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The mkiv Supra Owners Club

Battery????


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Hi all,

After your thoughts..

As the supe is now a weekend car rather than my daily drive its obviously not getting the amount of miles it used before I got a second car around a year back, the problem seems to be the battery losing charge. i've had it checked and it was given the ok, but it will be ok for a couple of weekends use then dead again, i'll either "trickle" feed the bat' from the mains or jump start the supe and the same will happen (ok for a couple of weeks then dead)..

 

As said I am assuming its the battery on the way out! it was on the car when I got it 6 years back (and how long it was on there before that I don't know as the car is 18yrs old now..)

If not the battery what other things should I look for? the car has a alarm but that shouldn't drain it in a week should it?

 

Any suggestions for things to look into would be great..

Also any recommendations for batteries and where to get them from..

 

Ta..

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Mine does exactly the same but it's only a 370 amp narrow one and the hold-down strap is only wide enough to fit another of the same size. Even the terminals are too small to fit on a normal sized battery. Halford's Calcium Technology are good and you get a 4 year guarantee but if the car isn't used much, it will still drain after a few weeks. An alarm can drain the battery quite quickly, especially if you have microwave proximity sensors.

 

If the battery keeps going dead even when driving regularly or more than a couple of miles twice a day, the alternator is probably on it's way out or dead. Lead acid batteries need to be kept charged above a certain voltage or it shortens their lifespan. The worst ones are the sealed gel types that you get in big torches and electric scooters, as they die completely if you let them go flat and leave them for too long. Same for standard ones but not quite as unforgiving.

 

Also, when you plug the battery into your charger, if it won't take a charge for very long and never heats up before it switches off, the battery is on it's way out for sure, like mine is. It says fully charged after only a half hour or less whereas my Optima Redtop will be on for hours and get quite warm before it shuts off. You should atleast hear it fizzing after a while as it produces hydrogen during charging.

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Switch the boot light off - if the tailgate doesn't shut properly it stays on.

 

That's a very good point. Obviously it doesn't help having the headlights on during the winter anyway, as for short journeys or weekend only use, the battery never gets recharged. Ditto for stereos and electric seats. I sit in mine at lunchtime and lower the seat back and forward which doesn't help.

 

Mine has lasted well this week though, after letting it trickle charge for a few hours after it refused to take the full ampage. They say you should trickle charge every few normal cycles anyway and you will always get a much fuller capacity as there's no thermal cutout or much heat produced. Heat causes greater resistance (since voltage is electrical pressure, afterall) and you don't get anywhere near the full capacity with an automatic thermal cutout.

Edited by Morpheus (see edit history)
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I had this problem with my original J Spec battery which is smaller.

 

If you want to change to full size UK spec battery you need to cut the bracket off the battery strap so that it fits, I also had to pack between the strap and the battery as it was slightly shorter - use a thin piece of wood or something

 

You may also need to change the terminals on the ends of the cables as the UK battery has standard euro terminals, not the smaller japanese ones. Easily done with clamp on type replacement battery terminals.

 

I got a 5 year Bosch battery for the same price as Halfords own make over the internet.

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I had this problem with my original J Spec battery which is smaller.

 

If you want to change to full size UK spec battery you need to cut the bracket off the battery strap so that it fits, I also had to pack between the strap and the battery as it was slightly shorter - use a thin piece of wood or something

 

You may also need to change the terminals on the ends of the cables as the UK battery has standard euro terminals, not the smaller japanese ones. Easily done with clamp on type replacement battery terminals.

 

I got a 5 year Bosch battery for the same price as Halfords own make over the internet.

 

Yeah, I was thinking of getting a stainless strap off eBay http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220513195368&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT and using my Redtop but it should be ok now that the clocks have gone forward.

Edited by Morpheus (see edit history)
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