My optima fiasco...

[cavingman]

So when I picked my car up after the accident the battery was dead. I figure they left something on. no biggie.
Few days later, it turns over kinda slow in the morning but it starts. no more problems.
Then one night im out in the car, key is in the ignition, at on, but didnt start it. I watch all the lights dim slowly over the course of about 30 seconds. Now I know somethings up.
Take it into my autoclass and hook her up to the battery tester. Alternator is putting out in the normal range. Starter is ok. Battery is dropping pretty low when everything is off. (dont remember how low)
So I start emailing pfyc trying to figure out what I can do (thinking it was the battery itself) then interstate, they tell me to take it to a interstate warehouse near my house, which i do today.
They test it, same thing I was getting. (they spent like 20 ****ing minutes asking about my interior, i was late for getting back to work damnit)
When he unhooks the - cable from the battery theres a small spark. He says that it shouldnt do that if nothings pulling a charge while the car is off (nothing is that I know of).
His advice was to get a test light. hook it between the 2 - battery cables and see if it lights. He thinks something on the frame somewhere is pulling a charge, like maybe a wire getting pinched from the accident.
anyone have any other ideas what it might be? the test light seems like a ghetto way to do it lol

[cavingman]

update: well, he was right
unhooked the - battery cables. hooked my test light up. + on the ground cable directly next to the battery and - on the - on the battery.
The wierd thing is, it flashes wierd. looks light a heartbeat. a little pulse then a big pulse, then it fades a bit, then little pulse then big etc...

[bszopi]

Do you have a capacitor for any audio equipment? The capcaitor will charge up when reconnecting the battery and thus cause a spark.

[cavingman]

nope. i got a 350 watt amp but i unhooked that thinking the same thing, made no difference.
seth made a damn good point. pcm/bcm/whatever is gonna pull current even when the car is off to power whatever (lights etc).
someone else should go out and see if that - cable pulls any power :D

[bszopi]

I always get a small spark when reconnecting my neg. cable. When I had my cap in, I got a big spark. You could always take the car to Sears and have them check the battery. It could be that the battery is just going bad and is no longer holding a good charge. It'll be fine when you are driving cause the alternator is keeping everything up. But when the engine isn't running and the battery is trying to supply everything, it no longer can. That or it just needs a good recharge.

[cavingman]

yea my initial thought before all of this was the battery wasnt holding charge like it should be. that was auto my auto teachers thought.
im gonna play with some stuff tomorrow. I realized tonight that the remote for the amp doesnt turn off right away because it's using the same remote for the monsoon amp. also im beginning to think that my power invertor uses power even when the switch is at off. get a small spark no matter what from that sometimes.

[illsmokeyou]

Originally posted by bszopi
I always get a small spark when reconnecting my neg. cable. When I had my cap in, I got a big spark. You could always take the car to Sears and have them check the battery. It could be that the battery is just going bad and is no longer holding a good charge. It'll be fine when you are driving cause the alternator is keeping everything up. But when the engine isn't running and the battery is trying to supply everything, it no longer can. That or it just needs a good recharge.

yeah, Id bet this is the problem also

[cavingman]

well, i drive my car to work everyday. this weekend im goin to the pitt meet.
I have a trickle charger here, but I dont have the time to leave it on for 24 hrs ya know :(
plus, if somethin goes wrong im mad ****ed :(
maybe I'll give it a try next week.

[Tonyyank]

better come ho, come with steve-o

[cavingman]

I am
ill be drivin moms corsica if i gotta

[bszopi]

If its an extended drive, that should put a pretty decent charge into the battery, as long as the alternator is charging good. For just everyday driving, most people drive <15 minutes at a time and that isn't long enough for the alternator to put a good charge back into the battery. But if you are driving for a couple hours, that should do it for you.

[cavingman]

yea that was my thought too. Gonna **** with the amp and power inv tonight then drive to pitt fri :)

[Mike Jung]

Originally posted by bszopi
If its an extended drive, that should put a pretty decent charge into the battery, as long as the alternator is charging good. For just everyday driving, most people drive <15 minutes at a time and that isn't long enough for the alternator to put a good charge back into the battery. But if you are driving for a couple hours, that should do it for you.
I wouldn't drive it until the battery is charged-up first.

You don't want to burn out the alternator trying to charge the car battery from dead.
Especially if you don't know if the battery is holding a charge properly.

[cavingman]

well i got some crappy volt meter from autozone. 8 bucks because the box was damaged :D
anyways, with the car off, no doors open, nothing running, the battery is reading just above 12 v.
This is after re-wiring everything last night. I wish i woulda tested it then.

[bszopi]

If its above 12v, that is good. But the battery could still be going to ****... Check what the voltage is with the car running now. Should be 14.7v.

[cavingman]

****. crazy thunder and lightning out :\
ill try and play with it tomorrow

[cavingman]

k, with the car running its just under 14. I can watch it jump from there to 13.5 if i put my turn signal on. not good.
If I turn the car off, back to on, i can watch it slowly drain down to 11. i had barely enough to turn the car back on :\

edit: im gonna try the trickle charger overnight as a last ditch effort :(

[cavingman]

:rage:
trickle charger already finished! It definetly takes a charge. after I hooked it back up it was a whore to start. almost had to jump it. Eventually it started so i drove around a bunch. still holdin at 14v. havent tried having it sit in on. dont wanna risk it.

[Jeremy]

just buy a new battery ya cheap bastard....hehe

[cavingman]

fu jeremy it's only like 1.5 yrs old lol