Electrical Power problem
Thread Starter
Staging Lane
iTrader: (1)
Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 81
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From: west allis, wisconsin
Electrical Power problem My car is sitting and i run it every other day for like 10 minutes or less, and throw it a few rev's....Recently the car has not been wanting to start, like there isnt enough power to get a spark, so it usually takes 2 trys to get it started or i have to give the car a jump(all juice is used up)....I have no idea what could be causing this!!....The alternator is less than 2 years old, and was taken apart and given a new regulator less than a year ago, everything charges fine once the car is running; I Replaced the positive battery cable not too long ago, so its still pretty much brand new; and i have a less than 1 year old Optima Red Top, so that rules the battery out pretty much......so im clueless???? maybe the negative battery cable needs to be replaced? could a bad opti cause this???
TECH Regular
Joined: Sep 2004
Posts: 404
Likes: 0
From: Raleigh, NC
If you are going to let the car set, disconnect the negative battery cable. That way all the electronics are not always pulling amps. 50 mili amps drain from electronics on a vehicle that is sitting will discharge the battery. You should put a trickle charger on it while it is sitting rather than start it up every other day, and less than 10 minutes is not enough charging time for the battery to recover from the start up. Just charge the battery and leave it disconnected if you are not going to drive it.
You also need to be sure that battery is fully charged. The alternator is not designed to recharge a dead or weak battery, 'specially in 10 minutes. Another possibillity you have a bad starter or cable but that has to be tested for with an amp test & voltage drop testing on the cables.
