Seems like my battery won't hold a charge. I was gone for a whole week on vacation this past week and it seems like my battery drained out on me. It's probably because I improperly installed a toggle switch for my intercooler sprayer (n00b)...

Anyways, my questions are:

1) Is my battery still good after being drained like that? So far, it doesn't seem like it wants to hold a charge for that long. Even after jumping it and driving for a few miles.

2) How long does it take to fully recharge a drained battery?

3) What's a correct way to send power to a toggle switch then to a pump? I just connected it straight to the (+) battery with a fuse. I did that because I was lazy and couldn't find any other spot to connect it to.

[Edited on July 7, 2006 at 9:58 AM. Reason : never mess with anything electrical on your car ever again xam]

7/7/2006 9:42:14 AM

Updated info:

Also, when you start the car, all the dash lights flicker along with a rapid clicking noise, and the battery goes dead. I figured this was probably due to a bad connection somewhere. So I disconnected the sprayer and related electrical connections (i.e. pump, ground wires, etc...)

7/7/2006 11:03:13 AM

sounds like your battery has given up the ghost. not holding enough charge.

try another one.

7/7/2006 11:31:17 AM

If a battery is completely dead (starter won't crank, lights won't go on,etc.), you really need to let it charge overnight with a battery charger. Car batteries hold an unbelievable amount of juice, and naturally need a good time to fully charge.

Also, batteries are usually good for about 5 years. Anything after that is usually fair game. Is it older than that? I'm not saying that 5 years is the threshold. I've seen them crap out after 3 years, and also my grandpa's 98 town car is still on it's original battery. The point: If it's an old battery it could have just crapped out on you. They don't hold a charge when they do.

7/7/2006 12:21:20 PM

the older it is, the less likely it is to recover from a full discharge, it will build up too much lead sulfate in the bottom

7/7/2006 12:32:43 PM

2004 ... so it's fairly new still. I'll just jump it again and drive it around tonight for a good while... go cruising or something. If it still has problems starting tomorrow morning then I guess I'll have to go buy a new one.

7/7/2006 12:53:06 PM

you still havent said what make, model, engine is in the car, that would help with the wiring

7/7/2006 6:04:46 PM

Methinks it would be a good idea to charge the battery with a charger, especially if it's a GM of sorts with that goddamn CS series alternator.

Good way to kill your alternator too...jumping it and driving around and hoping to charge the battery like that.

7/7/2006 6:06:36 PM

Took battery to AutoZone this afternoon... the test showed: Bad Battery

It wasn't holding it's charge. Stupid OEM batteries... Anyways, I went ahead and bought one of the high-end AutoZone batteries. I hope it works out. For now, I disconnected my intercooler sprayer. I'll try hooking it up again this weekend.

Maybe I had a bad grounding point? I grounded the switch to the same point as the negative side of the battery. Ground is ground, right?

7/7/2006 6:29:37 PM

the real question is: how do you improperly install a toggle switch?

7/8/2006 2:37:35 PM

Quote :

"Good way to kill your alternator too...jumping it and driving around and hoping to charge the battery like that."

yeah be really careful. I fucked up my alternator that way.

7/9/2006 10:57:37 PM

Quote :

"the real question is: how do you improperly install a toggle switch?"

... maybe there is a better way than how I did it? Just atskin' ...

7/10/2006 12:58:14 AM

still havent said what kind of car it is

7/10/2006 10:00:40 AM

[Edited on July 10, 2006 at 3:12 PM. Reason : pic]

7/10/2006 3:11:38 PM

if the IC spray pump takes some POWR (fog lights, etc), then you should run it off of a relay instead of straight from the battery. I'd throw a 30amp fuse or something between the (+)battery and relay

just like this:

86: ground
85: +12V from a switch
87: to IC pump (+)
30: +12V from battery

So basically when you close the first circuit, the 2nd one lets the +12V flow

7/11/2006 1:33:45 PM

^ Sweet, thanks... i'll try that this weekend.

7/11/2006 1:51:10 PM

Do yourself a favor and don't get a radioshack relay. I've had them blow out on me severak tunes. Granted, I was running a 20+ amp air pump. I've got a Bosch universal one now with the 4 terminals and it hasn't given me problems so far.

7/11/2006 3:49:53 PM

Haha, thanks for the heads up. I was about to go to radio shack this afternoon...where's a good place to get one then? Where'd you get your bosch one? (either online or locally)

7/11/2006 3:56:49 PM

Either that or get you a Standard Motor Products RY115 or RY116. Available at Carquest.

7/11/2006 3:57:13 PM

walmart relays have never failed me

7/11/2006 9:31:06 PM