Battery Help

[Bonez]

Alright i am kind of confused. I've been through 2 optima yellow tops in 3 years. I understand that i might have alot hooked to the battery like 2 amps, sub, and alarm system. But one day i came to my car and all the lights, alarm chirping and everything worked but when i tried to start the car it was nothing, not even trying to turn over. So i started thinking it was the fuel pump that went bad. So i purchased a new fuel pump(haven't installed it yet) and now i'm thinking i need a new battery because the battery wasn't giving a charge or anything at autozone. So what do you all think the problem is?? I hope it's not the alternator. :?

[WarmAndSCSI]

So you're replacing the fuel pump because the starter won't crank your engine? Why?

It's probably your alternator. Get a good battery charger and see if the Optima takes a charge. Just slow charge it over night. If it doesn't take a charge, it's bad. If it does, it's dying while your driving because the alternator can't charge your battery.

The most obvious check, though, are the battery cables and terminals. Please check those for corrosion if you haven't already.

[Mike_Rom]

I agree^^^ Sounds like alternator to me? Still confused as why you bought the fuel pump right away before looking more into it though :wink:

[RAZ_76]

I agree^^^ On mine it did that, one day it just started doing it out of the blue, turn the key and nothing, wait a few seconds and it would work. I took it in to have it looked at and it was my aftermarket alarm and since they hook them up to your ignition, something was loose and it was causing that. But yes, it definately sounds like an alternator because of all that crap you have hooked up, Optimas are not invisible, they are good batteries but they can only do so much before they crap on you if the Alternator is not upgraded to handle all that extra load. It would be like upgrading to huge ass wheels and leaving the stock brakes.

[Bonez]

Alright so it seems like it is the alternator then. So about how much does it cost to upgrade the alternator and how do i go about doing that?? I can just return the fuel pump no prob. I was thinking it was the fuel pump because everytime i'm at a red light and i'm idleing the engine would cut off. But you all are saying alternator. Damn i didn't want to hear that. LOL But my optima is definetely dead it's been 24 hours on the charger and nothing.

[WarmAndSCSI]

Listen to what I said. Your alternator doesn't need to be upgraded, it's probably just BAD. I said to test it first by seeing if the problems go away after charging the battery fully. You seem like you want to jump to a lot of conclusions.

If you think replacing the fuel pump is an easier job than changing the alternator, more power to you :lol:

[Mike_Rom]

There are even places that can test an alternator for you i believe. Dont need to upgrade though.

[n3oAcid24]

There are even places that can test an alternator for you i believe. Dont need to upgrade though.

auto zone and pep boys do it....

[WarmAndSCSI]

There are even places that can test an alternator for you i believe. Dont need to upgrade though.

Exactly, I have a feeling you'll need to get your battery charged in the interim, that's why I suggested that. AutoZone can pull up a tester cart to your car and test your battery and alternator on the spot. Please go and do that before you buy anything else.

[Mike_Rom]

yeah i was going to say autozone. They are pretty cool about doing stuff like that too. At least the one by me is. I agree with warm though.. dont buy anymore til you do it!!! :lol:

[Bonez]

Haha Warm getting kind of mad! LOL naw man when it comes to engine shit i'm kind of retarted for real. But i appreciate all the help! So yeah i'm going to get a new battery because that optima is not charged after 24 hours so it's dead. So i'm going to get a little cheap battery this time so they can test the alternator. If the alternator is bad then i'll have to change it.

[WarmAndSCSI]

Haha Warm getting kind of mad! LOL naw man when it comes to engine shit i'm kind of retarted for real. But i appreciate all the help! So yeah i'm going to get a new battery because that optima is not charged after 24 hours so it's dead. So i'm going to get a little cheap battery this time so they can test the alternator. If the alternator is bad then i'll have to change it.

I'm mad? That's news to me. This is how I deal with people who admit they're mechanically retarded.

How are you charging the Optima? I tried to fast-charge mine once and I killed it!

[Bonez]

I don't know how they doing it at autozone. It's been there overnight though and it's still in the red. So it's not good.

[Mike_Rom]

They are trying to charge it at autozone??

[Bonez]

They are trying to charge it at autozone??

Yup!

[QnzMostWanted]

when i worked at autozone they had a trickle charger for optimas, now granted, this is only if they KNOW they have to trickle charge them.....

[WarmAndSCSI]

Well, the battery could need to be fully discharged and recharged to wake it up. A defective alternator can lead to a bad battery. Batteries need proper care and your alternator usually takes care of this for you. Optima claims their batteries are maintenance free, but I guarantee they're happier when they stay fully charged.

[WarmAndSCSI]

when i worked at autozone they had a trickle charger for optimas, now granted, this is only if they KNOW they have to trickle charge them.....

Right, like I said, I killed my Optima Bluetop by fast-charging it. I don't know what Optima says about it, but I know to trickle charge Optimas (2 AMP or below) from experience.

[Bonez]

Trickle charge huh?? I'm going to ask them about that thanks for the information. But when i call them and they say what's a trickle charge i wouldn't know what to say then.

[WarmAndSCSI]

Trickle charge huh?? I'm going to ask them about that thanks for the information. But when i call them and they say what's a trickle charge i wouldn't know what to say then.

It just means a low current charge. For example, my battery charger has two charging modes. One lets the battery draw 15 AMP to charge it quickly, the other draws about 2 AMP to let it charge slower. Make sure they are using a trickle/low current charge on the battery.

[Bonez]

Well yeah they definetely knew that it had to be slow charged. So it looks like it's an alternator problem then. Thanks guys. I didn't know idleing and engine stalling at a red light would be an alternator problem.

[Mike_Rom]

Well yeah they definetely knew that it had to be slow charged. So it looks like it's an alternator problem then. Thanks guys. I didn't know idleing and engine stalling at a red light would be an alternator problem.

Well engine stall, idleing can sometimes be a couple things but from what you wrote earlier, this definately sounds like alternator to me

[WarmAndSCSI]

Well yeah they definetely knew that it had to be slow charged. So it looks like it's an alternator problem then. Thanks guys. I didn't know idleing and engine stalling at a red light would be an alternator problem.

Your ECU runs off alternator voltage. Without a good battery, your fuel injection or ignition systems can malfunction. The battery acts as a very large capacitor and keeps the voltage stable in your electrical system. Take it out while the car is running and see how everything runs :lol:

It's also likely that you have a compound problem. If the battery is bad, replace it and move on to the next problem. If the alternator also tests bad, replace it too. Diagnosis of anything in your car that uses electricity (essentially everything) is nearly impossible without a good source of power.

[Bonez]

Well yeah they definetely knew that it had to be slow charged. So it looks like it's an alternator problem then. Thanks guys. I didn't know idleing and engine stalling at a red light would be an alternator problem.

Your ECU runs off alternator voltage. Without a good battery, your fuel injection or ignition systems can malfunction. The battery acts as a very large capacitor and keeps the voltage stable in your electrical system. Take it out while the car is running and see how everything runs :lol:

It's also likely that you have a compound problem. If the battery is bad, replace it and move on to the next problem. If the alternator also tests bad, replace it too. Diagnosis of anything in your car that uses electricity (essentially everything) is nearly impossible without a good source of power.

PREACH!!

[WarmAndSCSI]

Well yeah they definetely knew that it had to be slow charged. So it looks like it's an alternator problem then. Thanks guys. I didn't know idleing and engine stalling at a red light would be an alternator problem.

Your ECU runs off alternator voltage. Without a good battery, your fuel injection or ignition systems can malfunction. The battery acts as a very large capacitor and keeps the voltage stable in your electrical system. Take it out while the car is running and see how everything runs :lol:

It's also likely that you have a compound problem. If the battery is bad, replace it and move on to the next problem. If the alternator also tests bad, replace it too. Diagnosis of anything in your car that uses electricity (essentially everything) is nearly impossible without a good source of power.

PREACH!!

What!? :? Do you actually want to fix your problem or not?

[Bonez]

yeah man PREACH means you spitting out all the good info. :lol:

[cutthrote]

If you do have to change your alternator...it would definitely be wise to look at a H.O. alternator since your running a lot of aftermarker electrical eqiupment. Thats if you dont mind going without your galant for a little while. Just something to consider since it could of been your current setup that killed your stock alternator in the first place...how many watts you pushing??

[stolenstapler86]

I work at autozone, we pretty nearly never use trickle chargers. In the case of the optimas, I've never gotten a "charge & retest" on the cart. They've always come up either good or bad, so I suppose i've never had occasion to slow charge one.

As for getting a new one, I would encourage you to check on your warranty first. No sense in getting spendy on a new battery if you don't have to. Even if the battery is out of the free replacement period, many times you are still under the prorated portion of the warranty and may receive a substantial discount on a new battery.

You got NO cranking when you turned the key? maybe the starter is bad too. Even with a pretty weak battery you generally get some weak sounding attempt to turn the engine over in my experience.