Hey Guys,

I'm having battery issues. My car died twice now, once after I fully charged it. I just had a JL 500/1 and JL 10W6V2 installed in my car a couple weeks ago. My car isn't a daily driver, and usually only night driving on the weekends (lights are on). I was wondering if this is any reason that my car battery should die pretty frequently. I currently took the amp fuse out, so it's not powered and I don't have to worry about not starting my car in the middle of nowhere. I've read that our battery isn't the greatest, but do you guys really think I need to invest in say an Optima Yellow battery? Please, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

~ Fizzle

 

I did..As soon as I put my system in (2 10" JL audio in custom box and Phoenix gold amp), my car semi hesitated to start up. I also have the same alarm you have and I have a dvd system hooked up. 2-3 days after my car was dead. Changed to a yellow optima battery and so far so good. I am just hoping it doesnt die like 6-12 months from now.

 

Did you go with the Optima Yellow 51R (as I've read in previous threads). How much does this battery cost? Thanks.

 

I have the same problem w/ my stock battery. Since I installed a cluster of greddy gauges, the battery likes to die if sitting for a week. I know the gauges have a memory but they shoudn't ever drain the battery completely.

From now on, I pull the fuse for the gauges when I know the car is going to sit. Problem solved.

If you have a system like that, you should have some sort of inline fuse or circuit breaker, short it before you let the car sit.

 

There are 3 possible scenarios that could be going on here...

1. You have some type of drain that’s being put on your battery when the car is off. You can fix this by pulling a fuse when you park or putting everything on switched ignition power.

2. You have a bad battery, sometimes batteries just go bad or the stress of the new install has screwed it up. (This happened to me once in my old car)

3. Your setup might be drawing more power than the stock alternator can handle.

 

I definitely think that my setup is drawing more power than my stock alternator is putting back in, but would something as simple as a Viper alarm and a JL 500/1 amp do that? My amp is setup for switched ignition power, and my car is only 3 months old, therefore it couldn't be a bad battery, could it? But anyways, I think the biggest factor is my non-daily use of the car. I'll probably just install some kind of switch to physically "turn-off" the power going to the amp, I think this would be the best solution. Thanks again though.

 

You could use a relay to turn off your gauges - just get the $2 part from RS and use a remote signal wire that you use for audio to switch it on/off.

 

It's not the problem w/ them turning off. That I have hooked to the ignition switch. It's the constant +12V for the memory features of the gauges. You wouldn't think that the current draw would be that bad.

 

I went with the Optima Yellow top 51R

 

Did you use the optima battery as a complete replacement to the stock one, or did you use it as a secondary battery?

 

I'm going to guess replacement, as he stated 51R, which is our size battery w/ the reverse terminals.

 

Question, wouldn't it not make a difference whether I'm using an Optima battery vs. the stock one if I don't upgrade my stock alternator as well? Considering the Optima battery would only be charged as efficiently as whatever the stock alternator can dish out right? I'm not too familiar with this stuff. Thanks.

 

Sounds like a possible battery or alternator issue? But, I am by no means an expert in vehicle electronics or electricity.
If it was related to flickering lights or power draw with stereo than it would more than likely be related to current draw in which case a capacitor to that or those devices would help.

 

Capacitors are even harder on your battery.. It takes more juice to recharge a cap than it does for a battery. They are great for systems that are causing your lights to dim or want sound not degraded by losing power...

 

The best battery for your setup would be a marine deep cycle battery from costco or another inexpensive shop. Believe it or not, it will outperform the optima given your driving habits and stereo load...

The optima is a waste of money. It has generated tons of hype, but it really isn't any better than a typical interstate or comparable battery.

For the record, I have used it, so i do know what the optima is and is NOT capable of.