A Good Mobile Auto Elec Around Dandy

[W0rp3D]

Got a problem with the battery going flat all the time, have tried as much as i can to track the problem and my work hours dont allow me to get it to an auto elec and pick it up so i need a mobile auto elec to come to my work and suss it out, would prefer someone who knows these cars as it may be a common problem specific to skylines, worst thing would be to get a bill and he still couldnt find the problem.

[R31Nismoid]

it'll be (obviously) a power drain somewhere if the battery is in good nick and/or alternator is charging correctly - both of those are very simple things to check, less than 5mins

If you have an alarm, that would be place to start #1 provided everything else above is OK.

Simply diable your alarm for however long this problem takes to occur, if it doesnt, problem solved yourselv

All simple stuff any auto elec can check really if you dont have 5mins to do yourself.

I wouldnt say skyline specific is neccesarily required to track down something like that

[W0rp3D]

done all that, also tested current draw, was .2 of an amp from memory and was no difference with the alarm on or off, also the problem was a minor one when the weather got cold everything went to shit.

[VB-]

might sound silly but have you checked the fluid level in your battery?

only .2A draw would suggest either battery or altenator is gone... checked for good contact on the charge wire?

[barney]

Connected Auto Electrics

105 Shrives Road Hampton Park

0410 407 629‎

speak to bob, he works on quite a few imports and own a r33 himself.

[W0rp3D]

might sound silly but have you checked the fluid level in your battery?

only .2A draw would suggest either battery or altenator is gone... checked for good contact on the charge wire?

Thats how much power is being used with the car off and the alarm on, also can not check the fluid level in a sealed battery.

Connected Auto Electrics

105 Shrives Road Hampton Park

0410 407 629‎

speak to bob, he works on quite a few imports and own a r33 himself.

Thanks, will give him a call this week.

[weapon6666]

might sound silly but have you checked the fluid level in your battery?

only .2A draw would suggest either battery or altenator is gone... checked for good contact on the charge wire?

low battery level will do the same in cold weather (loose charge)

or battery may be just too old and need replacing due to glazing on cells

[W0rp3D]

low battery level will do the same in cold weather (loose charge)

or battery may be just too old and need replacing due to glazing on cells

Battery is about 6 - 12 months old.

Have taking it for long drives to charge it (around 4 hours) i assumed that would be enough to charge it properly, might have to put it on charge over night.

[weapon6666]

le t us know what it was

[R31Nismoid]

hmm... another question.

What type of battery?

Some batteries need a PROPER charger, not a $80-$100 repco charger, this is to totally reset the battery.

Chucking it on a cheap charger will give it some power, and let you drive it... but it will keep dying.

And again, still could be a stuffed battery, just because its new doesnt mean a thing

[VB-]

yeah you may have bought it 6-12 months ago, but it was probly sitting on the shelf for a year or two before you bought it. from memory, some batterys will print on there somewhere how old the battery itself is...

[W0rp3D]

The battery is a red top optima, havnt actually taken it out of the car to charge it, might change back to the old battery and see if there is still the same problem.

[R31Nismoid]

So how were you starting it? Jump start?

That wont work most of the time for longer than a day or two:)

My Odyssey battery does the same thing.

Once its flat, a jump start will get it running no problems after a few minds.

However the ONLY way to get it back to proper health is a PROPER charger for em. A nice solid 15-25A charger.

Not some shitbox 5A charger like pictured

[W0rp3D]

Jump starting it and then on the weekend going for a good 300k drive, problem is that once its fully charged it will still go flat again no matter what, i have not charged the optima but when the odysey was in there i did take it out and charge it with a decent charger and it took a few weeks but it still went flat again, its also odd that during the hot weather we had my current battery didnt have this problem, once the cold weather hit so did the troubles.

Also when i first put the new battery in it was fully charged and worked great, but slowly it lost its charge and has never really gotten back to the same amount of charge.

[blind_elk]

What voltage do you have at the battery at idle? at 2000rpm?

My nephew's car stopped on him one morning. Checked battery with engine running - 11.5V. So immediately suspected the alternator.

When we got round to replacing the alternator, noticed the belt a bit loose, and then the -ve cable simply fell off the battery terminal. Tightened everything up - 13.5V, problem solved.

So, is everything tight?

[W0rp3D]

At idle the volts on the power fc hand controller show as between 14 - 14.6, at the terminals under the fuse box its .2 of a volt less and at the battery its .4 of a volt less, all of this was measured with a cheap multi meter though.

[W0rp3D]

Just thought i would update, today the power fc hand controller was showing 10.8 volts before trying to start it, had to jump start it again, finally got around to borrowing a mates charger which is 12amps (biggest i could get my hands on), i tested the battery with a multi meter before charging, it showed up as 11.5volts, so 0.7 volt difference from the power fc, also when i hooked up the charger it is showing it as 75% charged.

Will leave it on charge overnight and see how it goes in the morning, with any luck this will solve the problem as some have suggested but i doubt it.

[W0rp3D]

So how were you starting it? Jump start?

That wont work most of the time for longer than a day or two:)

My Odyssey battery does the same thing.

Once its flat, a jump start will get it running no problems after a few minds.

However the ONLY way to get it back to proper health is a PROPER charger for em. A nice solid 15-25A charger.

Not some shitbox 5A charger like pictured

So far you are correct, after using the 12amp charger (manafacturer only reccomends 10amp) put it back in on sunday, was at 12.7v when i put it back in, after running around on sunday according to the hand controller it had dropped to 12.3v, on every start since monday morning it is showing 11.8-9, have noticed that how quick it turns over has dropped a bit since sunday, although there is a .5-.7 drop in volts since then, with any luck it will stay where it is and all will be good.

Edited June 23, 2009 by W0rp3D

[R31Nismoid]

11.8 is too low i would think?

Is that once its cranked and idling?

[W0rp3D]

11.8 is too low i would think?

Is that once its cranked and idling?

Thats just after i turn the ignition on before i start it, trying to gauge how much volts have been lost over the night/day.

Once started it is still showing 14-14.5v