Anyone have their Battery Die on them yet S197

I have the car a little over 3.5 years. I don't run it in the winter, and I do not have a tender. (Which after this fiasco will change this year).

So the car's been dead if I let it sit for a week or so, but I've been able to run it after a jump. So yesterday, I took it for a good trip to Altoona and back. On the way home I lost power while driving. Almost did not make it to work, where it sits now dead as a doornail.

So anywho, this is my question, before I put a new battery in today. Do these cars still draw off the battery even if they are running? Or is my Alternator shot, or are the Steeda Underdrives really not allowing it to charge?

Does anyone know the RPM range where the Car is actually charging? I figured with 4.10's I'm running a higher RPM all the time I should have no troubles. But I seem to have issues with the set up, unless the battery is just that shot, that it's not taking the charge.

So anways if anyone has any ideas, let me know so I can avoid this "Pucker Factor" in the future.

-Vack

i know there have been many a discussion on the oem S197 batteries crapping out on people. Many were just faulty. On a side note, i had my car garaged all winter and the same thing happened to me. I'd jump it, let it charge up and if i didnt start it again within 3 days it would be dead again. Bought a new battery and havent had a problem since. Learned my lesson, picking up a battery tender this winter

when i was a lot attendant for fitzgerald auto mall. no matter how many times we started those brand new cars we still ended up replacing batteries sometimes

Motorcrap batteries. As far as I have read on MF, shaker 500/1000 are also knpwn culprits to drain battery while the car is off. You need to make sure to power it off before storage. It just adds ontop of a poor stock battery. Mine was pre-owned and didn't have the stock battery and had no issues storing for abouy a month with the shaker on and no tender.

Had the same problem when my car was not a daily driver. But never lost power while driving. After a jump it was ok until it sat for about 3-4 days. I was told by a tech at the ford dealership it was my shaker 1000. For some reason when you turn it off its not really off. The amps still draw power. Also he suggested I get a better battery, which I did.

I had the same problem for the past two years. I am still running the factory battery however now use a battery tender for the months or weeks that I dont plan to run it. I have never lost power though. I was always under the assumption that the battery only is used to start the car and the accessories and that was all. Could be wrong with the new ones though

With the under drives ur cars gonna run off the alternator as long as you dont have every light on, Ac or blower on full, Wipers on, And sterio full blast. When ur crusing ur fine. best way to know what the hell is pulling power get a DVOM Set it to current and and pull the positive cable put the DVOM in line with out turning anything on read what it displays. It should be very low lower than i think .1 amps. Anymore start to pull fuses till that drops. The ECU and headunit take a constant power drain to keep there memory. So thats what account for the .1. If it happens to be the shaker you could install a Relay with the ignition witch to really shut thos amps off when the key is out.

I had the same issue myself last year. I just replaced the crap factory battery with a new one.

Yep, as everyone said, a well known problem with these cars. I have the same problem. Mine goes dead during winter storage. After a jump, I am usually good. but this battery is over 3 yrs. old and is now dying when it sits for more than a couple days. Time to ditch the crap factory battery and get a new aftermarket one.

Again, well known problem. Do NOT leave any accessory on when you turn off the key, especially the radio. Mine lasted from 2005 until this past spring, when it finally died and wouldn't hold a charge. I ordered the Optima redtop replacement and all is well again. I just remember to turn off the radio and HVAC fan...

Run optima Yellow top. Deep cycle for when you leave stuff on and more than enough juice to get these going. Joe, Idk his sig or his last name but he has a red GT 05 i think, He autocross a lot and just put in a supercharger last year. I had to give back his front sway bar for his super charger install. But he runs what looks like a ATV battery. He says it was more than enough power to crank his car over. And weighs like 40 lbs less

My factory battery gave up last June. It wasn't even 3 years after I bought the car new from the dealer. I did drain it once while playing the stereo while detailing it and it left me needing a jump twice in that following two weeks. I just bought the brand that Advance Auto Parts sells. No way I was going to spend $180 on an Optima

What? Batteries die? Doesn't the alternator keep it full and magical? And its so big compared to the batteries I buy for a flashlight. It should last forever!
And why do people jump on batteries when they do die? It all sounds so silly to me.

Nevermind

05RedDevil wrote:
And why do people jump on batteries when they do die? It all sounds so silly to me.

It's the fastest way to pound it into the ground, duh