Does my battery needs to be replaced?

[outatime]

I left the car in the garage for 5 days while I was on a trip to Melbourne. When I came home tonight, the car's alarm was sounding off. The keyless to switch off the alarm won't work. And when I put the key on, the lights on the dashboard are all dead. No lights won't turn on. I'm guessing the alarm went off a few days earlier so it must have drained the battery...

Is the battery dead and do I need a new replacement? The car's got a big sound system.

Thanks.

[shadou]

... They aren't terrible expensive you know. Go pick one up for like $80 at k-mart or somewhere.

[VTec1987]

You should get the battery charged up, get the car jump started, then let the car run for about 5min or longer, let the alternator charge the battery, turn it off and back on, if it starts meaning the battery is keeping it's charge then I don't think you will need a new battery.

[philBo]

same thing happened to me sort of...but it turned out that the battery terminals needed a good clean. had a build up of the white residue.

give that a try

[outatime]

same thing happened to me sort of...but it turned out that the battery terminals needed a good clean. had a build up of the white residue.

give that a try

my car's battery terminals are clean and no build up.

[aaronng]

Looks like your amps are wired straight to the battery and don't turn off when you pull the key out.

[outatime]

Looks like your amps are wired straight to the battery and don't turn off when you pull the key out.

spot on! you're too good aaronng! :)

nrma mechanic tested the battery and it had only 3v left in it. He said the amplifer was sucking 0.15 amps while the car was off so it completely drained the battery during those 5 days. he said that was the reason it affected the alarm to sound off because the battery was about to be depleted.

Also, he said he can't guarantee that jumpstarting the battery will restore the battery's full capacity, and I might require a jumpstart again soon. So I decided to had the battery replaced with a premium heavy duty.

I noticed with the new battery, the car is running smoothly on first gear. Before, I had to rev a bit more so the car won't stall... Weird... Is it me who got used driving a normal clutch from the car I rented in Melbourne or is it the new battery?

[dc2dc2dc2]

lol i don't think battery affects the way the car revs.

[aaronng]

Consider putting in a relay to work as switch which turns on when you turn the key to "I". This way you won't drain the new battery as well. :thumbsup:

[outatime]

Consider putting in a relay to work as switch which turns on when you turn the key to "I". This way you won't drain the new battery as well. :thumbsup:

How do i do that? is that easy to do? how much does a 'relay' cost?

[IZY-10]

How do i do that? is that easy to do? how much does a 'relay' cost?

$5 then just download the schematics of the net. Basically just a switch read up on then in wiki once you know how they work you will know how to connect it

[aaronng]

Yup, make sure the relay can handle the current draw of your amp. It should be a 12v relay, and the current depending on how much the amp draws. The relay will have 4 wires. 2 for the low current side and 2 for the high current side. Out of the pair, one is for live and one is for ground. The low current live will connect to a power supply that turns on when you turn the key. So if your cigarette lighter socket only turns on when the key is turned, that will work. Just connect it to the live wire of your cigarette lighter. Then on the high current side, you put it in series with the power supply wire to the battery. Make sure you have a suitable fuse for that wire in between the relay and the battery.

[outatime]

Yup, make sure the relay can handle the current draw of your amp. It should be a 12v relay, and the current depending on how much the amp draws. The relay will have 4 wires. 2 for the low current side and 2 for the high current side. Out of the pair, one is for live and one is for ground. The low current live will connect to a power supply that turns on when you turn the key. So if your cigarette lighter socket only turns on when the key is turned, that will work. Just connect it to the live wire of your cigarette lighter. Then on the high current side, you put it in series with the power supply wire to the battery. Make sure you have a suitable fuse for that wire in between the relay and the battery.

gee that's a lot of work and not really keen on doing it myself lol. i'm scared of grounding myself:o

Anyone here who can recommend to help me with this? Cheers.

[aaronng]

Why not get the guys who did the installation for your audio? It's very quick and should take less than 1 hour.

[outatime]

Why not get the guys who did the installation for your audio? It's very quick and should take less than 1 hour.

I bought my car with this audio setup already...

[aaronng]

go to a reputable place that does audio installs. You'll have to ask around where.