98Z2885

When I bought the car from my dad, he had just put a new walmart battery on less then a month prior. Its been ok, a little draggy at times due to me not driving my car, or starting it 1 to maybe 2 times a week. Usually its just 1 time. I needed to go to hospital to see my grandpa after he was rushed there. My wife had my truck, her car is getting the back bumper fixed, so no biggie I thought. I will just take the Z. I go to hit the keyless entry and nothing. So once again its dead. All of the lights go off when I shut the door. I do not have an alarm on the car. My radar detector is always unplugged when I return. Has anyone ever had a battery or your car just kill a battery? I may end up having to buy a trickle charger.

twitchtwice

iTrader: (12)

i drive my car maybe once a week and ive never had any battery issues. i have a cheap *** battery too, and its been in the car since i bought it. maybe you have an alternator issue? possibly a corroded terminal/wire?

02Z28LS1

iTrader: (2)

i'm gonna take a wild guess and say that it was likely one of those EverStart batteries.....amiright?

i'll NEVER, EVER again buy one of those Wally-World Everstart batteries....i had basically the same thing happen to me.....i put one of those in my car, then about 6 months later, it was dead. got a replacement under warranty for that one, it only lasted a month. got yet another replacement, lasted 3 months....dead AGAIN. finally, i just said **** it and stopped bothering to get replacements, cause they just left me having to push-start my car.

now i usually buy the Duralast Gold batteries.....haven't had a problem with one of those yet after 3+ years.

Super-Bat

iTrader: (38)

Never had problems with Walmart's batteries.
In my bird I've got a Vatozone one. I've had more issues with theirs, but luckily, it's all been completely covered under warranty.
I'd start with checking out your terminals and grounds. Something is drawing power from the battery.
Also check out your alternator.
It could also be, you've got defective batteries. It's a stretch, but a possibility.

Doomsday

iTrader: (8)

My brother had something similar, I believe it was the factory 12 disc changer that was causing it. It was broken, he never used it, but for whatever reason it was drawing power and draining the battery.

Also, do you have any custom audio, accessories, etc. that may be steadily drawing current even when ingnition is switched off?

redz_02

iTrader: (4)

might also try cleaning the terminals. Somtimes that prevents the battery from being charged properly. FYI, if I let mine sit for two weeks the batt. will be dead. Usually have to give it a good highway run to get a good charge.

GreatWhiteZ28

iTrader: (15)

Wal-Mart brand batteries are know to have a few bunk ones out of their batch, I used to work in the lube shop back when I was 17-18 and had about 10 people come in with brand new batteries that were bad....it's possible you got one of the bad ones.... JMO though....as it could also be a number of other things, but I would start with that NEVERstart wal-mart battery

Breathing Fire

Doomsday is right. My TA has the 12 disk and it was draining the battery. It never turns off. I found that out when I tried to use the + as a remote for the amp I am using. Guess what the amp never turned off. Dead red top 2 days later. A charge and hooking the battery back up I noticed the changer going crazy every time the battery ground was undone and hooked back up.

98Z2885

My car has the 12 disc changer. I have a good optima, Im going to stick on there tomorrow. I havent had problems before with Wally World Batteries. Its strange. Something is drawing the battery down.

LeadfootDuramax

iTrader: (6)

I have run Everstart batteries in my cars for years. Mostly because of the warranty and lack of question. I can walk into Wal Mart at 11 at night at get it replaced with no hassle. I have one in my wife's Z28 that is 4 years old and still going strong. She has even run it dead twice leaving the lights on.

I have one in my Jeep. That thing will sit without getting started for a month or 6 weeks regularly when life gets busy. They still tend to last 3 years or so.

I don't think these are the best batteries ever. I have seen some go bad in a year. Back when I worked at the dealer I saw one thing. Most batteries will last about 3 years with typical use. Anything beyond that is borrowed time. It doesn't matter what brand it is.

I think it is quite possible you could have gotten a bum battery. 2 in a row though? I would start checking to see if you have a draw on the bettery first.

Jake_the_Snake

iTrader: (5)

sounds like you probably have a parasitic drain. take a multimeter and start testing fuses with no key in the ignition. see if somethings drawin power when its not supposed to. most of the batteries sold at walmart, autozone, oreilly, etc etc are all made by johnson controls. even the optimas if im not mistaken. i remember reading a consumer report that put the duralast gold batteries on top. wouldnt surprise me, i use them and i have a few friends that use them with no problems. the superstart batteries arent half bad either from what i hear. as far as the everstart ( aka walmart) batteries, id stay away from them if you can. sure they're cheap and sometimes thats what counts most, but when it comes down to it, youve got to weigh the opportunity cost of spending that extra dough. is spending 10 dollars less worth getting stranded? or worse, having it happen to a wife or kids?

chrysler kid

iTrader: (14)

DITTO! my duralast gold last for hours on hours with my system on while i detail my car, and its been in the car for going on 5 year by the receipt date. Ibelieve they are even warrantied for 5-7 years

i have seen it happen, my girlfriend had walmart do the same thing, one went bad in three months, the other 1 month. it was always replaced for free but really who can really afford to make a buddy take you out to walmart to exchange it in the middle of the night when you were probably busy to begin with.

i have had problems with optima's in the past. i went through 3 of them in a one month span and i said fuckit and went with the duralast gold and never looked back

and to go with what everyone else said you could have a drain in your system, however if this is just a recent problem its probably those cheap batteries from walmart.

98Z2885

I have owned 2 optimas and I have had no problems with them. I also know several people that have had problems with them. I believe its a draw on the battery, because my dad owned the car for 3 months before I bought it. Its been a toy since we bought it, and has sat for days on end. The original battery died 2 weeks after he bought the car. And this same battery has been dragging on occasion if it sits. The alternator charges at 15 amps or 3/4 of the gauge most of the time.