drained battery

[p0prcksandc0ke]

so heres the story my battery wont stay charged, its that simple, ill charge it and ill get 1 start out of it, or if it sits to long after i charge it it will be dead again, my voltage regulator starter silaniod, and alt are brand new, all my grounds are good. could it just be a bad battery its 2 or 3 years old?

 

[fastnotch2002]

batterys are funny, very funny...take it to you local parts store and have them load test, if it tests ok, Id start checking wires with a meter to see where the drain is.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

thats why i think its my battery my car was completely rewire a couple months ago and is flawless, but when i get my next pay check i plan on going to the parts to have it tested,

 

[Rusty67]

I'm guessing you are charging this with a battery charger ? Try this, charge the thing all the way with the battery charger. Start the car and run it for a bit. Take the battery back out of the car. Try it the next day. If the battery is dead then you know the problem is a bad battery.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

I'm guessing you are charging this with a battery charger ? Try this, charge the thing all the way with the battery charger. Start the car and run it for a bit. Take the battery back out of the car. Try it the next day. If the battery is dead then you know the problem is a bad battery.

thats the answer i was looking for, i did that i had it running for at least 20 min while i was adjusting the timing and carb, went to start it about 4 or 5 hours latr and nothing.

 

[Rusty67]

Did you disconnect the battery ? Make sure you disconnect it to rule out a wiring problem. I know you just redid your wiring, but you may have missed something or a new problem could have developed. I'm not saying this is the case but it is a posibility. Isolation is the key here.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

ya i disconnected the battery i was replacing my spark plugs and some other stuff that required the battery disconnected, i didnt do the wiring i had a shop do it.

 

[Rusty67]

Sounds like the battery. Get yourself a nice Optima.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

really an optima? ive herd those were no good? but only from a couple people, i might as well try one, it would be better than the one i have, its from walmart ( i didnt buy it, can with the car )

 

[Rusty67]

The only thing "bad" about Optimas I've ever heard is the complaint about how much they cost. I know the most expensive parts are not always the best but these batteries seem to have one hell of a reputation and the one in my daily driver hasn't given me one ounce of trouble yet.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

how much should one cost? and what cold cranking power should i get?

 

[BarnStang]

http://www.optimabatteries.com/home.php
http://www.jegs.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_10001_10002_747399_-1_10683

 

[Rusty67]

OMFG ! Don't buy a battery from Jeggs unless you have borrowed some of iskwezm's wheelhouse butt grease. (Get it here)

Costco sells them at a fairly reasonable price.

 

[BarnStang]

Geez, it was only a reference to answer his question. You could have posted a source in a previous post...and not everone has a Costco membership...interstingly, in a search of the Costco site I could not find a single car battery. Obviously, I am missing something-so you don't need to point it out. I was going for something fast and simple and answer his question. I have seen Optima batteries in our local Sams Club so they all must carry them, just can't find it on the site. Jegs simply came to the top in a Google search for Optima. Also, I priced five different sources. THey all seem to be in the $140-$160 range for a red top. Including Jegs.
pOp, I think what Rusty67 is really trying to say is to shop around and make sure you get the best deal. Jegs may be more expensive than other places...

 

[Rusty67]

BarnStang I'm not trying to criticize you at all. I was just shocked how over priced Jeggs was. They seem to be over priced for just about everything. My dad bought an optima at Costco resently and I bought a Yellow top a little over a year ago at PAW locally for around 130.

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

i have to go to costco anyways, so im going to check there prices while im there before i go and buy an optima, thanks for your help.

 

[BarnStang]

Sorry if I got over excited Rusty. No problem. Been a long day. And still an hour to go. Thanks for letting me know. No hard feelings.
I was talking to a friend of mine about this. He gets Optima batteries from the parts stores core returns pile of batteries and trickle charges them slow. He says 2 out of 5 batteries there is nothing wrong with them. They just try to fast charge them and they don't work like that. THat would be a much cheaper way to get an Optima. But more work and no warrenty.

 

[Rusty67]

Now THAT is an interesting idea. I never thought of that. Maybe one of the parts stores I buy from will let me steal some "dead" Optimas

 

[p0prcksandc0ke]

just to let you guys know, it just was the battery, went to sears today, had gift card, got a pretty good battery for 120 witha 3 year warrenty, put it in my car and she started right up.