Has anyone had a problem with a dead battery in a car that's not driven very often? Accura TL 2008, low mileage

 

Hey! Welcome to Acurazine!

Car Talk is more for generic conversation outside of our model specific forums. Therefore, I moved your topic to the TL section of Acurazine so that you can connect with and receive responses from other 3G TL owners.

Again, welcome and enjoy!

 

The car needs to be driven in order for the alternator to charge the battery under regular use. Most batteries last 3-4 years before requiring replacement under conditions of regular use.

If the car sits often the battery life is drastically shortened. I recommend purchasing a Battery Tender, since your car isn't driven often. That would extend the life of your battery. I have my CL-S attached to a Battery Tender when sitting in storage.

 

I don't drive mine everyday and with the stock battery, it would go dead all of the time. Deep cycling it reduced it's life and I just replaced it with a Optima Red Top after 4 years.

As Paclark01 mentioned, a battery tender would be your best option to keep it topped off.

 

mine is dead in second year, replaced with costco....

 

as Paclark01 mentioned. A car not driven so often will drain the battery since your alternator is responsible for charging the battery. But the alternator can't charge it if it's not running. Thought I would mention that for those of you who is completely oblivious. Not sure of how much percent of battery drainage per day not driven to a stock battery but i'm guessing close to 10 percent at max. My father's jeep had stocks in for about 5 years and it's only driven once or twice a week. If you battery is dying fairly quickly check if your alternator is working. To do this just simply start your car. While the car is running take the negative lead off of your battery and if the car dies then your alternator doesn't work. If it stays on then it's obvious that it works. So if your alternator is working but your battery dies all the time still then likely your battery have been dead too many times and likely won't take the charge as well as it did when it was new. Other than that maybe you should look into doing upgrading your big 3 and if you got a helfty sound system maybe it's time you look into a more efficient system or get a HO alternator.

 

An easier way to check if the alternator is working prob the neg & pos of battery with a volt meter and it should be 13.8-14.5. Unhooking a battery cable while running can cause damage to some cars systems. Although I have done it myself

 

old cars you can get away with the cable off test- VERY bad for the TL
There was a run of low lifespan batteries a few years ago- an 08 would be about right
The internal probs caused failure- replaced under warranty with another crap unit...

get the battery and entire electrical system tested for free at most major parts stores
before the test=
first drive the car 45 minutes on the freeway- no load from headlights, blasting ac etc- you want the alternator power charging the battery to full, not replacing what you are using AND refilling battery
then its full and ready for load testings, alt amps, battery volts etc

DO NOT jump start a TL- expect dead alternator in a month if you do
It doesnt like doing more than its normal workload-- and dead battery is a long way from full
Makes alt work full output for too long- excess heat= disaster on electronic parts

starting the car takes a lot of battery stored power, ~10 minutes driving should replace that amount

parked- the car has an alarm, clock, and other systems that take mili amps that add up.
supposed to be able to sit 30 days per acura, but,,,,

cars parked in the garage= battery tender is a great idea for cheap, keeps battery at full- as soon as it senses drain it recharges to full, needs a 110v wall outlet

or if parked outside, a small solar panel placed on the dash, plugs into lighter (verify lighter is powered `hot to battery`)- ck harbor freight tools for those
Will do the same job

 

Well I think I need some help then; 07 TL, daily driver, 45K. Drove it last night- parked it- got back in it this morning and turned the key; lights flashed, things clicked and what not. Jumped it from my 94 Coprice. It ran fine all day, parked it for a few hours and it started again...now its gonna be parked for 8 hours, we'll see what happens but I have my battery booster/jumper pack for just in case.

What should I expect from the stealership when I take it (Radley Acura in VA), what 'should' they do?