Wrong Battery?

I went to WalMart and bought an EverStart battery for my 2000 Eclipse GT, because my old battery was dead. Almost 100k miles and 4 years and 6 months on the original battery.

I put the new battery in my car and I notice it's slightly smaller. I start the car, and it works fine. I notice the radio/clock display shows "CODE." So I check the user manual, and it shows that I need to enter a code.

I stop the car and try to restart it, but it stalls out immediately. I do this a few more times and it stalls out every time. I go in the house, thinking maybe it's the anti theft device with the radio/clock. I enter my code, but it still stalls out.

Is this because I might have bought the wrong battery?

a battery is a battery. if the amps and all the numbers are the same, you should have a fairly similar battery. search around for some CODE threads. i know there are some in this forum, its just a matter of searching. have your alternator checked, bring it up to autozone and they do it for free. or you can try the redneck way by holding a screwdriver behind it while its running and feel for a magnetic pull.

make sure your getting fuel to the engine, and your airflow is not restricted. your fuel pump couldve gone, or you could have drained your battery.

also make sure the battery cables are secure

if he didn't get a 12v battery it could still be the wrong one... but the chances of taht happening are slim to none, becuase i imagine that walmart doesn't carry many lower voltage batteries (for other vehicles boats, atv's, etc.)

Ya, I don't think it's the battery. I got a new one this afternoon, and the car still stalls out.

I didn't have this problem before I replaced the battery. And if the car sits with the ignition off for a few minutes, it'll start without stalling, but when I shift gears, it'll stall out. If I turn the engine off after it starts fine, then start it again, it'll stall out immediately.

I'm not sure this has anything to do with the radio/clock display as I've entered the code in twice now without error.

friend of mine had a problem with not having a good ground wire on his VR4, so maybe a little exploration or perhaps a trip to the dealership is in order

check around your engine. i remember a guy having this problem. there was a loose wire. everytime he took a turn the wire would touch something and would ground the engine which would cause it to turn off

For anyone wondering what caused this - I took my Eclipse to my local mom and pop shop and he called me about an hour after dropping it off. He said he had to adjust a "screw" and it fixed the idle problem.

Not sure what he meant, but it's fixed and he only charged me $5 so it's all good.