Battery Cables/Straps, alternators, starters, it is Spring!

[MrSharky]

Okay - so it's spring, and Betty is out. She's got a new shifter platform, new gearbox seals, topped up with Redline, and she's running really well. Came out of storage with very little coaxing - only had to jump her once to get her out of the garage.

But then, after I took her around the block, and went to start her up the next day, had to get out the jumpers again. When I do jump her, she starts no problem - then she'll run, and start up again right after. Battery is brand new - it's a DieHard from Sears I got in October. It was out of the car all winter, but no, not on a trickle charger or whatever. My bad, I know - Sears will replace it if its dead, though.

I'm a little more suspect of the two things I did last fall before I put her away - I replaced the starter motor and the Alternator - used the 320 upgrades for these - the smaller (AL41X?) starter and the alternator has the internal voltage regulator. These things are all suspect - I did the work myself. However immediately after, things were good.

So - I'm thinking of replacing the cables that go directly off the battery - both positive & negative- thinking the big beefy ones. Then I'm going through and checking all the grounds, cleaning them, making sure I have good grounds and all that. Then I bust out the multimeter....

Any other thoughts are welcome...

Matt

[MrSharky]

I forgot my question...

Are there any recommendations on "good" battery straps?? makers,brands, etc? Is there an OEM BMW part specifically for this?

tanks,

Matt

[jmr_1602]

Does your charging light, light-up on your gauge?

I had a similar problem last summer, ended up the bulb was dead and thus my battery kept dying on me.

[Mike Self]

then driving it around the block won't be enough to charge the battery sufficiently for a start the next day. Before you go delving into your alternator and charging system, charge the battery overnight with a 10-15 amp charger, then try.

If it still needs a jump, then the battery is bad; take it to Sears and have 'em give it a load test. That will tell you if the battery is dead or merely needs a charge.

Going thru the same thing with the battery on my Nissan Frontier. Gonna put it on charge tomorrow then load test it before I go for a new battery.

cheers

mike

[M3M3]

+1

before randomly replacing stuff, test the systems. at a minumum:

-fully charge the battery

-check the bat voltage

-check the alt ouput voltage

-clean all the battery cable and ground strap connections

[jgerock]

I forgot my question...

Are there any recommendations on "good" battery straps?? makers,brands, etc? Is there an OEM BMW part specifically for this?

tanks,

Matt

I purchased a new ground strap from BavAuto. It looked like the correct part with one long strap and a second shorter strap. It didn't fit my car - it was way too short to fit between the negative terminal and the block mounting point near the starter.

[MrSharky]

Sorry if I wasn't clear... I'm not looking to go around replacing parts - the only parts that I'm really looking to replace at this point are battery straps - the connections at the posts are pretty beat, and definitely suspects on my list. Then a good cleaning of contacts & grounds. My main question was/is - where does one find a "good" set of battery straps. I've yet to check Pep Boys, but all Advance Auto has was a generic "12v battery strap" type thing.

So - this a.m. - I took out the dmm, and the battery was at 11.6v. Betty started right up, though, first crank. when I'm running her at idle and I get about 13.5v. After running for about 5 minutes, I shut her off, and got 12.5v on the battery. Is it possible to re-charge the battery with the alternator just by running the car? I don't have a car battery charger handy, and that's not where I want to invest my money right now.

Matt

[BLUNT]

yes you can recharge it by running if you put enough time on it. Ideally youd use a trickle charger but you should be fine if the car gets some use

I have these cables at 24 bucks

[FunElan]

Is it possible to re-charge the battery with the alternator just by running the car?

Matt

That's one of the functions of the alternator. Take Betty for a long much needed highway drive.

[M3M3]

Sorry if I wasn't clear... I'm not looking to go around replacing parts - the only parts that I'm really looking to replace at this point are battery straps - the connections at the posts are pretty beat, and definitely suspects on my list. Then a good cleaning of contacts & grounds. My main question was/is - where does one find a "good" set of battery straps. I've yet to check Pep Boys, but all Advance Auto has was a generic "12v battery strap" type thing.

So - this a.m. - I took out the dmm, and the battery was at 11.6v. Betty started right up, though, first crank. when I'm running her at idle and I get about 13.5v. After running for about 5 minutes, I shut her off, and got 12.5v on the battery. Is it possible to re-charge the battery with the alternator just by running the car? I don't have a car battery charger handy, and that's not where I want to invest my money right now

Matt

yep, you have a discharged battery problem. either borrow or buy a battery charger and charge it corectly. chargers are cheap.