derekstl

iTrader: (2)

Hey guys,

I just fired up the car after it has been sitting in the garage for 3 months.I hooked the battery up again and I was about to drive away when i noticed that the lighting in front of the car wasnt that bright. I turned off the fog lights and noticed the headlights werent on at all. When i popped the hood to try and see why, i noticed that the rest of the lights (fog, running lights, and dome light) kept dimming. When looking at the battery voltage gauge, every 4 seconds it would drop and the lights would dim.

My headlights and fog lights have HID bulbs 9006 from DDM Tuning. They are 55 watt, 6k bulbs and both sets have the relay harness. Im not just concerned why the headlights arent turning on as much as I dont know why the power keeps surging every 4 seconds. I figure the power doesnt quite build up enough for the headlight ballasts to power up. Do you guys have any ideas??

derekstl

iTrader: (2)

Update: I went out today and tried it again and drove it around. Car ran fine and I never had the surging voltage meter, it stayed right at 14 volts. Then when I got in the driveway, I tried turning on the headlights and the problem started again. The surging came back and the lights would dim. Once again the headlights never turned on. So it must be something tied in with the headlights or wiring. It kept doing it last night because of the auto-headlights, but now in the daylight when the lights arent on, I have no issues.

RJDio

just curious if the headlights work fine with the motor off, just running off the battery. I was having some charging issues and upgraded to a Altima yellow top and power bastards alternator

derekstl

iTrader: (2)

I'm actually not near the car right now. It is in St. Louis in a garage and I just moved to Virginia, so I can't check, but I think I remember trying it a few times with the car off and it didn't work either. Should it have worked?

RJDio

If everything worked fine before you stored it, I'm just wondering if it is something as simple as a shot battery

derekstl

iTrader: (2)

Yeah I understand what you are saying, I wondered that too because it seemed like the car was a little bit slow to crank. But after the car started, and the alternator kept it running at 14 volts, shouldnt the lights have worked then?

RJDio

I've just had a few batt problems in 2012. My Optima red top would decide to take a crap after driving for a while, get somewhere and then need a jump , WTF? Then run fine for a few days, think problem solved then do the same thing! Went with a new yellow top and problem is solved. My wifes 3 year old Mazda 6 started to chirp alarm at night, car would start fine, no other problems, took to dealer they put in a new battery and problem solved.

OptimaJim

Derek, did you have your battery on a maintainer while your car was in storage or did you charge your battery before you started your car? Did you measure your voltage at the terminals while you were dealing with these issues and if so, were those readings consistent with what you saw on your dashboard meter?

RJDio, I noticed you have an underdrive pulley listed in your modications. Do you know the output of your alternator? My concern is that the new battery may be temporarily masking an underlying issue of the battery not being maintained by the charging system.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries

derekstl

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, I wish I could have taken my battery into autozone to have it tested. It's always worth a shot.

Wow, you really know your batteries, Jim! But unfortunately I did not do any of those things. I just disconnected my battery so it didn't slowly drain. After hooking it back up, it just took a second of cranking to start up. Like I said, I have moved and don't have the car with me so I can't check. And I was back for Christmas so when I was near the car I did t have much time for diagnostics.

RJDio

Thanks Jim, I've recently upgraded to Power Bastards alternator in hopes to generate more charge, and also in prep for a future electric water pump mod. I'm hoping that will allow the yellow top to power it all (including aftermarket stereo/amp) and stay charged in a car that is barely driven.

OptimaJim

Hey Derek, I totally understand the lack of access you have to your car. The fact that you did disconnect the battery prior to storing it does put you miles ahead of many other folks who store their vehicles for long periods of time. However, I always encourage folks to at least charge their batteries with a battery charger before and after storing them, even if they can't measure voltage at either point, because many batteries are put into storage in a partially-discharged state, even if they are disconnected.

RJDio, we recommend typical alternator output to be in the range of about 13.7-14.7 volts. If your charging system is doing it's job, your battery won't be powering anything when the engine is running. I trust a “Big 3” upgrade is also on your future mods list?

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
www.pinterest.com/optimabatteries