I hadn't used the car for maybe 3 months and forgot to put the battery maintainer on so my battery died. I used a batter booster and managed to start the car. I let it idle for 5 minutes or maybe a bit longer. I then wanted to drive the car to really get the battery fully charged, so I reversed out of my parking spot about 1 car length and when i put on the brake the car stalled and the battery was dead again (maybe the power needed to shift the F1 transmission into neutral took the remaining power?). I boosted the battery again and drove forward back into my parking spot. I didn't want to try to drive the car in case it stalled on me again and blocked traffic so I was going to let it idle for longer before I tried to drive it again. So I let it idle in neutral but after only 1 minute it stalled again and the battery was dead. I didn't have any accessories turned on other than the headlights. Now I am scared to try to drive it again in case it dies on me again (the first time it stalled it was completely blocking the lane in my underground garage, it was in gear and so I couldn't push it, and people had to wait for me to get it re-boosted). My question is, why do you think it stalled when it was merely idling? Shouldn't a running car be able to generate enough power to keep itself going? I'm wondering if there is maybe something else wrong than just a drained battery. Should I have maybe let it idle the first time for much longer than 5 minutes? Also, I noticed there was some water that came out of the exhausts, is that normal or what is it a sign of?
Charge the battery with a charger, not using the car, or get a new one. No use hunting for problems that may not exist when you know for sure you have not properly addressed the one that does exist.
Whether it is in your Yugo or Ferrari, the worst thing you can do to a car battery is run it completely dead. Deep cycle battery's have chance for recovery in these circumstances...standard car battery's not so much. 1. Put the battery on a battery tender and let it sit for 24 hours or until the tender says it is charged. 2. Bring it to a battery store and have them load test it. As stated above, don't chase problems in the car when you know you abused the battery already. Fix that first. Personally, if the battery was more than 4 years old, and the fact that you drained it, I would just go get a new one....
Condensation at start-up is normal. If it persists after the car is warm and running you have a different issue.
Yes, charge the battery all the way up. The F355 alternator can overheat and die attempting to charge a dead battery back up.
