BATTERY ISSUES!!!

[STREAT23]

I have a 2002, PT Dream Cruiser, the battery went dead about a week ago. Im currently out of the country for a month or so. Just wondering will she be okay if the battery is not replaced right away. Any help or advise on this situation!!!!

[CREWZIN]

Are you sure it needs to be replaced? Is it the original battery from 2002? I only take short trips on my PT and everytime I come up here to Virginia to visit my son and grandkids, the battery goes dead. I charge it up, go for a 45 minute ride and it's good for a long time.

[STREAT23]

Im not sure, I will have to find out. My wife had it jump started by roadside assistance and drove it for a little bit afterwards got it home in the garage no lights no power nothing. So im thinking its the battery. Its not driven a lot cause im out of the country with the military. So it sits in the garage and is driven and started once a week. Im trying to find out if it can sit with a dead battery for a long time. I dont return home till late january.

[MX-5]

If you check in your owner's manual, you will see it asks you to disconnect the battery or the IOD fuse if it will not be driven for more than 2WEEKS.

Once drained, a dead batery is not going to do any more damage.

[Candyman]

Hey STREAT23,

Welcome to the Forum! I would say you should be good to go with no problems. If you look either on the top, or sides at the top of the battery casing, you can usually find a heat stamp with a letter, and a number on it. This will indicate the date, and year the battery was produced. The letter will indicate the month, and the number will indicate the year. For example:

If you have a date code A7 (A = January and 7 = 2007)

The normal life of a battery usually will run around 5 - 7 years, but will vary depending on climate conditions. In hotter climates water evaporates quicker, and if not replenished periodically can lead to premature battery failure. One quick tip, if you ever do need to add water to a battery, just pop the caps off with a flat screw driver, and look in each of the six cells. If any are low, fill them with purified , or bottled water only. If you use tap water, the mineral deposits will form a crystallization process known as Dendrite which will short the cells and destroy the battery beyond repair!

If the battery goes goes down below 9 volts, or to the point where your interior dome light, or headlights will no longer work, then the battery is no longer good. You can re-charge it, but it will not keep the charge, and will die again within one to two days again.

Their are four different things that can be done to determine if a battery is still good or not. Here is a quick rundown.

1. Check the date code on the Battery. If it is 5 years or older, it most likely should be replaced.

2. Take the Battery to an Auto Parts Store, and have them check the Voltage with a volt meter. If the Battery is below 9 volts, it will no longer hold a charge, and should be replaced

3. Pop the caps on top of the Battery, and check the fluid Level in each of the six cells. Fill if necessary using only purified drinking water. Then either have an Auto Parts Store, mechanic, or buy a Hydrometer which looks like a turkey baster with a float in it. Stick the Hydrometer in each cell, squeeze the bulb at the end, and suck up the battery acid into the glass tube about to the half way mark. If the float goes up, the cell is good. If one of the six cells does not float, then you have a dead cell, and the battery is no good.

4. You can have an Auto Parts Store do a load test which they take a meter and attach cables to both terminals. Then the meter will either indicate good, or bad. Please note though that this test may give a false positive result, so if this says it is a bad battery, I would recommend performing a Hydrometer Test as well to confirm.

If you do need to replace the battery, the size you will need should be a 26R. If and when you do replace it, I recommend swinging by a local Auto Parts Store like Pep Boys, O'riely's, Kragen, etc, and have them do a simple check of your charging system to make sure everything is all in good working order.

This test is done by first checking the battery itself with a Volt Meter. Again, if the battery is below 9 volts, it needs replacement. If the volts read good, then you should be asked to start the car, and turn on your headlights, stereo, etc, while the person conducting the test watches the volt meter. The voltage should slightly drop momentarily while under load, and then go back up to anywhere between 11.5 to 14.5 volts on the meter. If the voltage reads below 10 volts, and under, or drops under load, you likely have a bad alternator, or related problem with your charging system.

If you are not going to drive your PT for any length of time more than five to ten days, I recommend disconnecting the Battery cable. The PT, like most later model vehicles have a number of computers like the stereo clock, and memory, and so on that remain hot all of the time, and will continue to drain the battery.

The other alternative if you do not drive your PT very often, or like in my case, mainly use it for show, you can buy an Optima Battery, which is a Deep Cycle Battery. Deep Cycle Batteries are made to be able to repeatedly drain all the way down, and re-charged many times with no damage done to the battery. The standard Optima Battery is much more expensive, but will stand up to abuse, re-charging repeatedly, and also has higher cranking amps which is good if you run a large stereo system, have TV Monitors, GPS, or other accessories that add an extra draw. Manufacturers Battery recommendations do not list an Optima Replacement for the PT, but a Standard Optima will fit the PT with no problem. The only thing to remember when buing an Optima Battery is, the yellow top Optima is slightly lower and more narrow then the Red Top Optima, so if you ever would like to install an aftermarket battery cover, then you will need the Yellow Top for proper fitment.

Last, but not least, for anyone with a lot of electronics like a large sound system, TV's, Air Bags, Neon/LED Lights, and so on, its a good idea to run two Optima Batteries to handle higher power needs. If you run a short cold air intake on your PT, you can fit two Optima Batteries under the hood of the PT. Here is a Photo.



If you, or anyone has any further Battery Questions, please let me know, and I will be happy to help in any way I can!

Take er easy!

Candyman

[PurplePTGirl]

My battery just died yesterday. I was parked at the airport for 10 days and while it took a jump, I decided to replace it as it was leaking (and was 5 years old). It had given me no indication--I think that perhaps in hotter climates (like Southern CA), we dont get the chance to have the weak battery warnings of slow starting like in the midwest--they just die suddenly.

[STREAT23]

So it should be okay, for a month until I get home or should I have someone go take it and replace the battery right away!!! Im kinda of picky about it being driven when im not around!! Thanks again for the information!!!

[CREWZIN]

As MX-5 stated: Once drained, a dead battery is not going to do any more damage.

You didn't answer my question as to how old the battery is. If you've had it since new, it's time for a replacement. If it's only a couple years old, charge it up when you return and take it to a shop that will test your whole charging system. Pep Boys, Auto Zone, Advance Auto and I'm sure other places will test it for free.

[STREAT23]

The battery isnt the one from the Factory, its been replaced before. Its 3yrs old. Thanks for the Info!!!

[PurplePTGirl]

One addendum to the above excellent post by Candyman... don't go anywhere near Pep Boys. I have had nothing but terrible service from them and if you look on the net, they are consistently one of the most-complained-about auto repair places. They are truly incompetent. One of the problems I had with them involved an alternator--they kept putting in faulty ones and it destroyed my battery (this was on my Mazda). I wouldn't trust anything they said about anything on my car, and I certainly wouldnt let them touch it.