Battery Dies

[theMessenjah44 10+ year member]

weak doesn't necessarily mean it's too small (that's not helping any) but when they get older, they don't produce as much. I'd go to autozone or wherever and have them test it for you...if you have to replace your alt anyway, it'll only be an extra 150ish dollars to get the HO alt instead.

 

[Fender5 10+ year member]

i'll head up to autozone soon to check. thanks

anything i can do until then?

how long does it usually take your car to charge up. how soon should i turn my music down before parking

1mtx1. your inbox is full

 

[Phoenix Risen 10+ year member]

when we say charge your batts we dont mean drive around letting you little alt trying to do it, we mean put it on charger, you know the big things you plug into a wall, and leave it there over night to make sure its got a full charge.

 

[mwe-maxxowner 10+ year member]

I know nothing about a battery setup like you have for your honda, but I know in the world of diesel trucks, I have been told to only run like batteries of the same age/condition, as a weaker battery will put extra stress on the other battery, as well as on the alternator. I had to do a little researching on dual batteries when I bought my psd as it was cranking slow, and I really didn't wanna have to purchase two high amp batteries at once. Found out the best way was to buy two, but it wound up being starter anyway, which was about the same price as two batts lol.

 

[skdooley 10+ year member]

Your vehicle uses 30% to 50% of the amperage your stock alt produces. So, if you have a 90 amp alt, its using atleast 35 amps or so. That leaves 55 amps for additional use. 55 x 14.4 (or whatever your alt charges at) is 792. So roughly you have 800 rms free to use. What happens is, when you pull more amperage than you have available, you're running off your batteries. Since you're pulling more amperage than your alt can handle, it can't charge the batteries which you're drawing off of. Mix that with cold temps and that's whats causing them to die. Contact DC Power Engineering or Mechman for a price quote. I have a celica and they have a 180 amp alt for me that does 120 amps at idle and its $389. Pretty good deals.

 

[skdooley 10+ year member]

Also, voltage is important. Upgrading the big 3 and having a solid ground in the rear to the frame will help to maintain voltage as high as possible, as well as running additional batteries which you're already doing. Less voltage means less power you're getting from your alt.

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

Your vehicle uses 30% to 50% of the amperage your stock alt produces. So, if you have a 90 amp alt, its using atleast 35 amps or so. That leaves 55 amps for additional use. 55 x 14.4 (or whatever your alt charges at) is 792. So roughly you have 800 rms free to use. What happens is, when you pull more amperage than you have available, you're running off your batteries. Since you're pulling more amperage than your alt can handle, it can't charge the batteries which you're drawing off of. Mix that with cold temps and that's whats causing them to die. Contact DC Power Engineering or Mechman for a price quote. I have a celica and they have a 180 amp alt for me that does 120 amps at idle and its $389. Pretty good deals.

You need to take into account inefficiency as well more like 600watts or less

 

[skdooley 10+ year member]

^^ True Mike. Trying to just help him understand the situation. Its also important to remember with that 90 amps from the stock alt, thats peak, not idle. Idle speeds will be less than 90 amps, and thus less amperage to draw from. That's also if the alt is new, if its old and used, it could be producing less power and charging at less than 14.4 volts. As alts get hot, if they're not designed well, power can also be lost through heat.

 

[matt_bennett05 10+ year member]

Sounds like you have a battery problem... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/nerd.gif.c6fa51ddf7ff75f1c0371fbc648f70ae.gif

Yeah autoparts stores should trace the problem down for you for free

 

[miker 5,000+ posts]

i found a cheap alternator on ebay its a 250 amp and it was 120-150 i think i cant remember for that price who knows if it actualy does 250 but they guy told me it does

It is probably for a ford or chevy truck. I don't think you will ever get one that big or cheaply as a drop in for a honda.