HRMoneyPit

So after changing my battery and still having the same problem of the car not being able to hold a charge longer then over night and not being able to figure out why. I bitem the bullet and dropped it off at Nissan. After a week they are still saying battery battery. So I might be in the market for another one again!


I always stick with autozone because they are local and good warranty. But I'm lost now since thus battery is only 2 months old if that.


80% of batteries are made by the same person so maybe I need something made by the other 20%

travlee

iTrader: (8)

have you had alternator bench tested?

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I'm doubtful you have a battery problem. I'd check the alternator output, and look for a current drain when the engine is off and the car is locked. Any aftermarket accessories, like audio or alarm?

HRMoneyPit

I've tried and tried. I've even tried finding a member on here to fix it and I'd pay them. I'm not good with electrical work and I've watched the volts on different meters and my volt meter. Alternator seems to be doing its job fine. Something is draining it but I can't figure it out


The battery I took out tested good and this one tested good at Autozone but is testing bad with them

dcains

iTrader: (15)

You can try a few things. If you don't have an ammeter, try pulling fuses in various circuits and see if that stops the overnight drain. Do a few at a time, and keep good notes. If you do have an ammeter, hook it between the battery and one of the cables, and see if there is a measurable drain with everything turned off. Then you can pull fuses and see which circuit the drain is in. I'm not sure what an acceptable drain is on the Z, but I'd guess anything under 50 mA might be OK. There will always be that low level to maintain the memory in the head unit, run the clock, alarm, etc.

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

If you have AAA have them come check your battery. I know we have testers that will check for a drain. They dont want to put a new battery in if its going to drain and they will have to be back the next day.

Ive heard some of the clubs in California sell interstate batteries, if they do then they are good batteries... But if you just got one 2 months ago you probably have a drain somewhere.

HRMoneyPit

I've already had it checked with those fancy testers and they detected no drain. I know most people on this forum don't work on their cars so I get the advise from you guys. But I do my own work always. This is just knew problem I could not figure out. Put it this way, this is the first time I've ever dropped of a car to get work done

dboyzalter

iTrader: (3)

Thats the problem with doing your own work. When you get stuck and need help and finally bite the bullet you think the professional is going to be able to get it all figured out and fixed and you end up more pissed and frustrated when they're guess is no better then yours.

You could hook up a battery disconnect till you figure out the drain problem, but I know my car runs like **** for like a week everytime I reset the ecu so that option kinda sucks.

KornerCarver

iTrader: (2)

I have a Nissan battery in mine. The original battery lasted 8 years and was still good when I replaced it. I was afraid it was going to fail so bought a new one. The dealer installed a new battery for $110 and that was 4 years ago and that battery is just fine. You might just bite the bullet and take the dealers word for it that the battery is bad and have it replaced.

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

If you're a Costco member, they sell Interstate batteries at a decent price with a good warranty.

HRMoneyPit

Funny thing is all the batteries you guys named are owned by the same people. Interstate makes them all and they are bagged different. Johnson Control is the main person who makes them all


And I'm at the point of biting the bullet cause I've exhausted my skills over the past couple months. I hate electrical. I am 90% it's not the battery but they can't do anything till they have a battery that holds a charge. (Which is obviously the problem, car is being drained not a bad battery)


So I'm at the point where I spend money on a new battery and let them be wrong and argue for them to do it right on their dollar

Stolly08

Get the Nissan battery! They are amazing! And have amazing warranties on them! Plus just have them do it and if its not the issue tell them you said it was now fix it!

HRMoneyPit

Yup. There battery is only 99 and he said they won't charge to install it. I hope they don't want the $130 diagnostic on top that


I told them make sure 100% it's the battery or it'll be a problem lol


Now what to do with a brand new autozone battery

Stolly08

Just return it you have at least 30-60 days I'd think

HRMoneyPit

You can't return a used battery

turboed350z

Diehard battery is what i run in both my z. Going good so far. Regardless or the brand, the chances of a dud is low. Like others said, im willing to bet you have a drain or your alternator isnt doing its job

HRMoneyPit

Voltage is well over 14.3 maybe 15 ish. I'm thinking maybe it's charging too much and killing the batteries

dcains

iTrader: (15)

I'm not sure f leaky diodes in the alternator could cause a drain, or not, but you might try disconnecting the alternator cables overnight and see what happens. It happened to me once on my XK-E, but that's Lucas electrics, and 1960's British stuff isn't really a good example of how things are supposed to work.

HRMoneyPit

Like I said the car is at Nissan. I gave my go for a couple months


I don't think the alternator is not working cause if I drive it daily I have 0 problems all day. 5 he second I leave it for a day or two it's dead. New battery helped for less then a week

turboed350z

If thats the case, you got a drain. My car can sit for weeks at a time. I would try and trace down the leak before buying another battery.