Wrong Battery?

[GeeBee]

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?

[dickswhip00gs]

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.

[eclipsed4utoo]

also make sure the battery cables are secure

[Sleepr awd]

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.)

[GeeBee]

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.

[Sleepr awd]

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

[eclipsed4utoo]

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

[GeeBee]

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.