thew

ok . the 8 has been parked in my garage for 3 days. I hoped in it this morning to find the battery totally dead

I charged it back up and checked to see if i left on any doam lights or anything.. but know all the lights were off and all the doors were closed...

has anyone else been greated with a dead battery... WTF is draining my bat.. I have not added anything that draws power !!

Any ideas

w2aew

That's odd! Put an ammeter on it to see what the current draw is when the car is off. I know that my car has sat for several days at time, and never had a problem.

You might want to have your dealer load-test the battery. If it is bad, they'll replace it.

therm8

I had a dead battery about 3 months ago, but that was after the car sat for 2.5 months while I was on deployment. My guess was the car alarm drained the battery. Normally I disconnect it prior to leaving, but forgot this time. No idea what would cause the battery to drain over a couple of days, a short maybe?

thew

well a short would make a fuse pop.. but yes the car keeps the alarm and the GPS system as well as the ECU energized ..

still i would expect a dead battery after 3 months.. not 2 days

I will keep an eye on it..

hope its no big deal .

dcfc3s

Wasn't there something about early RX-8's not having very strong batteries?

Dale

Spin9k

I've gone and found a dead battery three times, once I can't remember why, once I'd forgotten/left the map light on, once popped the trunk button by mistake. Your trip mielage goes byebye. You'd think a 194 bulb wouldn't drain a car battery easily, yes? Wrong. I think the oem battery is minimal amp/hr capacity for cost/weight . On my list for an upgrade.

thew

humm.. whats a good replacment battery ?

mine is a early 8

Kel Rx8

diehard thew
ive thought about it i know i paided for the car with a new battery
but i think the 8 battery is weak

BoxerGT2.5

I have the optima orange top (reverse pole) and works great. Easy start in the cold and have left the car for 2 wks and it started up like a champ.

rx8cited

Left my car for a bit over two weeks with the stock battery in it, and it started up just fine.

What prompted you to replace your stock battery?

BoxerGT2.5

1.) I'm not fond of maintenance batts. 2.) Winter in chicago can get rather cold. Wanted a more reliable batt due to reading posts like this. 3.) I have have used optima in the past for car and car stereo applications and love them.

I figured I'd swap it for what I know is a reliable battery before any probs occur. (Just to be safe)

thew

how much did that batt cost ya.. ?

BoxerGT2.5

I bought it in Dec so I think it was 120 out the door?

thew

ok.. Ill just buy a new one then.. Wounder if theres a good online source.

I spent so much money on extras and mods for the car.. !! i ll just buy a new good batt.

I will be installin my avelectronics NAv upgrade with review camera today/tommorw.. so Ill need a good batt..

CAn we get a higer amp batt than stock that fits in the whole.. Or is your Orange same crank/amp rating as stock ?

BoxerGT2.5

The Orange top is more than Stock I think...750cca and 980ca. I don't remember what the stock batt is. I know the orange can be hard to find. I fould mine at a local interstate battery store.

thew

ok ill start with a interstate dealer here..
thanks

w2aew

You should still check to see if you have an abnormally high current draw while the car is off. A flat battery after only a few days is very unusual. It should be able to sit for a couple of weeks with no difficulty. If your car has a problem with the current draw when off, a new battery isn't going to fix it.

thew

yes.. i realize that..

However,, M charging system per the Nav unit is putting out between 13.7 to 13.2 volts with everything off and or on.. The Alt seams to be responding to the load correctly. I am still not certian that i did not leave a map light on ..

However I will still get the new batt..

rxeightr

I have heard from my dealership that they have had reports of dead batteries.

After significant searching, they found the trunk switch was not activating, and the trunk light was staying on after the trunk door was latched.

You may be experiencing the same problem. You could easily confirm this by removing your pass-thru door from inside the cabin & seeing if the light is still on.

BoxerGT2.5

Honestly, I'd replace the batt anyway, but still check to make sure there isn't a prob like rxeightr said. Mazda put a cheap batt in the car and for those of us in colder climates; it made starting the car that much harder.

thew

good idea ill look

rx8cited

When you said maintenance battery, that reminded me that I've never looked at my battery in the almost 8k I've had the car.

I took the cover off last night, not expecting the battery to be covered with sand and dust considering that it has a cover. Have you folks found yours to be covered with dust and sand too?

Anyway, I proceeded to vacuum the top of the battery so I could take the caps off and check the electrolyte level.

What a PITA - the cap tops are flush with the battery top when installed allowing sand to get wedged in the gap between the cap edges and the battery case. Also there was sand wedge into the grooves in the top of each cap.

I took the first cap off after cleaning around it as well as I could, but some sand and a bit of debris still fell into the hole. The electrolyte level looked fine. It started getting dark, so I did not get to check the other five cells.

I don't recall seeing in the Owner's Manual that we have a maintenance battery (removable tops). The fluid level in it should be checked periodically, correct?.

There's a Battery Maintenance section on page 8-22 which mentioned nothing about checking the battery fluid level.

My other vehicles that came with removable tops always contained instructions in the Owner's Manual on checking the battery level.

My stock battery held up fine this past winter - but that's nothing like a winter in Chicago :D. I'll definitely consider replacing it with an Optima if it shows signs of trouble.

thew

no they just expect you to replace it whne it wears out..

Nubo

Do you have the part number? How much room was left?

Did the stock cables fit the orange-top without modification?

GrRx8MaZdA

Hey guys i am fi and having problem with my setup with battery!!

I think i found the ****@ng problem.....UR Pulleys!!!!I have the battery relocated to the trunk and ur pulleys and greddy turbo and i have new gel type battery 95a...I have no leak when i measure,it says a very very very small number and then again after 3-4days its empty again...The problem is the ******* pulleys...These can empty faster your battery and especially in fi situation...

I am going to install my stock again soon or try to learn the ecu the new sizes...F@@@ing tuning!!I am pissed