Battery Questions in Testarossa

Maybe there's a leak somewhere in the electrical system? Got to send it to someone familiar in this to trace the wirings/fusebox. If not there's a switch up front, near the battery to turn it off if you don't use it. Sometimes a new earth cable helps.

 

i don't think it's normal. my TR sometimes is not driven for 3 or 4 days in a row, and the battery is fine. my guess is an electrical problem somewhere causing a drain. or the alternator not recharging it well enough.

john

 

Definitely not normal. I can go for weeks without having a problem.

 

Sounds more like alternator trouble, I had a similar problem and found it was the wires connected to the alternator.

There are 2 wires that fit in a white separator plug, take off the plug and take out the wires remembering which position they were in (plug only goes in one way) and clean them thoroughly put them back carefully and try again. It worked for me, failing that it could be the alternator itself which can be cheaply refurbished. Oddly enough my battery was also shot to hell and I bought a new one with more cranking power and everythings great now

**You can also turn off the battery when you leave the car in the garage if you want to there is a black switch just near the battery on the side of the wheel arch!

 

Isn't the ability of a battery to be charged different from the ability to hold it's charge? I know that when a battery has been drained a few times, it can start to lose its capacity and thus its ability to hold the charges. I would probably unhook the Interstate battery from the power source and check again in 2-3 days to see if it still has power in it before heading down the alternator road, as that road can be pretty expensive. Also, are you still experiencing the same problem with the new Exide battery? If not, then it is not the alternator but the Interstate battery that is the problem. You can also just take your car to any auto supply store or Sears to have them check your alternator/charging system to see if they are functioning properly.

 

True best to get battery and alternator checked first but if it does turn out to be alternator it doesn't have to be expensive they can be reconditioned fairly cheaply. He never mentioned if the battery light was staying on while the car is running as mine was???

 

If the battery lights not on then it doesn't point to the alternator, if I was you I'd whip it down to your nearest auto electrician and he'll soon tell you if your batteries ****ed

 

In my 16 years of experience playing with electrical problems…here is what I would do. First turn everything on and check to see if the voltage gauge goes way down or if a warning light goes on. Then check all connectors to the alternator and battery, remove one at a time, clean, add electrical Dielectric Grease contact. Also most regular priced after market radios do this after a few years when not used all the time. It could also be if you have an alarm system that is going bad…what you need to do it plug a multi-meter to the battery and check for amp draw. You can also unplug the radio and alarm if you are handy enough to do it. Then check a week later to see if you found your problem.

An alternator either works or doesn’t. plug your multi-meter to it and check how much voltage comes out, should be about 14.4V anything lower, It’s not charging your battery very good. An alternator give out about 18-19V, the internal regulator provides the right amount coming out, 14 or so. If your regulator doesn’t work it will let all the voltage through. A regulator is like a river damn, it either controls the flow or lets everything go through and then your battery overcharges, it boils, then the sulfuric acid evaporates and the reason you have to fill it distilled water.

Now if your voltage is too low, when you drive you need to drive for at least an hour to recharge the drain done to the battery when starting it. A good battery should have at least 600 CCA. A battery has a virtual memory of some sorts, if it only gets charged to 50% all the time (like when driving) it will only recharge at that level even if your charger says its full cap.