/ battery box clean/ terminal clean-inspect-reseal maintenance, and you can see a problem before it strands you.
-- The best maintainer I've found comes off the shelf from Wal-Mart, and is a bargain at around $25. Look for it on the battery rack, in a hanging plastic package, device is about the size of a couple hockey pucks but rectangular. Make a set of fused leads for it, and attach the leads at either the battery or at the underhood charging posts. I added a molex-type quick-disconnect plug to mine, and plug it into whichever car, boat, or sea-doo needs it at the moment.
-- I replaced my PO-supplied NAPA battery over the summer with an identical new one. It only lasted 55 of the 72 warranty months, so NAPA contributed about $35 dollars to the retail cost (about $125) of the new one. It came with the positive terminal shield, and also the vent hose fitting. That hose fitting is pretty important, as it vents stray explosive and corrosive fumes out of the compartment. Don't leave home without it!
My car gets left for weeks going on months at a time, and starts every time. Fortunately, thete have been no amateur stereo or alarm geniuses at work on it ever, so the wiring is still intact.
I'm alnost convinced that a majority of stray electrical drains can be traced to wiring installed after the car was sold originally.
The next most common problem, as Ed pointed out, is wiring related to interior lights and door switches. The light wiring seems to rattle around loose in the roof channels, and eventually wears through just enough to leak a little. The lamps themselves are nothing magical, and a lot of wire problems seem to happen at the connectors on the ends of the wires that connect to the lamps. With six interior light assemblies, two red door edge lamps, plus four switches, there's plenty to find problem with over time.
Some day when the smoke clears here a little, maybe a how-to on basic 928 electrical troubleshooting will happen. I think a good first step would be a tutorial on how to read and follow the various wiring diagram formats, DIN wire color and terminal numbering standards, etc. Any volunteers??
Hope this helps--
-- Find the electrical drain and fix it if you possibly can. It can take some sleuthing, but a methodical approach will eventually find the problem. Start out with the light-bulb-on-a-fuse rtool to narrow it down, then go after it with the milliamp meter.
-- Batteries lose about 20% of their --remaining-- amp-hour capacity each time they are cycled to dead and back. "Dead" can mean anything less than 1 volt per cell or about six volts total, assuming that they are discharging evenly. That's not alays a good assumtion.
-- You can check the health a battery by charging it to full voltage, and using a handy tester to check the specific gravity of the acid solution in each cell. Cheap testers are less than a buck at Wal-Mart, more expensive/more elegant testers get as high as maybe $20. Do this at your annual battery remove/ battery box clean/ terminal clean-inspect-reseal maintenance, and you can see a problem before it strands you.
-- The best maintainer I've found comes off the shelf from Wal-Mart, and is a bargain at around $25. Look for it on the battery rack, in a hanging plastic package, device is about the size of a couple hockey pucks but rectangular. Make a set of fused leads for it, and attach the leads at either the battery or at the underhood charging posts. I added a molex-type quick-disconnect plug to mine, and plug it into whichever car, boat, or sea-doo needs it at the moment.
-- I replaced my PO-supplied NAPA battery over the summer with an identical new one. It only lasted 55 of the 72 warranty months, so NAPA contributed about $35 dollars to the retail cost (about $125) of the new one. It came with the positive terminal shield, and also the vent hose fitting. That hose fitting is pretty important, as it vents stray explosive and corrosive fumes out of the compartment. Don't leave home without it!
My car gets left for weeks going on months at a time, and starts every time. Fortunately, thete have been no amateur stereo or alarm geniuses at work on it ever, so the wiring is still intact.
I'm alnost convinced that a majority of stray electrical drains can be traced to wiring installed after the car was sold originally.
The next most common problem, as Ed pointed out, is wiring related to interior lights and door switches. The light wiring seems to rattle around loose in the roof channels, and eventually wears through just enough to leak a little. The lamps themselves are nothing magical, and a lot of wire problems seem to happen at the connectors on the ends of the wires that connect to the lamps. With six interior light assemblies, two red door edge lamps, plus four switches, there's plenty to find problem with over time.
Some day when the smoke clears here a little, maybe a how-to on basic 928 electrical troubleshooting will happen. I think a good first step would be a tutorial on how to read and follow the various wiring diagram formats, DIN wire color and terminal numbering standards, etc. Any volunteers??
Hope this helps--
