I am driving an 1985 Toyota Tercel wagon, a beater to get me through school. I picked up a Red Top 720CCA that had been sitting for a few years, unused. At idle with my lights and wipers on my voltage is dipping harshly (below 11 volts) and when I accelerate the sudden voltage rush up to 14 is shutting my deck off momentarily. I had my alternator tested at a local shop, he suggested that the battery had been sitting too long, and to get a bigger one. Anyone have any more info on this? I upgraded the battery ground to frame to 4awg also. It has a small alternator (50/60 amp I think) and I am running a Kicker 550.3 amp (two 30 amp fuses). Thanks for any info you can provide.

[ September 16, 2005, 10:43 PM: Message edited by: 2 8's AKA Jeepbeats ]

 

sounds like your battery isn't holding a charge very well, whats the voltage sit at after the car has been off for a few hours?

 

I will have to check and see. When I got it, it was reading 11.8 volts, but needed a jump start to get it going. Will have to check and see. When I put on my turn signals my voltmeter clicks up and down in time with them.

 

It sounds like your battery is messed. Any decent battery will not fluctuate when signal lights are engaged.

Was the battery stored on concrete?

 

3 entries found for old wives' tale.

old wives' tale
n.
A superstitious belief or story belonging to traditional folklore.

old wives' tale
A superstition, as in Toads cause warts? That's an old wives' tale. This expression was already known in ancient Greece, and a version in English was recorded in 1387. Despite invoking bigoted stereotypes of women and old people, it survives.

old wives' tale
n : a bit of lore passed on by word of mouth

That said, your battery is probably fubar, since it wasn't charged every few months during storage. To try to rejuvenate it, drain it first, then charge it. i.e. Turn on the headlights when parked. Leave'm on until they go out completely, or darn near completely. Immediately put on a charger (do NOT boost and start your car with it in there... you will probably cook your alternator if you do).

Optima's don't like big chargers, a big charger can fry them. Use no more than a 30 amp charger, 10 is good, fully automatic is best. If it's fully automatic, leave it on there, go to bed, then reinstall tomorrow. If it's not fully automatic, put it on there until the battery starts to get warm, about an hour on a 30 amp charger, 2-3 hours or so on a 10. Once it's warm, let it cool off again, then charge again for 20 to 30 minutes. Then, reinstall and try it again.

If it gets HOT, not just warm, or spits gases through it's emergency vents at any time during charging, it's fubar, send it for recycling.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for all of the help guys, I had read that the concrete floor thing was a myth also. It is reading 12.4 volts with the car off. I think I might pick up another battery, see if that helps. Cheers!

 

Grizz would this charger be a decent one to use?:



Motomaster Automatic 10/2A Battery Charger
Sale $59.99
10/2A useful for all 12V battery types including marine/deep cycle
Cycles on and off when finished to maintain a full charge
Automatically adjusts rate to prevent overcharging

 

Yep, that'd be good.

 

Great thank you!

 

Your alternator may be healty now, but it probably won't last for long.

Having such a small alternator with a sound system can cause it to die out. Your alternator is struggling to keep up with the demands of your amplifier and in the end it can't produce enough current to keep your battery charged.

That's how I killed the alternator on my 1990 Honda Civic. It had a 60 Amp alternator and within days of installing my system the battery kept dying on me. After a week the alternator was toast. I got my alternator rebuilt to 90 Amps and I've never had a problem since.

The amplifier that I was running only had a fuse rated at 70 Amps. So it wasn't a huge system.