Batteries- Sick of the damn things dying

[Julie]

Hey fellas after some advice,

We have a pretty big system in the VT, will post specs if necessary but think lots of speakers, amps subs & lcds. Our regular battery is dead and I'm sick of it, the system keeps killing the batteries prematurely. We've done a little research and are thinking of getting an Optima D34 Yellowtop. Should that be enough to keep it running or do we need to get a second battery and isolate it? Would prefer not to have to have a second battery is we can get away with it as we simply don't have the room for it, its a full custom job and I have nfi were we could locate the second battery

Cheers Julie.

[camstatic]

I was about to suggest an OTR intake with a battery on each side, then I read 'blown' 355, there goes that idea.

The D34 will be about the best battery you can fit in the standard location in the engine bay, but you need to figure out why the old normal lead-acid is dying first.

Batteries in general love a good thrashing, the heavy discharge gets them all warmed up, and the following recharge bubbles the acid, helping clean the plates of any impurities that've built up.

What they don't like though, is being left for long periods without being recharged properly, whether this be by your car's alternator or a plug-in charger at home (You'll find the deep cycles and dry-cells fall victim here as well, though they are slightly more resistant).

I've got a high power system in my boot as well, which will drain the battery pretty badly at full-noise (not that it's there very often), resulting in a decent discharge even with the engine running. What I'll usually do is leave it idling until I hear the alternator stop whining so badly to top the battery back up. On a blown 355, you probably won't be able to hear your alternator though, so I'd definitely recommend giving the system a thrashing, and taking note of voltage at the battery at the same time.

Is it falling away gradually with the engine running? (This indicates not enough alternator power or you may require a heavier charge wire, or a longer idle time after some heavy listening)

Is the thin 'sensor wire' going from the alternator to the battery in good condition? (This tells the alternator how much juice the battery needs)

Are you sure nothing is using power once you retire the car for the day? Lifting one of the battery terminals and putting an ammeter between the terminal and the battery post with everything switched off and locked will tell you (you'll only notice about 0.2A at most due to memory on your headunit, amps on standby, LED security light flashing etc, if more than say 0.5A at most, you should try to pinpoint exactly what is draining so much power when it shouldn't be)

Is the battery given enough excitement through the average week? Cars that sit around are hell for batteries, if the car sits for longer than a week at any given time, I'd recommend giving it a top-up charge every second night to get the acid bubbling, or if you end up with the optima, some kind of top-shelf battery conditioner (top shelf charger).

So there you have it, that's my two bucks worth, hope something in my rant helps you out.

[azkwazere]

What output is your alternator giving?

The yellow tops are hard to go past, but i would be looking at your alternator as well.

aZk.

[-Junior-]

^^^ Exactly. Is the alt charging correctly and what size?

Trying to remember but I think that I replaced an alt on a 304 VT that was either 120 or 140 amp.

What is the condition of the wiring as well from the alt?

Can recommend the D34 yellow top as I've had one for about 5 years now running about 750 watts of light due to country driving.

Killed 2 wet batteries due to the lights in 2 1/2 years, hence the change to the yellow top.

[daron]

how long is it taking to die like few hrs or months
i run a 600cc battery with a large sound system and its fine i get 3 yrs out of batteries
but i hear the optimas are really good for draining and recharging on a regular basis