jumping a 328.

The SUV just provides enough power to start the 328. The SUV should be "on" so its alternator is providing power to your joined battery circuit from its engine.

The 328 once started will charge the battery from the alternator using engine power. However, this is not automatic. First, about 1500 RPMs must be reached in order for the alternator to kick in and begin charging the battery. Check the light in the lower right hand corner of the instrument panel to see how this works. Read your owners manual too.

However, don't make a habit out of charging a completely or close-to-dead battery using the car's alternator.

The battery tender is the correct solution here (mine is hooked up to a battery tender now).


--Mike

 

This can happen for a few reasons.

If the battery is discharged enough, and is less than 1.5VPC or 8vdc, the battery may become damaged internally, in some cases if it is left to discharge even less, the battery can become useless. the Alternator /regulator really dosen't know if the battery is good or not. In affect the battery may have enough resistance that the regulator will think there is a short. the voltage from the alternator will actually drop off to a point where there is not enough voltage to operate the electronics.

That is why when you remove the SUV from the car and the car dies. If the battery is relativley new, charge the battery seperately.
Another way to bring this battery back up is to parallel another battery that is proven to be in good shape. This will actually create a more ideal resistance path for the regulator/alternator and allow the batteries to be recharged..

Or, buy another battery

 

Get a voltmeter, and get some measurements on the battery of its voltage when the car is running, and then after the car dies. The battery tender is not a diagnostic device!

Pull the battery, take to AutoZone and have them do a test.

If you need a new battery, not a big deal, you get a new battery and then are good for another five or ten years.


--Mike

 

Read:

Any REAL advantage of Optima Red Top Batteries vs. Interstate?
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65058


I think Interstate was probably OEM, not positive.

Very happy with my Optima Yellow Top.

 

Dont you need to let the computer reset for 45 seconds with the ignition on before cranking the car if it has been without power for awhile?? JJ

 

even if his battery is completely dead, the car should not die if it is already running just because the battery is on empty???

and Easyrider....just to make sure you got it, after you start your car, the idiot light in the lower right corner of your instrument display will remain lit(battery light). this means that the battery is not being charged by the alternator which is normal. to get the alternator to "kick in", just give the throttle a little blip to 1500-2000 rpms and the light will go off - indicating that the battery is now being charged.

gl

 

Also, that is just the point where the alt is creating enough power to charge the battery. It should always be making enough power to run the engine.

 

No computers in a 328, unless you stick your laptop on the passenger seat. I had the battery out of my car for a couple of hours last year while I ran down to Interstate and swapped the old one for a new one. Hooked it up, car started immediately.

I put an Interstate in last year. My mechanic isn't an Optima fan due to the deep cycling.

With regard to the original post, a new battery is not expensive. Definitely test your current one right away, as mentioned. It very well could be bad, and using the car's alternator to bring it back from the dead repeatedly could result in further wallet damage.

 

I'll defer to the techs here, but the ignition in the 328 likely always needs some amount of power to keep the car running. A completely dead battery, or one receiving no charge due a faulty charging system (e.g., alternator), won't allow the car to keep running.

 

Optima Yellow Top does not have issues with deep cycling. That's why I run it. Red Tops are prone to failure from deep cycling.

 

Yes, the ignition system must have power to run the car. The current for the sparks has to come somewhere! For reference, see the large wiring to the ignition coils.

If your alternator is bad, or if it has a bad voltage regulator, it could very well toast the batteries. Even a new one. This is why you need a voltmeter. You need to measure the voltage on the battery when the car is running and when it dies. Your alternator could actually be overcharging the battery, there are a number of failure modes.

Once you've blipped the throttle past 2k, 2500 RPMs, you should see the red Generator light go out in the lower right hand corner. Prior to doing this, it should glow red. If it does not go out, then you have a charging system problem. If it never glowed red to begin with (i.e. before starting the car but with ignition in the "run" position), you need to make sure the light bulb is not blown out.

A digital multimeter (DMM) is $20-$50 at Home Depot, Radio Shack, Wal*Mart, etc. Measuring battery voltage (note - VOLTAGE, not CURRENT!) is easy and will tell you what's going on with the system.


--Mike

 

The starting "blip" is common to Bosch alternators (the regulator circuits in them, actually).

And you have to make sure the "Alt" light comes on -- the starting power to the alternator's field coil is supplied through that bulb on some regulator circuits. If the bulb is out, you never get alternator power.

As mentioned, put a voltmeter across the battery leads. When off, you should read 11-12Vdc. When charging, you could get as much as 15Vdc. Alternator power across a charged battery will generally show around 13.5Vdc.

When the battery is down to 6Vdc (engine off), it's time for a separate battery charger. Or a new battery.

When the charging current exceeds a 1.5A battery tender's capacity, it shows an error. (Both red and green lights on my schumacher). That could be a connection problem, a deeply discharged battery, or a damaged battery. I have a separate 10A charger for discharged batteries. The tender is to keep a charged battery charged, not to "recharge" a drained battery.

One failure mode in a battery is shorted cells. I've had a "Die Hard" collapse internally and put a dead short across the car's power systems. (The car died in a left turn.) (But that was a battery sitting about six inches from a glowing turbo.)

One thing that worries me about big US front plates on a 328 is that they can block under-car airflow to the battery compartment. Heat is the enemy of batteries.

 

I had an Optima Red Top for many years... when it finally died and I was also putting in an Electromotive XDI-2 at the same time, I upgraded to the Yellow Top, which is probably even better for cars that sit.

 

This is correct behavior. And what did the red "Generator" (alternator) light do? It should have been off when you blipped the throttle.

Your previous post where the generator light does not go off is indicative of a charging system problem - alternator, voltage regulator IN the alternator, or battery.

EDIT: Was this with a new battery?

--Mike

 

The moment you hit "about" 2k RPMs (this varies - as high as 2500 rpm maybe), the light should go off. It should be on before that. It will stay on forever if the RPMs do not raise. On occasion, the "high idle" system on the 328 (where the engine is held at 2k RPM on its own accord for emissions reasons) will cause the alternator to kick in, but not usually in my experience.