Yesterday afternoon I did'nt close my FD's door properly.

So, the inside 2 lights above the rear view mirro remained on for more than 24 hours and totally dis-charged the battery.

Technically the battery should re-charge itself. Correct?

 

Only after you start the car back up.

 

The battery won't re-charge itself on its own. Try to put a charger on the battery and charge it up a bit before running it, don't just give it a jump start and let your alternator do all the work with a completely dead battery.

 

Thank YOu. Can you recommend a battery charger?

Also I am thinking about going to Sears and putting in a new battery.

If I do install a new battery do I need to do something specific after I have installed it before starting it?

 

Try a battery charger first. Pick up something like the "DieHard 10/2/50 amp. Automatic Battery Charger" from Sears. If you plan to own this car for a while, this will come in handy.

 

i've read that some automatic chargers won't recognize battery/begin charge unless the battery is showing a minimum voltage ~4.0v... my recommendation is a slower manual charger(1A/2A) to start off completely d/c'd battery a quicker (higher Amp) automatic charger to finish.. worked for me when i had difficulty with just the auto charger on a completely dead battery

or just jump the car and make sure you run it long enough.. dont stall the car somewhere if your clutching isn't so great

 

One suggested above has a trickle charge, quick charge and starter modes.

 

since we're on this subject...anyone used a Ctek charger before?? I'm thinking of getting one.

 

The best chargers I have found are the battery tenders. Totally idiot proof.

 

definately get one with starter mode! I got one that was on sale, and it was a digital "smart charger" but one time I accidentally left the lights on and it was basically useless because I couldn't wait in the parking lot for 3 hours...
with my experience, I have never had an automatic battery charger not be able to charge a fully dead battery. An automatic is way better because you can just slap it on and leave it over night and it won't over charge, waiting for the battery to charge is such a pain.

 

Most auto parts stores will charge a car battery for free. Drop it off and return in a couple of hours.