More flat-battery investigations.. Alarm?

aaronjb · August 1, 2005, 23:24

Quote from: "kanujunkie"the output at 2000rpm should be 10A or less nominal and 30A or more under load with the High beams and heater on

Very hard for mortals to test the current drain from the battery & alternator without specialist gear though, don't forget Stu.. (I know, you're a sparky, so no doubt have access to test gear with leads big enough to sustain a 30A drain.. but I don't think my multimeter would s;)

s;) )

kanujunkie · August 1, 2005, 23:48

Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "kanujunkie"the output at 2000rpm should be 10A or less nominal and 30A or more under load with the High beams and heater on

Very hard for mortals to test the current drain from the battery & alternator without specialist gear though, don't forget Stu.. (I know, you're a sparky, so no doubt have access to test gear with leads big enough to sustain a 30A drain.. but I don't think my multimeter would s;) s;) )

good point, standard multimeters are only 10A max s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

Anonymous · September 14, 2005, 17:29

hello

im having battery problems too!!!!

i have an mr2 roadster smt. since i have had the car (1yr and 2mths(, i have had a battery problem. occasionally, intermittently, with no warning, when i get in the car and turn the key, i just get a tick tick tick...

the engine doesn't even turn over. it appears that the battery is drained.

i have been told by the place i purchased the vehicle from, that it is because i do not do enough miles in the car to put the charge back into the battery. the garage, however will not recommend the amount of miles i should be doing. i however feel i am doing more than enough miles..... does anyone have the same problem or is anyone able to shed some light on the subject? i really am at the end of my tether.

did any of you manage to find an answer to your problems? if so, plesae share the info...

Tem · September 15, 2005, 07:15

Quote from: "louise"i have been told by the place i purchased the vehicle from, that it is because i do not do enough miles in the car to put the charge back into the battery. the garage, however will not recommend the amount of miles i should be doing. i however feel i am doing more than enough miles..... does anyone have the same problem or is anyone able to shed some light on the subject?

They may be correct. Say you have a fully charged battery at 100%...after you start the car, it may fall down to 90% and after half an hour drive it may be back up to only 95%. Repeat that too many times and you don't have enough power to start the car.

It's not really the miles you drive, but the start/drivetime relation. Find a good excuse to drive around for an hour without stopping once a week or two to make sure you're fully powered s;)

s;)

(of course the percentages and times are just examples, which should give you an idea what's going on. I don't think anyone can give exact values)

heathstimpson · September 16, 2005, 07:36

Quote from: "Tem"
Quote from: "louise"i have been told by the place i purchased the vehicle from, that it is because i do not do enough miles in the car to put the charge back into the battery. the garage, however will not recommend the amount of miles i should be doing. i however feel i am doing more than enough miles..... does anyone have the same problem or is anyone able to shed some light on the subject?

They may be correct. Say you have a fully charged battery at 100%...after you start the car, it may fall down to 90% and after half an hour drive it may be back up to only 95%. Repeat that too many times and you don't have enough power to start the car.

It's not really the miles you drive, but the start/drivetime relation. Find a good excuse to drive around for an hour without stopping once a week or two to make sure you're fully powered s;) s;)

(of course the percentages and times are just examples, which should give you an idea what's going on. I don't think anyone can give exact values)

Totally agree Tem. Louise there is a good reason now for you to go on some nice long windy country road runs s:?: :?: s:?:

Anonymous · October 7, 2005, 23:01

Hi all, I've had my 2000 roadster for 2 months and am also having battery drainage problems.

I do a round trip of 20 miles per day and the battery is flat after 3 days!! Is this a common problem?

I'd really appreciate some help!

Thanks.

s:?: :?: s:?:

Tem · October 7, 2005, 23:50

Quote from: "MONKEY"I do a round trip of 20 miles per day and the battery is flat after 3 days!! Is this a common problem?

That's not common.

You should measure the voltage when the car is running. If it's above 14V, your battery is most likely dead. If it's below that, the issue is probably your alternator.

Anonymous · October 8, 2005, 11:50

Quote from: "Tem"
Quote from: "MONKEY"I do a round trip of 20 miles per day and the battery is flat after 3 days!! Is this a common problem?

That's not common.

You should measure the voltage when the car is running. If it's above 14V, your battery is most likely dead. If it's below that, the issue is probably your alternator.

Thanks for your help. Just one thing...how do I measure the voltage!?? I know that might sound daft but other than the basics I know nowt about car maintainence!!

Tem · October 8, 2005, 18:23

Quote from: "MONKEY"how do I measure the voltage!??

m http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/di ... onics3.htm m s8)

s8)
(read the yellow box at the bottom)

Anonymous · October 10, 2005, 07:01

The OEM battery in my electronically bone-stock '00 would go flat within 30 days if I didnt drive it. It would still take a trickle charge tho.

A HawkerGenesis PC645 would go flat in 7 days of inactivity. Trickle=goodtogo as well.

The OEM serpentine belt would squeel so I replaced it with a Goodyear Gatorback and (at the same time s:roll: :roll: s:roll: ) dropped in spiralgelcell Optima Redtop battery.

I know the RedTop isnt a solution and I changed two things at once but am posting to indicate that its not just EuroSpec electricals having battery issues.

Ernie Ball · November 2, 2005, 13:19

My battery is also exhibiting the symptoms others have described: going flat after 3 days of no driving (don't ask). I have a battery charger/conditioner, but even after using it, I'm still having the problem.

I figure the battery is hosed. Question: anyone have recommendations for a replacement? I went to Halford's but they don't seem to stock batteries for the '2.

aaronjb · November 2, 2005, 20:33

In the end I ended up going to Mr T for a new battery, and even then the one they sell you isn't actually the right battery..

There was a thread around here someplace with the code for a perfect fit battery, I think either Grant (GSB) or Adam (Jap GT300) posted it.. or it might have been Paul (Darth Paul).. Er.. I think I'm getting old, the memory is going!

Anonymous · November 9, 2005, 20:54

With my battery issues I ended up not going to Mr T but bought the biggest battery I could fit into the space that had a good reserve of crank, it seems to be going well so far.