thunder04

iTrader: (1)

After I installed my DICE iPod kit, I got a little carried away and ended up draining my car battery playing with my iPod in the car. Luckily, the warranty roadside assistance came to my rescue! While sitting in the car with it idling to charge the battery, It made me curious...

With a full tank of gas, how long would it take to idle (out of gear) it to empty?

msmching

you can be the first to try that let us know..!!

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

LOL

I'll get right on that!

Just kidding.

SoCaliTrojan

I'd say maybe 48 hours....that's when you'd get so sleepy, you'll accidently knock the car into gear, and cause it to take off and crash ;-P

Idling is bad. Your MPG is 0 (since you're not getting any miles), and you're just hurting the environment with the exhaust fumes.

How much playback time do you get when it's not plugged into the car? Might as well disconnect it from your car and listen to it with your headphones.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

lol. My iPod lasts a long time on battery. I usually charge my iPod once every few weeks. I listen to it a few times a week when I go to bed (and sometimes fall asleep with it on and wake up in the morning with it still playing), and every now and then I plug it into the receiver in the living room and listen.

I have no intention of using the car as a power source for the iPod, lol. I just got a little carried away with "oooh new toy gotta mess with it!" and "hmm, I wonder how this song sounds?" and the next thing I know it's been 20 minutes and...look at that...she doesn't crank. Oops!

I'm used to the Ford I drove before my TSX. It had a huge battery and I could listen to music with the ignition in accessory for an hour plus before engine cranking would be difficult.

Is there a "best battery" for the TSX? I just have the stock battery.

Nogard13

Wow, only 20 minutes and your battery was drained? I left the lights on in my last car for about 4 hours, came out to the car, and it cranked right up. If a Scion tC can withstand 4 hours of drainage from the lights, I'm sure a TSX can take 20 mins from an iPod.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I called the dealer about this when I did it the first time (I was at work...yay roadside assistance) and they said that depending on the age of my battery (which should be new, I would think!) it may only take 15 minutes of use in accessory mode before there isn't enough juice to crank the engine. I think this is rather DUMB. Is this BS, or is this really a characteristic of our cars?

It was probably more than 20 minutes. I took the center storage bay out, hooked everything up, listened to it for maybe 10 minutes, finished the install, then listened for maybe another 15 minutes. My passenger door was probably open for a couple hours, but the car automatically turns off the dome lights after a while, so the only light on was the light in the door panel. Would that light drain the battery?

slickrab

I was BBQ'n I had my iPod charging and my volume was blasted and I had my HID's and Fog Lights on and the battery drained within 15 minutes. Note that before turning on my lights for 15 minutes the ipod was charging and playingfor about 1hour. Anyways, I noticed my music turned off and my headlights dimmed along with my tail lights. I thought I got a call on the HFL b/c the music just suddenly stops. I notice my MID Screen has faded away and than I knew that my battery was draining out. I attempted to start the car so I don't get stuck and it didn't start. All you heard were the fuses shorting out. I turned off everything and let it sit for around 5 minutes. It charged back up on its own. It started up and I took it around the block a couple times to get it charged up. I know it was the battery b/c my navi asked me for the code. Happy to know the anti-theft works.

miken5678

with the car idling in park you are running of the alt and getting very little if any charge to the battery.. if you run the battery dead and drive it around to charge it up this is one of the worst things to do stress wise to the electrical system..

sad to hear our batteries are so small they die that fast

cybereclipse

umm i think you mean ur running off the battery.... the alt only charges the batt when the car is moving.... you cannot run a car off an alternator

whoaitsjon

haha i had the same thing happen to me. my parents bought me a tsx and told me to check the garage for something. i was so excited to play with the nav and all the features with the power on for accessories only. when i tried to start my tsx for the first time ever, it didnt start hahaha

crazybaboon6000

I just got back from Israel, and when i was there i saw some people on a beach with their cars pulled up playing music. The trunk was open and they had some crazy sound systems in there, and they continued to play for hours (crappy techno music btw) but their car wasnt on. If the battery drains so fast, how do they run all that speaker equipment for hours without turning the car on?

whoaitsjon

extra battery(s)?

bz268

You will die from CO poisoning before you will find out when your car will run out of gas.

JTso

iTrader: (2)

No, the engine is what drives the alternator and it doesn't matter if the car moves or not. The alternator will charge the battery as long as the engine is running at certain minimum rpm and no excessive loads on the electrical system.

sluday

I was in Brazil and the kids there did the same thing with the car stereos on the beaches and the strip. I have seen the same people popping the clutches to start the cars. It is like a normal thing to do there.

miken5678

again for those that doubt.. the system sees a 14.4 volt increase that the ignition system runs off of as well as a slight charge in the battery.. very very little at idle.. that is why if you run the battery dead and let it sit at idle vs driving it around town you will not see a full charge and run the risk of killing the alt over time

and if you would like more proof that the system does not run off the battery at idle remove the damn thing.. even old carb cars from the 80s ran directly off of the alt without the battery.. youll be amazed to see the car stay running without the battery.. if the car was running off the battery the whole system would show a nominal 12 volts.. considering the fact everything is bumped up to 14 volts is explanation enough.. if you need more proof you can measure the amps. The only issue now that this really doesnt apply to is high load items like the seat warmers which tax the system enough at idle that both the alt and battery are being abused.

visuelz

Hmm....once I had my music blasting for over an hour while waiting for my dad to finish up his work and my engine still started. But that's because I have an Optima RedTop 35! =]

roguemoog

FWIW, I have a ScanGauge that I have hooked up to the car, and at idle, it shows a fuel consumption rate of 0.4 - 0.5 GPH...so I'd say a rough estimate is 32 hours of simple idling on a full tank.

Steve0

As long as the alternator is turning it is charging, as for higher RPMs yes it will put out more. It took mine a little over 38 hours to run almost dry.

roguemoog

38 Hours sounds right...about 0.42 GPH assuming a full 16 gallons. How the heck did ya let it idle that long? I'm curious...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The TSX has a very good electrical system (except the battery) which I'm sure is a little better than the cars from the 80s. Below is a test comparison of the electrical output to the battery by the alternator at idle and various check points at higher rpm. Each accessory being turned on is additional to the previous one to show the load condition and charging voltage. As you can see, the battery is receiving a full charge even at idle running normal alternator speed (oem alternator pulley) and reduced alternator speed (larger pulley).

rza49311

iTrader: (1)

I've left my HIDs on for about 1.5 hours and it cranked right up but I've let me car sit in the garage for a few weeks and the battery sounded weak when I tried to crank it but it still cranked.

crazybaboon6000, as far as those stereos blasting on the beach, they could have had caps in the system i'm guessing.

miken5678

Voltage is not worth noting when charging a battery unless you have the total amps the system is putting out as there is a difference between the voltage and the amperage the battery is receiving.. it may be receiving the 14 volts as it is part of the ground loop of the whole car but without enough amperage the affective charge the battery receives would take hours to charge it (at idle).. you will note the amp rating on the alt is usually a peak rating of 80-90 amps rated at several k rpms as idle speed will not support more than running more than a few items.. they do not note on that graph that engaging the ac does cause the ecu to increase the idle rpm to compensate for the load.. im sure the ecu is setup the same way for increased loads but limited within an rpm range.. thus the reason you see the voltage drop below 14 and even 13. once you get below a voltage of 13.5 depending on the regulator the car is then pulling from the battery

your graph does prove to show at idle the car system cannot handle heated seats or the defroster (combined) as the voltage drops below the output of the alt resulting in pulling a load from the battery.. i really wish they would have showed both seats on.. taxing the alternator enough to put the vehicle voltage below 12-13 volts isnt great on the alt and at idle you are more than stressing the alt and battery..

the good thing from that graph is you get to see is below a certain threshold the battery is in use in conjuction with the alt and provided you could get a measurement you would note the battery would drain at idle and you would most likely not be able to restart the car in a worst case scenario.. but at idle you are running off the alt at the 14 volts and not the battery...

JTso

iTrader: (2)

The bottom row indicates all items being turned on, not just the one item. This is a very extreme condition of electrical load test to see where the limitation is. Having both heated seat on will not have much impact if other electrical loads are low. Note the minimum voltage drop with one seat on. The TSX has an ELD circuilt (Electric Load Detection) to monitor various load condition such as power steering, AC, brakes. etc. Therefore, instead of the rpm dropping when loads are applied and increasing the rpm like some older cars, the TSX simply maintains at idle rpm without affect idle quality. This is now good the TSX electrical system is.

RaCeR4LiFe022

i slept in my car all night with it once.. that was exciting

miken5678

i agree with the revs increasing but that is limited to a point and with both seats on at idle you will be taxing the system to much.. The tsx has a good charging system like any other car.. wasnt saying it doesnt.. even the manual states do not run seats with the car at idle.. you tax the system to much.. in conjunction with other items its that much worse.. you still can infact drain the battery enough at idle that the car will not restart.. ive worked on to many older and newer cars to know differently despite changes most charging systems have remained the same with very little change.. im just reiterating myself now but if you ever get a chance take your car to a shop and have them do a load test you will see some interesting results per system amps are more important in the overall scheme of things than voltage..

bhavin3623

haha