Battery Drops To 6v On Start...

[predator]

does this mean the battery is dead?

only thing that has been a bit confused is it jumps back to 12v when its sitting idle (not started)

when it's running via a push start, i get about 12v across the alt, and 12v at the battery.. so I'm thinking the alternator is still ok?

I'd check the Current but I blew the fuse on my multimeter a while back

[MANWHORE]

That means that your battery is 'old' or quite small or both.

Iff you go to your local battery world, they have a load tester. If you get them to run the tester on it, they can show you the voltage drop for different loads.

If you're havivng problems e.g. hard to start on cold mornings, then replace it.

If you're not having any problems, then elave it until you do

don't use your multimetre to do stuff like that

[cowie165]

Hey Gordon. I agree with Deuce Bigalow. When my battery was on the way out, it'd read 12V static, then drop to 8V on start.

With a jump start, it'd sit nicely on 14V.

As an aside, I recently had issues with the battery that I thought was caused by the alternator - it turns out the battery terminals were corroded and preventing the from alternator charging the battery.

When I took my battery to have it checked, the report was that it was still good just flat. It sounds like yours may just be dead.

[RB30-POWER]

With the car running you should have 13.8-14.8V at the alternator and battery.

If you have only 12V with car running, the alternator is not charging the battery.

[blur]

and the battery volts shouldnt ever drop below 9.6V on crank, if it does its time for a newie!

[infamous_t]

You battery is sulfated & f*cked... you've got just enough juice to start, then your car is running off the good graces of your alternator, which maybe putting stress on the alternator.

Don't bother load testing as what you have already done is a heavier load test than one they will have.

[predator]

Well its 'around 12v' when it's started.. it was probably 14v off the alternator, can't exactly remember. I put new terminals on it a few months back, so the terminals should be in good nick.

I actually took it to battery world a couple of months ago (which is where I got it from).. their response was "it's not the battery, it must be something else". I think they were just trying to dodge their you-beut 3 year warranty

I think because it just has an alarm and a few things, if I leave it for a week or so it goes dead, and it was just a cheapy Century one for around $100. Only 12 months old

Thanks for your help guys.. Think.. none of this cheap ass stuff this time. Think it's time to lash out $300 for a proper Optima or the like. It doesn't get driven that often so needs something that is up to the task.

If there still is troubles I'll investigate a few other things.

[MANWHORE]

well, if you're not having problems, then there's no worries no matter what the voltage drops to.

If it's not lasting or whatever, then think about it.

[Jordan]

I read elsewhere in a different thread that bad starting can be due to a bad earth somewhere. Essentially there is not enough amps to get it started

On a side note, Another guy at work said hard starting could be something with dirty injectors and/or sucky spark plugs, taking ages to start flowing/sparking properly, but I'm going for the amp things and say battery or earth.

[cowie165]

W

I actually took it to battery world a couple of months ago (which is where I got it from).. their response was "it's not the battery, it must be something else". I think they were just trying to dodge their you-beut 3 year warranty

The same thing happened to me, as I mentioned above. As has been discussed, it could be terminals/earth/alternator. It'd be worth taking it to an auto elec and spend $60 on an hour of testing rather than throw $300 at a car with a bad earth?

Even a cheap battery (eg. mine is a supercharge gold) should last a few years. Yours should still be good dude.

[MANWHORE]

If you take it to battery world, they'll tell you if it's the earth or terminals or whatever. Of course, different stores are of different degrees of help, but they do install batteries, and terminals, so they know if it's a dirty terminal or if it's the battery.

The first thing they'll do is probably clean the terminal before they do the load test.

The good thing about them, is they have the tester, and they don't charge you labour!

Battery world sell this really good battery called amaron. It is a silver calcium battery. For those that know about batteries, you'll know that silver calcium is very high quality. Lots of starting charge, good life, etc. They're maintenance free too. They're cheap as. About $80 for a big one (forgot the size).

I use one of those in my daily. I dont' use one in my r33, because I have a sealed one for the boot.

I wouldn't pay an autoelect $60 when you can get a new b82rz for $80.

Just get b82rz world to check it. If it's terminals, they'll just replace them. having terminals replaced costs $10!

If it's the battery, then get a new one.