So I've got my battery symptoms yet again here in my 05 RL. The steering column doesn't fully extend if I start the engine right away after the car has been sitting. Been doing this for a month or so. Like mentioned many times before here its early sign the battery is about to go.
Now heres my situation:
When this first happened I went with an Optima redtop, and after 1.5yrs I had the same symptoms and took it to the dealer and they tested the battery and it failed. There deep test showed it had 0CCA's which i thought was odd since it would start up but whatever. I took there print out to Autozone and got them to swap the redtop with another one. Found it odd Autozone said the battery was fine and the alternator was too but they still swapped it b/c i had the print out from the dealer. New battery in and all was well again.
Fast forward about 1.5-2yrs to now and I have the symptoms again. Took it to Autozone first this time to see if they'd swap it and it tested fine but they agreed to exchange it out still. The thing that bothered me was my Alternator was only showing 13.8 instead of 14. Would that be enough to cause my symptoms? If not would it warrant a replacement?(always thought alternator was good till 11's or if it was stuck wide open)

only mod's I've done is disconnect the ANC mic's, added an amp to power 2 subs, and added HID's in foglights(plug n play). I wouldn't think any of this would cause my issue but figured it worth noting. My car was also bought in 2007 certified preowned so it should have all the TSB's related to the battery drain no? I've asked before if it had all TSB's done and they told me yes, so less the battery drain you had to show symptom before they did it, then I should be set there. Also mileage is not high either.

I'm going to autozone today to get the battery swapped since they will have it in stock now, but I'd like suggestions on Alternators if anyone has em too. Anything other than the $400 one from acura. lol I've seen Duralast and Delco and would want something that would last a long time and be durable.

Thanks in advance.

 

Alternators typically putput at 13.78VDC, so you're fine. I'd try pulling the fuse on your aftermarket amp to see if anything changes.

 

Okay. Well I'll try that tomorrow I guess.
I had this same amp in another car and it ran completely fine, had it professionally installed not by your big box retailers but an actual certified pro so I trust the install credibility. The amp isn't a huge amp either considering todays standards so it shouldn't need any extra capacitors or anything like that either.

Good to hear my alternator isn't at fault b/c the autozone kid was trying to say b/c it was only pushing 13.8 that it wasn't fully charging the battery.

 

well after the battery being replaced everything is working better already for a few days now. every time the steering wheel extends like it should, even after the car has sat for awhile.

Should I still check the amp? Could it be slowly killing the battery overtime and cause me to need one after a years time?