battery question

[Bobafreak]

I have a buddy club racing spec battery. i member having it for about a month dd, and never had a problem. so i bought a dd and parked the 240 in the garage and after about a month later the battery is dead. throughout the month i did start it to move around and drive it around the block and what not, then park it back in the garage. Well what im thinking is that my light in the trunk drained the battery. well i took it to auto zone they charged it for 3 hours and it was fine. I drive it for about an hour and park it and try to start it again immediately and its dead. my co worker jumps the car for me its fine drove it on the 10 freeway for about an hour and 20min and i go to park it shut it off. gave it 10 seconds and i tried to turn it on, its cranking turning slow then dies. then i try doing it again and it makes a machine gun type noise.

So im thinking is the battery finished and i need to purchase another? or should i try recharging it again and see what happens. i do have a fmic so i need to get a new battery so i might head to autozone and purchase a miata battery or something thatll fit.

[k's_silvia2.0]

Might not be the battery.If it is contact Buddy Club usa there close by and pretty helpfull.

[2ilvia]

have you tried the headlights on while car is off test? if the headlights shine fine with the car off then its not the battery. might be alternator not charging it.

[Bobafreak]

yeah im going to see if the head lights go on. As far as the buddy club battery goes i dont know if i go through them or jpr. Well bb in 5 min.

[eclipse_dsm]

I would check for a short.. Remove the negative cable and place a bulb in between if that lights steady you have a short. If it lights up and goes off right away then ur good. Hope this helps!

[Bobafreak]

I went to check and the lights are not dimming, the automatic seatbelt is not coming up slow at all. Radio power on, high beams are straight. I can try the lightbulb trick, but what kind of bulb like your standard light bulb?

So I'm guessing new alternator? Anybody know the part number and a place I can get one for a good cost for the sr20det?

This sucks first my car was stolen on monday, then yesterday my clutch and flywheel are done and replaced now. Now the alternator....

[eastcoastS14]

could just be your battery....i had an odyssey PC680 in my car and it would just die once it got a little cold at night....eventually it wouldnt even crank over....my advice is relocate ur battery and get an optima or somethin

[Bobafreak]

could just be your battery....i had an odyssey PC680 in my car and it would just die once it got a little cold at night....eventually it wouldnt even crank over....my advice is relocate ur battery and get an optima or somethin

well im going to try the cheaper route and buy a miata battery and then see how long itll last and make sure all my doors are closed. if it happens again within a short period of time since ill be driving this a while well see how it goes. Ill give an update. i know some never say that but like dave chappell in have back says "samson i stay tru to ma story."

[ixfxi]

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/twincamtech_1971_94420646

ugh why waste time with these tiny motorcycle batteries, just because it says "buddy club?"

jeez.. optima battery is all a car needs, plenty of juice and no acid. saving a tiny bit of weight isnt worth the expensive. if you cant fit a big battery, relocate that shit to the back. simple as cake.

anyway, at the minimum you should atleast hookup a multimeter and look at your voltage, and/or check the voltage coming from the alt. if your alternator isnt producing energy, than your battery will die - period.

so test them both, and quit wasting bandwidth. :-)

and its HALF BAKED! not HAVE BACK. gaddamn.... you killed it

[jdmized240sx]

i say its the batt. your car would die on you while driving if your alternator wasnt charging and your car was running completely off the battery.

[Bobafreak]

http://us.st11.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/twincamtech_1971_94420646

ugh why waste time with these tiny motorcycle batteries, just because it says "buddy club?"

jeez.. optima battery is all a car needs, plenty of juice and no acid. saving a tiny bit of weight isnt worth the expensive. if you cant fit a big battery, relocate that shit to the back. simple as cake.

anyway, at the minimum you should atleast hookup a multimeter and look at your voltage, and/or check the voltage coming from the alt. if your alternator isnt producing energy, than your battery will die - period.

so test them both, and quit wasting bandwidth. :-)

and its HALF BAKED! not HAVE BACK. gaddamn.... you killed it

Lol sorry about that I saw the mistake but refreshing on a sidekick can take years. 2. The only reason why I got the buddy club battery is because its what they had at the shop. I actually got the miata battery and brought it to them they said it wouldn't fit but whatev ill check them both and well see what's up.

[Jung918]

With the car running, take off the negative wire to the battery. If it keeps on running then the alternator is good.

[Bobafreak]

With the car running, take off the negative wire to the battery. If it keeps on running then the alternator is good.

thank you thatll be less of a hassle figuring it out so i dont have to walk half a mile with both battery and alternator in my backpack to autozone.

[ixfxi]

With the car running, take off the negative wire to the battery. If it keeps on running then the alternator is good.

BAD ADVICE. Fucking horrible ghetto ass advice.

Do that if you want to put a voltage spike on all your electronics and possibly fry some shit. see, this is why you dont let unskilled individuals work on your car - because of shitty advice like this.

http://www.aa1car.com/library/2003/us20310.htm


i had a dead and/or weak alternator on several of my cars, but i have a strong optima battery that was able to keep the car running for days until i had enough time to fix the problem. having a voltage gauge in the car is the car (like i do) is great because it allows you to see how much juice is being taken out of the battery. as your battery gets weaker, the voltage typically drops down as well.

just go test your alternator PROFESSIONALLY and quit wasting time with shit advice on this forum. people on zilvia really have horrible advice when it comes to electronics

[Bobafreak]

Well I took the negative cable off for about 4 min the car is still running so the alternator is out of the question now I'm on my way to autozone! Thanks ill keep an update

[Bobafreak]

Well I went to autozone bought the miata battery tried starting the car no bueno. So were off to getting an alternator..sighhhh fuckin shitty. Its hot today in socal and I'm stranded in the autozone parking lot. Luckly I have jumper cables and a phone book to look for a shop to get my alternator fix.

[Bobafreak]

Well I took it to a shop the voltage showed 14 so the alternator is not bad nor is the battery. It cranked and started after we waited 20 min from the time I turned it off. My car is playing games now. But good to know its neither alternator or battery. Plus the miata battery fits perfectly in the front. Its tightly in there with no movement. But hopefully everything will be fine after this point on. Ill update in a couple of hours. I'm tired now and I need to clean the house. Again I want to thank all those who chimed in for the support. Wether good or bad.

[ixfxi]

Well I took the negative cable off for about 4 min the car is still running so the alternator is out of the question now I'm on my way to autozone! Thanks ill keep an update

you took the shitty advice, eh?

dude, just incase you didnt realize - you're beyond zilvia online help, you need professional shop help.

tools. someone who can test your vehicle, properly. this make-shift repairs are useless unless you KNOW what youre doing.

[S14Josh]

Get a red-top optima.

Greatest shit ever.

I was grabbing something out of my car and forgot to turn my dome light off. This was before i left for the airport to go to florida for a week. Came back a week later, saw the dome light was still on....said, OH SHIT. Got in the car, and cranked it. Started up first try with no hesitations.

[ixfxi]

Get a red-top optima.

Greatest shit ever.

I was grabbing something out of my car and forgot to turn my dome light off. This was before i left for the airport to go to florida for a week. Came back a week later, saw the dome light was still on....said, OH SHIT. Got in the car, and cranked it. Started up first try with no hesitations.

red top is a good starting battery, so it supplies good power for instant-starts.

i still have a deep cycle blue top marine battery for my s13, and my s13 has been sitting for 3 years now. the battery is near 7 years old, and it still holds charge and works like a champ.

optima makes some very good batteries.

[Kn1ves]

holy crap those deep cycle blue top marine batteries weigh a fucking ton. two fucking tons actually.

(15lbs heavier~)

[O3DigitalBath]

^ umm yea...duh, he said its the blue top (deep cycle) which means its got thinker plates (more lead)

lead does weigh a lot...

[AWDTurbo]

you took the shitty advice, eh?

dude, just incase you didnt realize - you're beyond zilvia online help, you need professional shop help.

tools. someone who can test your vehicle, properly. this make-shift repairs are useless unless you KNOW what youre doing.


I have used this trick for years, Never had a problem Spiking the electronics.

Although I do Pos cable not neg.

First you should have tested the alternator with the battery term trick, Then you should have put a load tester on that battery, any parts store can test it.

Never heard of the light bulb trick!!! Ill remember that...

Your next problem might be the solenoid going bad on the starter, Tha would cause the dragging problem if the battery is good.

Optima is my battery....

[Jbma327]

pretty sure something is draining your battery. But if its the battery that is dead go with a westco battery = cheaper and last longer

[nissanguy13]

I had the same problem last week. I bought a car and it ran fine for about a week. During the second week I would park the car for an hour, overnight etc. come back to the car and it would be dead. I would jump it and drive somewhere turn it off and it would be fine. It was really pissing me off, due to just buying it I wasn't sure of the history of the car. So I took it to Kragen and they have this piece of gear they stick on your pos and neg terminal. It tells you if the alternator is good, battery etc. Come to find out the battery was to small for the car and was being over charged. So I bought the right battery and haven't had a problem since.

[drifting_changed_mylife]

I would check for a short.. Remove the negative cable and place a bulb in between if that lights steady you have a short. If it lights up and goes off right away then ur good. Hope this helps!

is this true?? i have never herd or this test before?

[bigOdom1]

so what optima are you using? there is no direct reference for s chassis cars. i use a 75/35 i think but have had to replace it once when i left the stereo/lights on one night

[ixfxi]

>10-21-2007 06:46 PM You should drop the attitude!!!!

Yeah? You should drop to your knees and bl0wm3. Atleast the suggestions I am making WONT cause harm to a vehicle, unlike the majority of crap I'm reading in this thread.


awdturbo> I have used this trick for years, Never had a problem Spiking the electronics. Although I do Pos cable not neg.

You dont spike the electronics, you spike the ENTIRE CAR. Anything that uses electricity in the vehicle will have a massive spike. Cars are not designed to run and have their batteries disconnected simultaneously.

Do you understand how electricity works? If your local electricity company did this they'de owe for some serious damages. This is why sensitive electronic equipment like computers at home have UPS (power supplies) to reduce/eliminate the chances of things getting damaged during situations like the ones you're suggesting.

[Bobafreak]

Update. The car is running fine. What i think what my problem was the light in the trunk area was staying on even with the doors shut. I noticed it after closing all the doors the light all of a sudden came on. Which caused it to kill the battery. I did buy the miata battery. Its been cranking good and no problems yet. what im guessing the reason why i still needed a jump start after installing the new battery was due to the fact probably the battery itself was low on voltage due to it probably sitting in autozone for so long. But after the charge everything was good.

[ixfxi]

Common problem.

See people, not a short, not a bad ground - just a parasitic loss/drain.

[5t341tH]

sorry to bump old thread but i am having power related problems as well.
i have a volt gauge in my car (apex TT) and it reads that i have about 9.5-10.2 volts when the car is idle. once i rev my car, the voltage would go up to a max of 11.5 volts. im not sure but could this be a alternator problem? im thinking it might be or something is draining my battery.
once it gets around 9.5 volts, my cars headlights and cluster would dim down to barely anything and my headunit would shut off. this has been happening for about a week.
thanks for any input