Those with newer cars,& batteries

[runzwithsizorz]

I have *heard* that allowing your battery to go completely dead, can result in more serious things happening, other than just losing your radio pre-sets, and clock setting, is this true? I have an '02 with a newer deep cell marine type battery, but if I do not run/drive it within 3 days time there's not enough power to start it. In the past this has been more of an annoyance than a serious problem, example; you want to use the good car to take the wife out to dinner, you get all dressed up, and think your about to leave, but noooo. Our other, day to day cars, are older and do not have all the fancy do-dads that this one has, i.e; alarm, lo-jack, computers, and the satellite tracking device that lets the man know where I am, and where I've been. Recently, I was working on a job for several days, and the car on the adjacent property would magically start up, run for a few minutes, and shut down, about the same time every day. I would like to find, and install such a device, but as yet have been unable to locate one,(fails@google). Any of you hear of such a device?

 

[DeviousTrap]

In most cases, letting a battery die won't really affect too much except what you mentioned in your post. Depending on the car, some engine ecu settings might also revert to their default values if the ecu doesn't have a backup battery, but in most cases you won't notice that. Still, even though it may not directly cause any damage, there's no need to torture your car.

The bigger problem is that your battery is dieing every 3 days. Even though your newer car may have a lot of electronics, there's no reason why your battery should be dead after sitting for 3 days (or even 3 weeks with a good battery). If you haven't changed the battery since you bought the car in '02, it's probably time to do so now. Once you let a battery die completely, especially a couple of times, its ability to hold a charge will be significantly reduced. As for the car in the parking lot that starts up randomly, chances are that it has a remote starter that either the owner is turning on manually, or is activated by a timer.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
In most cases, letting a battery die won't really affect too much except what you mentioned in your post. Depending on the car, some engine ecu settings might also revert to their default values if the ecu doesn't have a backup battery, but in most cases you won't notice that. Still, even though it may not directly cause any damage, there's no need to torture your car.

The bigger problem is that your battery is dieing every 3 days. Even though your newer car may have a lot of electronics, there's no reason why your battery should be dead after sitting for 3 days (or even 3 weeks with a good battery). If you haven't changed the battery since you bought the car in '02, it's probably time to do so now. Once you let a battery die completely, especially a couple of times, its ability to hold a charge will be significantly reduced. As for the car in the parking lot that starts up randomly, chances are that it has a remote starter that either the owner is turning on manually, or is activated by a timer.

:thumbsup: Seconded.

ZV

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
In most cases, letting a battery die won't really affect too much except what you mentioned in your post. Depending on the car, some engine ecu settings might also revert to their default values if the ecu doesn't have a backup battery, Good to know but in most cases you won't notice that. Still, even though it may not directly cause any damage, there's no need to torture your car.

The bigger problem is that your battery is dieing every 3 days. Even though your newer car may have a lot of electronics, there's no reason why your battery should be dead after sitting for 3 days (or even 3 weeks with a good battery). I tend to agree with you. If you haven't changed the battery since you bought the car in '02, it's probably time to do so now. The battery HAS been replaced, and is top of the line. Once you let a battery die completely, especially a couple of times, its ability to hold a charge will be significantly reduced. This is what I thought as well As for the car in the parking lot that starts up randomly, chances are that it has a remote starter that either the owner is turning on manually, or is activated by a ***timer***. Bingo!, however according to you I may have some other drain, or short. Perhaps I should take this car to an automotive electrical technicion, and from my experience, it's gonna be expensive! Thanks for your reply

 

[DivideBYZero]

Draining all power from a WRX is a good thing if you have just swapped to higher octane fuel. It restarts the fuel quality learning process and sets the timing accordingly, rather than waiting for 4-5 tank fulls before the knock value average to go up.

So sometimes it's a good thing. 😉

 

[steppinthrax]

Won't there be that extra strain on the alternator from charging a nearly dead battery.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Won't there be that extra strain on the alternator from charging a nearly dead battery.

Yes, technically, but not enough to matter. The alternator isn't designed to charge a battery in a real sense, it's just designed to keep it topped off, so it never pushes huge amounts of amperage to the battery and even at full capacity the alternator isn't working too hard.

ZV

 

[DeviousTrap]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Draining all power from a WRX is a good thing if you have just swapped to higher octane fuel. It restarts the fuel quality learning process and sets the timing accordingly, rather than waiting for 4-5 tank fulls before the knock value average to go up.

So sometimes it's a good thing. 😉

Disconnecting the terminals on the battery would do the same exact thing without reducing the charging capacity of the battery 😉

 

[DeviousTrap]

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap
In most cases, letting a battery die won't really affect too much except what you mentioned in your post. Depending on the car, some engine ecu settings might also revert to their default values if the ecu doesn't have a backup battery, Good to know but in most cases you won't notice that. Still, even though it may not directly cause any damage, there's no need to torture your car.

The bigger problem is that your battery is dieing every 3 days. Even though your newer car may have a lot of electronics, there's no reason why your battery should be dead after sitting for 3 days (or even 3 weeks with a good battery). I tend to agree with you. If you haven't changed the battery since you bought the car in '02, it's probably time to do so now. The battery HAS been replaced, and is top of the line. Once you let a battery die completely, especially a couple of times, its ability to hold a charge will be significantly reduced. This is what I thought as well As for the car in the parking lot that starts up randomly, chances are that it has a remote starter that either the owner is turning on manually, or is activated by a ***timer***. Bingo!, however according to you I may have some other drain, or short. Perhaps I should take this car to an automotive electrical technicion, and from my experience, it's gonna be expensive! Thanks for your reply

Do you have an amp meter? This article is about a Saab but the general information is good for testing any car electrical system.

 

[StageLeft]

Oh, it's a saab? A friend of mine's dad had one and the trunk light wouldn't go out so the thing kept killing batteries. There is no reason in the world a battery should die after 3 days, that is ridiculous. This is not 1908. If the battery is good (or was) and lasts only 3 days, something is slow-draining it while you're not in it.

 

[beat mania]

Look into installing a battery kill switch - just turn the whole thing off and no drain to battery by your car when you just let the car sit for days.

 

[runzwithsizorz]

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Draining all power from a WRX is a good thing if you have just swapped to higher octane fuel. It restarts the** fuel quality learning process** and sets the timing accordingly, rather than waiting for 4-5 tank fulls before the knock value average to go up.

So sometimes it's a good thing. 😉

Goodness me! so much has changed since I built, and rebuilt my '67 mustang, and '69 GTX.
Back then, when you opened the hood, lo, and behold, there was an engine, with enough room to crawl in there, and have lunch with a couple of close friends. Nowdays, I open a car hood and well,-- I am confused. My brake terminus looks like it came off the starship Enterprise, there are more tubes on my air cleaner than the Borg, and if there are spark plugs in there, I'd need to hire a mining company to find them.
I guess we can all agree that my car does indeed have a problem, but alas, this old dog is just too old to be learning any new tricks. I liked that link that Devious sent along, unfortunately I think I killed my meter last week,(loud pops, and smoke isn't a good thing, is it?). I did it testing the amps on my R/C boat, who would have thought that my little toy boat could peak at a 180 amps!! Anyway, I will be taking my car in to the experts and let them figure it out, after all, it has always been my plan to spend my kids inheritence.
You know, sometimes I wonder if adding technology to even the simplist of machanical things was somehow part of an overall scheme. Think about it, sometime in the early seventies someone said what can we do to stop people from working on their own cars, and force them come to us? and someone said, I know, lets add a computer, BRILLIANT. Then someone said, but what if some people are still able to fix their own cars, and someone else said, then we will build a computer to hook up to their computer, and it will prove that no matter how well they think their car is running, it will still need repairs, BRILLIANT. If we cut the government in on our action they will make it mandantory, and the people will have no choice, BRILLIANT. Lets also get rid of the oily overalls, put on white lab coats, and change our name from auto mechanic, to automotive technician, BRILLIANT. Now what else can we do with these computers, another asked, and someone responded, you know that brand new gas stove Runz bought, we put a computer in it that renders it totally inoperable, so he has to pay us $300 every 8, or 10 months,
BRILLIANT. And so it goes, computers will be the death of me.
BTW, thankz for the tip there DBZ, and the next time I smoke a WRX with my two and a half ton Sequoia, I'll have you to thank!
The cable co. came today and took my dead receiver/dvr, and I'll not get a replacement for about a week, seems the only computer I got left running is this one I'm sittin next to ty

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: runzwithsizorz

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Draining all power from a WRX is a good thing if you have just swapped to higher octane fuel. It restarts the** fuel quality learning process** and sets the timing accordingly, rather than waiting for 4-5 tank fulls before the knock value average to go up.

So sometimes it's a good thing. 😉

Goodness me! so much has changed since I built, and rebuilt my '67 mustang, and '69 GTX.
Back then, when you opened the hood, lo, and behold, there was an engine, with enough room to crawl in there, and have lunch with a couple of close friends. Nowdays, I open a car hood and well,-- I am confused. My brake terminus looks like it came off the starship Enterprise, there are more tubes on my air cleaner than the Borg, and if there are spark plugs in there, I'd need to hire a mining company to find them.
I guess we can all agree that my car does indeed have a problem, but alas, this old dog is just too old to be learning any new tricks. I liked that link that Devious sent along, unfortunately I think I killed my meter last week,(loud pops, and smoke isn't a good thing, is it?). I did it testing the amps on my R/C boat, who would have thought that my little toy boat could peak at a 180 amps!! Anyway, I will be taking my car in to the experts and let them figure it out, after all, it has always been my plan to spend my kids inheritence.
You know, sometimes I wonder if adding technology to even the simplist of machanical things was somehow part of an overall scheme. Think about it, sometime in the early seventies someone said what can we do to stop people from working on their own cars, and force them come to us? and someone said, I know, lets add a computer, BRILLIANT. Then someone said, but what if some people are still able to fix their own cars, and someone else said, then we will build a computer to hook up to their computer, and it will prove that no matter how well they think their car is running, it will still need repairs, BRILLIANT. If we cut the government in on our action they will make it mandantory, and the people will have no choice, BRILLIANT. Lets also get rid of the oily overalls, put on white lab coats, and change our name from auto mechanic, to automotive technician, BRILLIANT. Now what else can we do with these computers, another asked, and someone responded, you know that brand new gas stove Runz bought, we put a computer in it that renders it totally inoperable, so he has to pay us $300 every 8, or 10 months,
BRILLIANT. And so it goes, computers will be the death of me.
BTW, thankz for the tip there DBZ, and the next time I smoke a WRX with my two and a half ton Sequoia, I'll have you to thank!
The cable co. came today and took my dead receiver/dvr, and I'll not get a replacement for about a week, seems the only computer I got left running is this one I'm sittin next to ty

It will have to be a WRX locked into reverse for that to happen, but good luck!

 

[DivideBYZero]

Originally posted by: DeviousTrap

Originally posted by: DivideBYZero
Draining all power from a WRX is a good thing if you have just swapped to higher octane fuel. It restarts the fuel quality learning process and sets the timing accordingly, rather than waiting for 4-5 tank fulls before the knock value average to go up.

So sometimes it's a good thing. 😉

Disconnecting the terminals on the battery would do the same exact thing without reducing the charging capacity of the battery 😉

Which is what I did. Sorry, I wasn't being very specific! I removed the terminals then opened a door and pressed the rear window defogger just to make sure!

It worked. 🙂 On a rolling road it produced 246hp vs a factory spec of 215hp. (GF body, Gen 1, phase 2 Impreza Turbo, UK spec. 2000 MY)

 

[imported_wonderwrench]

Originally posted by: Zenmervolt

Originally posted by: steppinthrax
Won't there be that extra strain on the alternator from charging a nearly dead battery.

Yes, technically, but not enough to matter. The alternator isn't designed to charge a battery in a real sense, it's just designed to keep it topped off, so it never pushes huge amounts of amperage to the battery and even at full capacity the alternator isn't working too hard.

ZV

Well thats just plain wrong! "The alternator isn't designed to charge a battery in a real sense, it's just designed to keep it topped off" this is totally true. "so it never pushes huge amounts of amperage to the battery and even at full capacity the alternator isn't working too hard." This is totally not true. Allowing an alternator to charge a battery can and does cause alternator damage.

At low engine speeds the alternators cooling fan can't keep the alternator cool. Couple this to the fact that at low rotor speeds alternator output is hindered so the regulator circuit runs the field wide open. This unnaturally high temp causes early death of the alternator. Most GM alternators fail do to extreme temps that occur when the alternator is required to run wide open. Such as recharging a dead battery or idling in hot weather with enough loads to cause the alternator to run in a full fielded state for extended periods of time. A late model GM 100+ amp alternator can and does put out 100 amps or more at idle. Its hard to believe but I have seen it with my own eyes.

Why do you think all the kid's with the 10K watt stereo's have so many alternator problems. If alternators could run at 100% load all the time all the kid's would just complain about dead batteries. Now some charging system designs may try to stop an alternator from overheating by limiting its out put at low rotor/fan speeds but this can cause dead batteries under extreme conditions so is very rarely done. The manufactures make an alternator large enough to keep the battery from discharging with all loads on at idle. They care more about keeping the battery charged than the life of the alternator.

 

[dud]

I just bought myself a used Lexus SC and the first thing I did (begrugingly) was to go out and replace the (huge) battery. The old battery ran down while I was playing the radio (while I was detailing her) and I just didn't feel confidant that the car would start every time I needed it to.

I spent almost $100 not on a new battery ... but on piece of mind. And to answer your question ... the answer is no. The car just skips along fine and no harm was done after the original battery died.

 

[Raduque]

In most late-model cars, the battery dying will cause the ECU to reset. It can range from a simple (yet alarming if you don't know it'll happen!) gauge-sweep (my truck) or hard-start, to the car not even running correctly till the ECU re-learns how to keep it running (my mom's eclipse). In the latter case, the ECU usually takes between 10-20mi to re-learn how to run the engine.