battery problems

[bhw33191]

Battery is exactly a year old. I have an amp hooked up with a 1 farad capacitor. Its been hooked up for about 6 months of this battery's life without a problem. However, every morning now, my car wiill either just barely start or will not start. Once the car is started, i can survive the rest of the day shutting off and starting the car without having to jump it.

One thing to note, my alternator just barely powers my amp and over the 6 months i've had my system hooked up do you think i could have killed my battery from straining it? Because when i'm sitting at a light the volts will begin to flutter between 11.5-13 depending on the bass or whatever. But anyway, i was thinking that maybe after fluctuating the voltage like this over the past 6 months the battery finally is giving up?

And another thing, when its raining and i have the wipers, lights, and the fan on halfway i find at idle the voltage will also dip below 12V? Is this normal? You'd think the car should be able to at least power its own accessories no problem, maybe my alternator is starting to go. When i first start the car (cold)the volts are as high as 14.5. But once i start driving around (and even using just the radio on low volume) the volts will eventually go down to 13 and never get back up to 14. I'm not sure if thats normal either but i assume it has to do with the engine/alts temp.

So that was a lot to take in, just thought i'd let you guys know before i end up shelling out yet another $60 or so for a battery.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by bhw33191

Battery is exactly a year old. I have an amp hooked up with a 1 farad capacitor. Its been hooked up for about 6 months of this battery's life without a problem. However, every morning now, my car wiill either just barely start or will not start. Once the car is started, i can survive the rest of the day shutting off and starting the car without having to jump it.

One thing to note, my alternator just barely powers my amp and over the 6 months i've had my system hooked up do you think i could have killed my battery from straining it? Because when i'm sitting at a light the volts will begin to flutter between 11.5-13 depending on the bass or whatever. But anyway, i was thinking that maybe after fluctuating the voltage like this over the past 6 months the battery finally is giving up?

And another thing, when its raining and i have the wipers, lights, and the fan on halfway i find at idle the voltage will also dip below 12V? Is this normal? You'd think the car should be able to at least power its own accessories no problem, maybe my alternator is starting to go. When i first start the car (cold)the volts are as high as 14.5. But once i start driving around (and even using just the radio on low volume) the volts will eventually go down to 13 and never get back up to 14. I'm not sure if thats normal either but i assume it has to do with the engine/alts temp.

So that was a lot to take in, just thought i'd let you guys know before i end up shelling out yet another $60 or so for a battery.

your battery is losing its capacity...how many CCA is it ?
load testing can determine the battery condition easy quick test at a store that sells batteries...

your alternator when cold will produce up to 15 volts if really cold out...as your amp sucks the battery down ,,the alternator gets very hot this will cause the regulator of the alternator to reduce the voltage output to a lower level,,,very low if very hot...

the 1 farad capacitor is a good move,,2 batteries is even better ...in the trunk next to amp..

obviously any bad connections could do this ...like connections that were not soldered and now are corroded..

because this is all low voltage high current all wire connectors need be soldered...

lastly the alternator may need be replaced....this can be tested with the proper equiptment ..good luck finding a shop that will do this correctly...too complicated for most shops...

[bhw33191]

Ok thanks good to know. Some specs i forgot to mention.. I took the caps off the battery and used a battery tester to test the "gravity i guess its called" of the acid. The 3 right side cells all measured as fair, on the other side only one measured fair and the outer 2 said recharge. I also tested the voltage of the battery and it was 12.1-12.2. I did all this 4 hours later after a 20 minute drive back home from school on the highway. So then i'm not sure if all that means my battery is just about done or what.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by bhw33191

Ok thanks good to know. Some specs i forgot to mention.. I took the caps off the battery and used a battery tester to test the "gravity i guess its called" of the acid. The 3 right side cells all measured as fair, on the other side only one measured fair and the outer 2 said recharge. I also tested the voltage of the battery and it was 12.1-12.2. I did all this 4 hours later after a 20 minute drive back home from school on the highway. So then i'm not sure if all that means my battery is just about done or what.

this battery tester is not a device that will determine if the battery is good...this measures the specific gravity of the acid solution...this would indicate the charge state of the battey....not the ability of the battery to produce the rated power of its design..the battery as stated before needs load testing..

since you are continually discharging the battery when your amp is on you should mount a battery charger in the vehicle and plug it in the the 110volts when at home to make sure the battery re-charges when engine is off..

so what is the CCA of this battery ?

[96capricemgr]

Your signature does not list a year and I don't know the year to year variations well enough to guess from the pics. Exactly what the vehicle is should be the first thing in a sig since it helps those helping you.

How big is the alternator? I know on my cars 105amp was the smallest they used the larger more common being 135-140 depending who you ask. Something like this might be an easy upgrade.

The idle issue might be bandaided by turning up the idle slightly.

Have you checked for any overnight draw?

[bhw33191]

Originally Posted by j cAT

this battery tester is not a device that will determine if the battery is good...this measures the specific gravity of the acid solution...this would indicate the charge state of the battey....not the ability of the battery to produce the rated power of its design..the battery as stated before needs load testing..

since you are continually discharging the battery when your amp is on you should mount a battery charger in the vehicle and plug it in the the 110volts when at home to make sure the battery re-charges when engine is off..

so what is the CCA of this battery ?

Oh yeah the CCA is 720, the warm crank is 900. Its a duralast yellow top battery.

[bhw33191]

Originally Posted by 96capricemgr

Your signature does not list a year and I don't know the year to year variations well enough to guess from the pics. Exactly what the vehicle is should be the first thing in a sig since it helps those helping you.

How big is the alternator? I know on my cars 105amp was the smallest they used the larger more common being 135-140 depending who you ask. Something like this might be an easy upgrade.

The idle issue might be bandaided by turning up the idle slightly.

Have you checked for any overnight draw?

Yeah i'll get on that signature thing. Its an 83 chevy caprice (carbed of course) 305. Alternator is a MEASLY 78 amps...I went looking around at my local autozone and they don't have anything above this?? IF they do then its only the 96 amp i believe...i got a 120 amp alt a while back, when i brought it home i realized i don't have serpentine belts so i returned it..i heard you can switch the pulley but i didnt know if that was on certain alternators or what..so maybe if that is true i could change out the alternator.

[Blt2Lst]

Originally Posted by bhw33191

Alternator is a MEASLY 78 amps..

There is your problem, sounds like it is time for an upgrade like 96 said.
Try a local auto electric shop that also does rebuilds if you can find one.
I just checked Jegs.com for alternators, they have aftermarket units but they are pretty pricey.

[bhw33191]

Well, problem solved! Brought it to autozone, they tested it and it came out as dead basically. It was really on its last legs at this point cuz they had to jump it after. They tested the alt and said it works good. So they replaced it for free! I know it was still under the warranty that came with it but i still find it hard to believe they could take a $70 battery and give me a new one for free! But hey, i'm really not complaining lol.

One more thing to note, i noticed my old battery's cranking amps were 720, and then this one (same exact battery as my last one) reads 700? Are these specs specific to each battery? I'm guessing its just because not every battery will be the same.

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by bhw33191

Oh yeah the CCA is 720, the warm crank is 900. Its a duralast yellow top battery.

the CCA is good..I believe it is possible to get a battery with 850 CCA...that will fit..

so the load test buried the battery,and you got a new one free...that is good...they are good about this warrantee at auto zone/advanced auto...which is a good reason to buy parts with a lifetime or other warrantee...from these stores providing the part is correct..

since this died so quickly you should seriously consider the charger for the battery...

your 78amp is the standard alternator..no much load on the oem 82 caprice..most all chev passanger cars had the same alternator..10yrs ago the scrap yards were full of those alternators...and they are fixable..

with the larger alternator like the 130amp ...lets say you figured out a way to fit this into your vehicle with the same pulley that is on the 78amp..this would squeal everytime you cranked up the amp, and also on cold start...this is because the alternator needs more belt friction and you would be going thru belts often..so you would have to use a double belt some how..

I would try also to test out the use of another battery in your vehicle..this would double the battery amps..try this as a temp test just to see if it will correct the voltage surgesup/down with amp on..

it is not a secret that with a vehicle like yours with the low amp alternator to go thru alternators with your amplifier power...so be prepared for this to go next..

having a backup alternator [scrap yard] would be good,,then you can fix the damaged one for cheap..

[96capricemgr]

700CCA is fine, I don't use anything much bigger and I am cranking a motor that makes 230-240cranking PSI even did it with the style starter you have for awhile before putting in a gear reduction unit.

[bhw33191]

Originally Posted by j cAT

the CCA is good..I believe it is possible to get a battery with 850 CCA...that will fit..

so the load test buried the battery,and you got a new one free...that is good...they are good about this warrantee at auto zone/advanced auto...which is a good reason to buy parts with a lifetime or other warrantee...from these stores providing the part is correct..

since this died so quickly you should seriously consider the charger for the battery...

your 78amp is the standard alternator..no much load on the oem 82 caprice..most all chev passanger cars had the same alternator..10yrs ago the scrap yards were full of those alternators...and they are fixable..

with the larger alternator like the 130amp ...lets say you figured out a way to fit this into your vehicle with the same pulley that is on the 78amp..this would squeal everytime you cranked up the amp, and also on cold start...this is because the alternator needs more belt friction and you would be going thru belts often..so you would have to use a double belt some how..

I would try also to test out the use of another battery in your vehicle..this would double the battery amps..try this as a temp test just to see if it will correct the voltage surgesup/down with amp on..

it is not a secret that with a vehicle like yours with the low amp alternator to go thru alternators with your amplifier power...so be prepared for this to go next..

having a backup alternator [scrap yard] would be good,,then you can fix the damaged one for cheap..

Yeah thats true i'm REALLY surprised my alternator hasnt kicked the bucket yet. When i first got the car it was quite noisy, its fine now. But when i had my subwoofer wired in bridged mode, the volts were always dipping to 12 and below (although i tried not to let it do this). I'm surprised with all that "exercise" i put it through that its still going. I heard from my mechanic thats its common on these alternators for this thing "forget what its called" inside the alternator that basically sends out all the power to rust away.
Ive seen this double belt thing before on other GM products, i dunno how hard thatd be to convert mine to that but for now i'm just gunna leave it alone. And plus, its not like my 305 has any power to spare so i don't think i need a big ass alternator sucking MORE power.

[j cAT]

the alternator produces alternating current. inside the alternator is the rectifier/regulator. this produces a direct current of 13-15volts..which is what goes to the battery.

since the load is higher than designed ,,,in your case,,I have seen externally mounted diode/regulators with a large heat sink to allow the alternator to have greater current capacity..

with the cold weather arriving the battery charger mounted in the vehicle is a way to replentish the drained battery when vehicle is not in use..this will prolong the battery life and is not expensive ..puts out 1-3 amps..