MX-5 Miata Forum - Dead or bad battery?? (2024)

So this morning my car starts fne. At lunch it started a bit sluggish but only the first out of the 3 times I started it wile running errands. I forgot all about it. After work was when the fun began.

It unlocked fine with the remote, got in, put my key in the ignition and wha, whaa, waaaa like my battery was dead. Then the alarm went off. All lights on the dash were on. Dome light was on (had door open at that point). Being perplexed I tried again...click, click, click from the engine compartment, alarm goes off, all needles jump way high, right turn signal dimly lit. Get alarm turned off again. Scratch head. Turn on headlights - bright, try starting - they dimmed, alarm goes off and all kinds of disco lights coming on and off on the dash with needles jumping to their own tune. Turn it off, lock it to a lame quiet "beep" from the horn and flag down my friend to take me home.

Stats: Nothing left on, trunk closed tightly, no aftermarket accessories, all factory. New Duralast Gold #51R-DLG battery installed in February. Not one issue with the car in 30K miles and 6 years. Not even a warning light.

The only thing I can possibly think of is a bad battery (howevr tha happens), or I do remember having truoble with I think the positive terminal being tight enough.

What do you think? I'll look at it tomorrow morning but remember I'll be dressed for work (shirt/tie) and won't be able to spend a ton of time on it without my boss noticing! If nothing then it's a tow to the dealer 1 mile away to test everything and bleed me of my hard earned money.

Thanks!

^.......if that doesn't work, if that battery is the kind you can check the electrolyte level, take a peek.

(don't let yout necktie touch the battery and don't wipe your hands on your new suit .....:eek:)

Add distilled water if necessary and charge it up.

You might consider having it "load tested"; even relatively new batteries can just go bad .... :(

humfrz

Cool! Thanks everyone. So most likely it's a loose cable that corrision built up on or a bad battery from Auto Zone - evidently happens. One last question, if it was the alternator wouldn't the car have run like crud or died, or at least the little battery light would show up on the dash board to show the alternator wasn't charging? I thought that's what that light was suppose to minitor now days (instead of a generator)?? Ahh...the darn electronics today. Makes it so complicated.

Oh well...I will post with results. Of course it's Monday. So this should be a fun week! This problem is just keeping life real I guess.

I'm not sure whether or not our NCs have a "light" for the alternator not charging ...... but you think it would throw us a code if it wasn't working .... :dunno:

If the battery isn't being recharged, the car won't run long .... :(

humfrz

The full range of warning lights and such is listed in the Owner's Manual, with diagrams even. A PDF version is available from the Mazda site that you can keep right there on your computer.

The CEL codes are in the WSM.

I'm just pondering on why I should bother getting out my WSM if others won't read their OM.

I'll finish this coffee first.

On the OP's problem it's more than likely not the battery. Either something was left on and depleted it, or one of the other problems already mentioned. We had a case recently similar to this, and one of the battery connections hadn't been tightened properly when a installing a new one.

:)

He put in a new battery in Feb ..... ;)

humfrz

.......:O

humfrz

Heeeyyy, no readeey the OM, no readeey the OP. ;)

Maybe another coffee?

1,000 ft.sq. and it's freezing out there. :thumbs:

My bad:dunno:

Ya gotta stop with the deck, mr wooo ....... :rolleyes:

1,000 sq ft is enough deck ...... :D

It's starten to remind me of the:

"The Winchester Mystery House is a well-known mansion in Northern California. It once was the personal residence of Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. It was continuously under construction for 38 years and is reported to be haunted. It now serves as a tourist attraction. Under Winchester's day-to-day guidance, its "from-the-ground-up" construction proceeded around the clock, without interruption, from 1884 until her death on September 5, 1922, at which time work immediately ceased."

humfrz

Yup, when you pay $32.49 for a battery you get a $32.49 battery.

Can't stop now. There's a big hole in front of the door that the little dog won't jump over. :(

Heck, I don't know, ask mr wooo, he's on point .... http://www.runemasterstudios.com/gra...ages/dance.gif

I have an excuse .... I just got out of surgery (again) .... that hospital has some really powerful meds .... :jump:

humfrz

PS - Redster, are your sure you're out of pictures? .... :(

Well, after working with Dumb and Dumber at AutoZone the battery would not take a charge. It stayed at 9.5V for two hours while charging. Bad battery! Free replacement.

On other things, I did a stellar job in tigheting those cables the first time around as they were still very tight! Also, the Duralast isn't quite a cheap battery at $135 but maybe the quality downgraded? Anyhow, 3 year free replacement so I'm not worried.

I'll take it to my regular AutoZone this weekend to have the alternator checked as Dumb and Dumber said they couldn't do it. In fact, they couldn't do anything other than be stupid. There I was in full suit installing a battery in the parking lot.

As far as the WSM: Yes - the Alternator light will come on if hte alternator isn't charging or if the battery is low (how low??). Code(s) P2052 General Charging Fault, P2503 Low Charge, P2504 High charge will throw if it detects a problem as well.

Thanks everyone!

Glad you got sorted out, gotta love warranties in America, around here, we get 6 months max :realmad: All other warranties are a fraction of what you get in the States, gotta love monopoly!

Too complicated. Push the car into the hole.

It would be a very recent downgrade. That is one of the top-rated batteries around. My guess is you got a rare dud.

My 2007 Owner's Manual shows the Charging System Warning Light (looks like a battery) on page 5-39 and describes it on page 5-42. Interesting that according to your statement the ECU will store a code if it lights ... not just storing codes for a Check Engine Light.