thew

so Now i have a great new red top battery.. and after letting it sit for a week .. it dead ..

NOw i dont see the trunk light on when i stick my head in the pass thur.....

Its not my av gear.. ... wtf is drawing sown my battery.



ugg....

greese

is your horn loud? sometimes a horn can drain a battery.

greese

RX-Nut

Hmm.. let us know when you find out!

BoxerGT2.5

Did you put in an aftermarket alarm????

NavyDood

How about an aftermarket stereo amp?

wakeech

there, obviously, are so many different things that could cause a problem in your electrics. take it to an electrics shop so they can find the drain in your system.

VividRacing.com

I bet I know what it is. My guess it that the battery didn't have a full charge on it when you bought it. Chances are it sat on a shelf and slowly leaked it's charge out. Then you installed it assuming, as we all would, that the battery had a full charge. Here's whare it gets interesting: The stock alternator is really not that great and could have been alot better but it's a way to cut a corner durring manufacturing so you know how that goes. So let's recap; battery not fully charged, poor alternator, figure running A/C, stereo, lights, window, etc. Here's whare the last piece of the puzzle comes into play. When it's really hot out side and your running the car pretty good the cooling fans kick in for about 5-10 min after you turn the car off, sucking the battery dry. One last thing is that extreme heat will eat up a stock battery like cookie monstor to cookies. Wrap all that together and you get a battery that never had a chance this summer.

Take the battery back to whare ever you got it and have them test it. If it doesn't read full charge then tell them you are exchanging it for a fresh one.

thew

no no no and no no AMp, No new Stereo, no new alarm, and yes the battery had time to charge. I charged it off thecar before i installed it.. Then i drove it to the Grand Canyon.. put 1800 miles on it 2 weeks ago.. It was charged. and reads a good 13.8 volts. MY Gps system say its chageing at 13.7 to 13.8 but if i leave her alone for a week or more she well be dead..

I have checked the trunk ligth as well ..

and the car has doen this since i brought her home.. This is why i cahnged to the Red Top..

gnj152

If you want to know if you got something running on your batt just unplug your batt + post and hook up an amp meter in series between the batt post and the cable you"ve just removed, you should have something like 250 milliamps that run the live memories and alarm system if not you got something running on the battery.

rx8cited

Did your first battery die prior to your having made any electrical mods to your car?

Since this is not the first battery that's died on you, I'd have the dealer check out your car's electrical system including verifying that the alternator is working correctly.

rx8cited

Mugatu

iTrader: (1)

Maybe this is a dumb question, but what about the Dome Light on the inside roof of your car? Sometimes I switch it on to read something and forget to shut it off...but you don't really realize it when you're in the car.

RX-8 friend

With the car off, disconnect the -ve cable and put an ammeter in series with it and the battery (much safer than doing it with the +ve cable - if you short anything to ground nothing -BAD- will happen). You should see less than 50 mA drain, probably less than 10 mA. If you do this, when you are done and reconnect the battery you will have to reset the EPS - but as you have already delt with replacing the battery, I'm sure you know that.

mqandil

Guys
I think the problem is common. Everytime I leave the car parked for a week or more while traveling on business, I come back to a battery that is almost discharged. It starts, but it is so week, that I know if I have left it any longer, it would not have started. I have added an amp meter in series with the battery, and my draw is 18 mA.
We actually own (our business) (2) RX-8 a blue, and a black. The other car does not have an amp meter, but I managed to drain the battery after few crancks trying to start the car after it flooded. I also managed to drain the battery after few hours listening to the radio while the car was parked (but engine not running). Let's face it, we have a very weak battery. Has anyone found a replacement to the stock battery?

Tamas

iTrader: (1)

I don't think that's true... I just had the car parked for three weeks in the garage and it started up perfectly, just like when I was driving it daily. A few weeks should not kill the battery like that.

Nubo

Per the shop manual the maximum allowable "dark current" is 20 mA. A 250 mA draw would definitely drain any battery in a matter of days.

rx8cited

I left my car for two weeks in the great outdoors and it started up just fine. Before wasting money on a new battery, get your electrical system including alternator and current battery checked out.

I believe the best fit replacement battery for our RX-8s is a group 35.

I'm not planning on wasting $100+ on an Optima Red Top battery when I can buy a 100 month battery from Costco/Sears for around $40/$60 unless I see results of a scientific test (such as Consumer Reports) that shows that Optimas are worth the extra money.

rx8cited

thew

yes it did...

thew

yep .. thats whats its doing... put in my Red Top to help stop this.. now it takes almost 2 weeks to die.. heheh..

FYI the BAttery is fine and the charging system to.. but it will drain the Battery. if left not running for a while.. MY 8 is my 3rd car.. I mostly drive my 4x4 van becasue of work.

The 8 get's drivin on weekends and trips.. Ohh and at Laguna Seca

thew

read the whole thread :p I am on my 2nd battery now.. And the OEM Battery is still perfect as well.. the car is not killing the battery its just draining it..

I have disconnected all the extra goddies that i installed ..

its the Electronics in the car..

But i will not take it to my dealer .. They suc and will just scratch or dent up my 8

it seems most of the service peopel over here really could care less about how they treat your car.. they just want to get it running and out he door.


anyway.. sofar i am hearing that a few other 8 owners have the same promblemb ..

I know its not the doam light becasue after having found the car Dead for like the 3rd time I get into the habbit of checking all the lights and stuff to see if they wee left on..

Not even my trunk light ..

rx8cited

The big test is going to be putting an ammeter in series with your battery to measure the draw when the car is off. Make sure all the doors are closed and lights are off when you do this. Please post what you find.

When you do drive the car, how long is your typical drive and do you have any high current drawing items on (such as headlights and foglights) all the time?

Sounds like you need to be looking for a dealer that you trust.

rx8cited

mqandil

Guys
I really do not what is causing the battery to discharge. But as some of you suggested I had an amp meter installed to diagnose the problem, and it appears that I am ok and within the allowable limit.

There are few things that are wierd in my car though. As an example when I have my escort radar plugged in the cig. lighter, and I pop the trunck, or sometimes activating the window, or activationg the wipers, my laser detector goes off, as if i was hit by a laser gun. I am just wondering if I have someting that is not grounded probably.

thew

no i think that the unit is just senseing the power surge when you do that..

thew

i will do this tonight..

Ill post what i find.. i need someone that does not have this problemb to do the same

i drive the car at least 20 mins.. but mostly longer.. and mostly in the day.. no lights...

rx8cited

I did read the whole thread. I know you're on your second battery (I already said that in a previous post) and I'm advising you not to go for a third (like isn't Optima Blue then Yellow next in the scheme :D) without getting your electrical system checked out.

You said "the car is not killing the battery" ...... LOL, why ? did you title the thread "WTF is Killing my Battery "?

In case you don't have a Service Manual handy or have not read this, it says the back-up current (current with the car and all accessories, lights, etc off) should be 20 mA max (I'm echoing what Nubo said previously).

If you get a higher reading, you should remove fuses one-by-one from the main fuse block (under the hood) and fuse block (in the car) to narrow down the source of excess current draw. It also recommends to put the ammeter in series with the negative battery cable.

good luck,
rx8cited

Nubo

^^I do actually plan on getting the Yellow-top Optima as it's designed to better withstand deep discharge cycles and I do tend to leave the car sit for periods, but usually a week or less. I'd put a battery-tender on it if I planned on longer than about 3 weeks.