Symptom of dying battery?

Stosh Rickles

Could a slow clock be an indicator that the battery's going to die? If you enjoy excruciating detail, see below.

Two pieces of info to set the stage here:
1) I don't profess to know anything about how batteries pass and receive their charges throughout vehicle operation.
2) I've had two batteries die on this Z within a few months, and I have a really hard time believing it's negligence on my part. Hence, this post.

After I had it towed to the dealer the last time the battery died (~2 months ago), I noticed that the gauge clock was about 15 mins behind the nav clock, so of course I reset the gauge clock. In fact, being anal retentive, I set it so that the two clocks were less than 1 second apart.

Now, in both instances of my battery dying, my Z sat for several days unused leading up to the incidents. Keep that in mind.

I soon started noticing that the gauge clock wasn't staying 1 second off from the nav clock... it was actually losing time, and most notably, it lost more time the longer I let the car sit. Yes, I measured this, I'm a dork.

After a month it was about 20 seconds off. If I let it sit for 2-3 days, it would be another 5 or so seconds off. It's now 58 seconds behind the nav clock. Is this evidence of poor electrical circulation, and an indicator of the battery losing its charge? Voltage reads fine per the gauge cluster, so I don't know what to think.

Any feedback is appreciated

mults

I have a 2010 40th and the dash clock is not the most accurate time keeping device that I have seen. I too am anal about the time (I have an atomic watch) and I notice that I have to adjust the dash clock on ocassion. Typically, when a battery dies after sitting a while, it is caused by a few things:'

1) The battery is old and does not hold the charge as long as it used to.
2) As the car sits, there is a drain on the battery from something inside the vehicle (like leaving the dome light on). This can be caused by a short somewhere in the electrical system or even a bad ground.
3) The alternator is not charging the battery completely, even though you say the voltmeter on the dash says it is fine. There is voltage and there are amps. The voltage can be OK, but if the alternator is not putting out the correct amperage, the battery is not getting "topped off".

Think of this as having a bucket with a hole in it. If the water pressure is high (volts) but the flow (amps) is not enough to keep the bucket full, eventually the bucket will be empty.

I had a 1994 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z back in the day, and I had to replace the battery every 1-1/2 years. I had ten people look at it and no one could ever find the cause. It didn't matter which battery I used (from top of the line DieHards, Interstate, you name it) I knew that every 1-1/2 years I would need a new battery. I learned to live with it and it became part of my normal maintenance routine.

Good luck and I hope this helps.

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mults
40th Anniversary 'Z', 312.06HP/260.58TQ (Dynosty EcuTek Tune)
Build Date/Number: 1/27/2010 #706
Berk HFC + CBE, R2C CAI, Clear Bra, Cleveland Z Club

kenchan

how about you get that battery checked out?

after you do, get a battery tender aka battery manager (amazon has them for like $20) and use that whenever your car will be parked for a long time. i use it on both my G and Z when they will not be driven for more than 2 days. my commute is too short to charge the G's battery full each time.

also check you water level. it's easy to maintain these batteries. just need a flash light, funnel, and small bottle of distilled water. my G's battery is 8yrs old which is the original. absolutely no issue.

Stosh Rickles

Thanks very much for the thorough info guys.

Kenchan, I replaced the battery with an Optima Yellow Top when this happened the first time, and it happened again within 2 months after that, so I'd assume it's not the battery itself that's the problem.

Mults, I'd been thinking #3 is the answer... but does this evidence give me a legit warranty issue to go to the dealer with? I'm unfortunately not as laissez faire as you seem to be especially considering I've had more issues with this Z than I've had with my past 3 Acuras combined.

Jordo!

If it's OEM ,it's not maintenance free. Might need to add some distilled water, as detailed in the owner's manual.

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Enjoy it. Destroy it.

mults

Stosh,

It should be very easy for the dealer to check the alternator and the battery to see where the weak link is. If all are within factory specs, I would start looking at items that may be draining the battery when it is just sitting (my item #2).

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mults
40th Anniversary 'Z', 312.06HP/260.58TQ (Dynosty EcuTek Tune)
Build Date/Number: 1/27/2010 #706
Berk HFC + CBE, R2C CAI, Clear Bra, Cleveland Z Club

Stosh Rickles

awesome, thank you sir.

kenchan

check out this vid.

Car battery going flat how to check for a drain - YouTube

i use the multimeter way when i need to find drain. it's a painstaking process as i would need to pull a fuse one by one to find it. typically it's in the accessories though..something that was added aftermarket. GL.

Stosh Rickles

thanks kenchan... good video and a bonus cockney accent!