Temp goes from 60s one day and the next it's in the 20s for highs only. Now my car won't start because my battery is too weak.

I've read that these cars need strong batteries to start or it's "recommended" to get a strong battery. I was wonder what everyone's opinion is on this.

Winters around here are pretty cold. Generally with highs only in the 20-30s and lows that can get down to 10 below.

 

Northern IL winters are ruff man.

I drove my first FB for 2 winters, and I would recomend going to a shop that speicalizes in Bateries and getting the recomened batery for the car that sould help with the problem.

May cost a bit of cash but it will be money well spent in the long run. A dead battery sucks ***.

You may want to look into a deep cycle batery incase your battery gets run down a lot.

Good luck

anthrax

 

i woke up today to 4 new inches, im glad i got the 6 inches we got last thursday off the rex to cover her before it started snowing lastnight
were supposed to get 3 inches throughout the day and 5 more tonight

 

I use the highest CA battery available. Had a 1000 CA one years back, lasted a loooooong time. The one I have now is I think an 850 CA.

 

I'm gonna drop one of those 1000CA gel batteries in my GSL. I guess the AZ heat does a number on batteries just like the cold does.

 

Jesus...1000CA? I was out today looking for prices and I saw I think...one batter that was 800CA and it was like...$80.


Oh by the way, what is deepcycle?

 

A deep cycle batery can be run down and charged back up with out damaging the battery's life expectancy.

But if you are uptight about $80 forget about the deep cycle batterys because they are even more money

 

Deep cycle are not appropriate for an automobile. I use 1000 cca. They have made it through a couple weeks of -10 to +10 F weather, no external heater, with no problems at all.

 

Optima batteries are fantastic. I've had one (the same one) in my Rx for over 13 years. You've seen them, they're about an inch and a half sorter than most batteries and have the red top with the black body.

Over the 13 years, the car was used as a daily driver and then as a garage queen. The battery has been run dead several times and still takes a full charge and works perfectly to this day.

They're about $150 but definitely worth it.

 

20 degrees and you're crying?

geez man, you must be on that ***-backwards Farenheight scale or something... 'cause 20 degrees is room temp.

Remember, water freezes at 0 and boils at 100, it's not rocket science..... Geez


Okay, I'm just pokin' fun at you Yanks. Yeah, I wouldn't drive my rex in the winter if you payed me to, but I understand why some people have to. Hey, at least you don't need to rig up a cold-air intake

Jon

 

I heartily recommend the Optima batteries.
Got my red-top on sale for $80.

 

Haha, I know..I hate our "Standard" system, but it's what us yanks are raised on. heh If you ask me, doens't make sense to call it standard when it's obsolete around the world. Most countries go by the metric system.

Anyway, I've seen the Optima redtops at a few places they're priced at around $120. Looks like I'll be getting one of those if they're truely that good.

 

Red tops are the **** man. Take a look under the hoods of a US Postal Service mobile. They all employ their mail carriers with red tops since it's illegal to leave their car running, and they stop and start those things tons of times a day. The red tops are made to produce the power when you need it to start.

 

Well, does anyone know where to get them the cheapest?

All this help is greatly appreciated.

How about interstate batteries? Any opinions on them?

 

Interstate batteries are awesome, with a 2yr free replacement warranty before they start to pro-rate the value against you.

They sell for about $75, and will last as long as any other good battery.

 

I might add that because the Optima batteries are SEALED, they don't emit a bunch of corrosive fumes to rust out the battery tray and surrounding metal.

 

when I bought my SA, it came with something like a 450 cca battery. The starter always seemed to drag. Yesterday, I bought a 800CCA batter. Let's just say it doesn't drag anymore. 20 degree F this morning and it started right up on the first hit.

 

I've got one of those Die-Easy batteries with somewhere in the ball-park of 600-800 CCA. So far, so good, but it has a smaller footprint than what the tray is designed to hold. If you're worried about the battery during the cold, get a Hawker - light and durable.

 

Picked up a redtop at the local Farm & Fleet at $25 off. Total price of $101.

Car starts up in a snap. 800 CCA is fun! haha

Oh, by the way..my voltmeter in the dash shows it is only running at about 11 volts. My interior lights dim when I work the headlights and the voltmeter jumps slightly back in forth when my blinkers are on. I was wonder if I should get a new alternator?

 

If the volt meter is only showing 11V, I would get the alternator checked out.

If you have a handy voltmeter around, just take it, pop the hood on your car, put the positive lead on the + output of the alt. and the negative on gnd somewhere. You should read 14-16 volts. If not, alt. is dead.

 

Before you go through the trouble of taking off the alternator, why don't you check the battery cables first? They seem to make a difference.

Zac

 

Oh wait, the cables? You mean the wiring? ****, I bet it's the original stuff still. How much would that cost to replace and how much of a hassle is it?

He said the alt was just installed too. Guess I'll check it anyway, how much does a simple voltmeter cost?

 

can't add meaningful stuffs about the car but volt meter/multimeter cost from 10-15 bucks to 200-300 bucks

just get the small cheap yellow one from partexpress.com, get the one with leads and internal resetable fuse

 

Yeah, the cables. They shouldn't be too expensive. You can build your own with bulk cable and terminal clamps from your local auto parts store.

Zac

 

What gauge ya guys recommend? How much is this stuff? I'm a poor 21 year old boy...