katmeho

Hi everyone. This forum is really really great. I have gotten a lot of great information. So with my brain packed with info, I went to my local Bay Area dealer and wanted to take a test drive to confirm my happiness with the car. Both RX8's that they had in stock intentionally had dead batteries. Something I just cant understand. Why would they have cars on the lot to drive away with batteries that were not ready to go? He tried to throw a charger on it and the whole showroom got to hear the click click clcik of a car that wouldnt turn over. So, no test drive, just more imagination about how this car drives...DAMN it...why did this have to happen...I was all ready!
Can anyone explain this?

Thanks again for the great forum.

jtdwab

When I went to pick mine up the dealership had run the battery down playing with the NAV system. They were able to start it though with another battery. I am surprised they didn't try to jump start the car off.

Most likely people were messing with stuff but never ran the car. So over time and enough drain and the battery won't have enough to get the job done. It is worse with this car because most dealers aren't handing out test drives to everybody who shows up.

Also you were looking a car in the showroom which would not be cranked accept to pull it out. So anybody wanting to hear the radio see the lights open the sunroof whatever will mess with it without ever starting the car. Good luck when you return. Its well worth the drive.

CatchMe

When I went for my test drive, 3 out of the 6 cars on the lot wouldnt start. I drove one that started, went back the very next day to test drive once more before I made my decision, and the very same car I had driven the night before, would not start. So, out of the 6 cars they had on the lot, only 2 of them would run. Kinda f***ed if you ask me.

katmeho

THIS IS HORRIBLE...is it the dealers neglecting the cars on the lot? I cant imagine that its acceptable to the owners of these dealers to have cars that wont start when a new potential customer walks on the lot?

Dman

that car must sat for 3 months without being started. the clock runs the battery dead if it doesn't get charged up.

katmeho

the clock? You have got to be kidding. A car battery will drain from the clock after 3 months? Sounds like an electrical engineering defect to me...

Dman

yes the clock will drain the batter dead. try no driving your car for a certain amount of time. you will see. how else you think the car is able to keep memory of stations on the radio, the clock time, etc etc.? there is always a hot wire to those things.

rx8daniel

a car just sitting will drain a battery over a few weeks in modern times with all of the memory things that are just running all of the time(the alarm system is one too). But a car on a lot, if people are operating the moonroof, the NAV system, the radio - even if started on occasion and driven a few minutes/miles - will drain much quicker. And they spend at least a couple weeks not running, or running very short times, just getting to the dealer from the factory. I think if they have it drained on the showroom floor or even on the lot,they just don't want it driven much-they have rolling chargers/starters for just such circumstances (at least most do).

93rdcurrent

I will say this... My car sat for a few days in the last week without being driven and even with -20f temps here last night my car started right up this morning. What a champ she is. It must be people playing with the electronics to drain a car. the dealers really should start them up and let them run for a little while to keep them charged up.

G8rboy

The dealer had put mine in the showroom for a week before I picked it up to keep it looking nice, and while all the electronics worked during my 30 minute 'orientation' (stereo, NAV, moonroof, HVAC), the starter just clicked when I tried to drive off. I have a feeling I wasn't the only one playing around with the interior before I finally picked it up. A quick jump from a porta-battery and I was off, and have been fine since. In fact, I was in Florida for the holidays and my RX8 sat for 2+ weeks and it started right up when I got back.

Q121825

Well, when I last went looking, all but the "demo" car hadn't been moved in a very long time. All the rotor surfaces were badly rusted!

Take it all in stride.

N1XRR

[sarcasm]Battery drains withen a few days? Brake rotors rusting up? Sounds like a new car to me! [/sarcasm]

Actually, brake rotors rust withen MINUTES if you drive the car and then run thru a puddle or wash the car. And the battery? WOW, those thinks REALLY drain now. All of the on-board electronics need power, and the security system is a another always-on device when they have shock sensors, remote reciever and all the other little add-ons.

I'm not sure about some of the other cars, but most VW dealerships have solar panels they stick on the dash that plug into the cigarette lighter to maintain the battery as they drain quickly on the modern VW's.

matt7

I bought my 8 toward the end of December in central NJ. I've had a couple 1st gen RX7's over the last 15 years, and have always stored them over the winter in the northeast.
Well, I put the 8 in my garage (unheated) on Jan 3rd, just before it got really cold. (Doesn't get below 30 in there, though). Started it up a few weeks ago, let it run for about 15 minutes to get the temp gauge in the middle, then shut it down. Yesterday, since it had been another 3 weeks, I went to start it up, and actually drive it for the day since it was going to be about 40 out. Wouldn't turn over. Just some lights flashing on the dash, and some clicking. I was a little ticked since it had started right up for me just three weeks before. I pushed it out of the garage and jumped it with my truck. Of course, due to this "lack of communication with the computer" (per my dealer), I had to take it in and have it reset because the CEL and Traction control lights stayed on. They said the battery was okay.
From some of these earlier posts, it seems like you guys are saying this may be normal with modern cars. I've never had an alarm before. The car doesn't have navigation or anything else that I think might drain it. Is this what I should expect? Do I need to start it up weekly in the winter?

Thanks.

G8rboy

Starting it up every week or two is going to really wear on the battery- if you want to keep it charged you'd have to drive around for a while so the alternator can actually get some juice back in the battery.

A much better solution if you're not going to drive it during the winter is a Battery Minder... they stay plugged into the wall 24/7 hooked up to your battery, keeping it charged up throughout the winter without overcharging, and they also eliminate sulphate buildup that would cause early battery death since you let it sit for months. Do a google search to find it...

Blue87Sport

Boy does this sound familiar.

After I had picked out a car and agreed on a price with the dealer, my wife and I went to the dealer to check out the car. I wanted to inspect it in the daylight. I knew we would be picking up the car at night and I wanted to look it over for dings or stratches during the daylight. My wife hadn't test driven one yet so she wanted to go for a drive.

Our car had sat for a long time on the dealer lot and had to be jump started. It took about 10 minutes to find someone from the dealership to go with us on the test drive. The car was idling the whole time. So my wife takes off out the dealer lot and stalls the engine at the first stoplight. Guess what? The car wouldn't start. The dealer had to phone someone to bring out a portable jump starter. We got the jump and were on our way again. A few minutes later, my wife stalls it again. She was mortified. Luckily the dealer had stashed the portable jump starter in the trunk. I drove the rest of the way back to the dealership.

They charged up the battery before delivery and we haven't had a problem since. I guess the moral of the story is that the battery in these cars drain quickly and don't have a lot of reserve capacity. Also, the car does not charge the battery quickly when it is idling.

For those letting their cars sit for extended periods of time, a battery charger would be a good investment.

CelticFan

Most car dealerships are full of idiots. Not all of them are but I see many with the all the doors on the cars open all day long. Some cars don't have lights that go out after a few minutes so it kills the battery. And why would this make me want to stop in and get a car anyway? A dealership next to my job has the emergency blinkers on all their SUV's on ALL day long for 3-4 days a week. So you never know what the **** could have happened to these cars.

VikingDJ

Yeah, for the non daily drivers who use this as a fun extra car, I recommend the plug in 1 amp trickle charger if in garage, or a solar charger if outside. I have a modified car I use for the track, that I do not drive in winter, and every two weeks I let it run for about 20 minutes. That does little good in keeping battery charged, so I have to slow charge it. The rx8 I use daily, so I don't forsee any problems with it, but it goes for most cars that if they sit in the cold, the amps drop, battery dies. It's a very common thing at car dealerships this time of year, and around here there is overstock on this car, so many of them sit for long amounts of time.

vmiller6

When I bought my last new car, the dealer told me that they intentionally let the battry go dead so people can't play with the lights, radio, ect.... I think he was full of poo poo though but a fesible reason for dead batteries. At least on the showroom floor.

emailists

what about pulling the hot cable off the batter- wouldn't this let it keep its charge longer?

flatso

http://www.pfyc.com/store/merchant.m...&AFFIL=froogle

Gyro

Dumb question............

The battery will be replaced if it fails to hold a sufiicient charge for the entire warranty period correct?

RX-8 friend

Starting up a car in storage every few weeks is a bad idea. To fully charge a battery with the alternator you will have to run it for a few hours. Put a battery tender on the battery. On an RX-8, if you drain down or disconnect the battery, you have to do the steering all the way to the right, then left, then straight thing to reset the EPS and get the CEL off.

I have always stored my RX-7 for the 6 months of winter. I remove the battery and keep it in the basement - charge it every 2 weeks with a high quality constant voltage charger (2 Amp max - it's a voltage/current regulated power supply). My batteries last 5 years.

Gord96BRG

I'll second this, I was about to write that it's very bad. I know you think you're doing the car good by circulating the fluids etc., but you're doing far more harm than good. Running it 10 or 15 minutes doesn't heat the engine and systems up fully, so the oil ends up accumulating moisture and corrosive elements that are bad for it! The exhaust system doesn't heat up, and the water vapour in the exhaust condenses in the exhaust and accelerates corrosion of the exhaust system, etc.

If you're storing the car, it's far, far better to change the oil before you put it away (so it's fresh with no corrosive combustion byproducts in it), add some fuel stabilizer to the gas before the last drive, and leave it untouched for the storage period. (If you absolutely MUST do something, then the only thing I'd recommend would be to pull the fuel pump or ignition fuses, and turn the engine over to let the oil pressure build without actually starting the engine.)

Regards,
Gordon

VikingDJ

If a car is old, like my 88 Starion, running car for at least 30 minutes every few weeks is crucial. I've let it go before, and it was difficult to start, and smoked badly. For newer cars, it's not necessary, especially if you do a fresh oil change prior to storage. I do believe it's a good idea to take car out every few weeks and drive it though. I cannot see myself letting more then three weeks go by without running my 8. This is an opinionated thing, so there's no right or wrong, just preferences.

ptiemann

don't you have to rev to a certain rpm range to get enough volts from the alternator to actually charge the battery?

At least, in my 1985 Mazda 626, I had to idle it at 3000 rpm to charge my dead battery.

Peter