Is it bad to constantly do a rolling start on a car with a dead battery?

[TheChort]

2003 GTI VR6

My battery died a few days ago. I took it to the gas station to get charged. It was fine for half a day, then it died again.

What I've been doing is I only drive my car when I know I can park it on a downhill, then I do a rolling start. I've done it maybe 10 times so far. Long story short, I need to hold of buying a new battery for a couple more days.

So is this damaging to the car/clutch?

 

[CptCrunch]

Well it may, or you could spend $60 on a new battery instead of alot more for a new clutch. Take it to autozone/advance and have them test the battery and alternator to see which needs to be replaced. Yo uare about the time when the battery needs replacing, so I'd get that done instead of worrying about killing your clutch

 

[TheChort]

The annoying thing is this car drains batteries like crazy. I've already changed it twice. All it takes is 1-2 weeks of nobody driving it to kill the battery.

 

[Demon-Xanth]

Get a trickle charger.

 

[spidey07]

I can't see how it would be doing any harm. There is no harm to the clutch other than normal wear like shifting.

 

[OUCaptain]

I would worry more about finding the source of the drain. You can try just pulling one of the terminals off when you park for the day then see if she starts when you hook it back up.

But no...never heard of a rolling start hurting anything

 

[ayabe]

Yeah something is drawing power, you need to take the car in and have someone diagnose the problem.

In my Integra I had some problems with my stereo that was causing the exact issue you describe.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Originally posted by: TheChort
The annoying thing is this car drains batteries like crazy. I've already changed it twice. All it takes is 1-2 weeks of nobody driving it to kill the battery.

sound like you need a new alternator.

 

[TheChort]

Thanks for the advice guys. I'm heading out for school on monday, and nobody's gonna drive this car 'til summer. I'll get on it when I get back.

 

[jagec]

Originally posted by: TimeKeeper

Originally posted by: TheChort
The annoying thing is this car drains batteries like crazy. I've already changed it twice. All it takes is 1-2 weeks of nobody driving it to kill the battery.

sound like you need a new alternator.

Maybe the alternator is overcharging or otherwise damaging the battery, but there is probably some kind of drain as well when the car is off, otherwise he'd be able to park it without issues.

OP: Just get a new battery, seriously. You're not doing damage, but is it really worth the hassle? Then get Autozone to test the alternator, and then use an ammeter to measure how much current is being drawn when the car is off.

 

[LTC8K6]

Maybe you damaged the alternator by repeatedly charging a dead battery with it?

 

[bruceb]

I tend to agree about it being a bad alternator. You may have one shorted or open diode
in the alternator or possiibly the internal voltage regulator in the alternator is bad. Car
alternators use 6 diodes to change the voltage over to DC .. Good way to check is put a
Voltmeter on the battery terminals. You should get 12V or a bit higher .. anything less battery
is undercharged or bad ... Each cell is 2V .. next start the car, voltage while cranking should
not drop below 9 - 10V ... then put a load on it .. Headlights on High, Radio, AC on ... rev up
the engine to about 2000RPM ... watch the voltmeter .. it should go to about 14.5V or so
If not Alternator is defective. Also a bad Battery Cable or Bad Ground at the engine Block
can cause these issues.