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so im almost 100% sure that my battery is on its way out... i went to the store to buy a drink after cleanin the interior... and as soon as i went to turn the car back on it died. now im pretty sure it isnt the alternator because i tested that by putting a meter on it and revving the engine to see if it was charging the battery, and succeeded. charging at 13-14V. so thats out of the question. then i went for about a half hour drive to try and charge the battery, got home and let the car idle for a minute. The charge battery light started flickering then i turned the car off and, obviously it wouldnt start so...Im PRETTY sure its the battery... im just checking with you guys to make sure, because you all are more mechanically inclined than i am. lol thanks in advance.

Oh. i forgot to mention that i also got a new deck installed, the alpine iva-w505 double din. and it was turning on and off whenever my fan turned on. so im pretty sure thats drawing too much.

if you can jump start the car with another battery yours is dead. 30min should be enough to charge a battery.

ok thats next on my to do list then. haha gotta wait till payday on tuesday haha.
hey do u think its worth it for a red or yellow top?

battery? i have no idea. i got one from a junker a year ago and its still going strong... unless your in extremely cold weather id go with whatever is cheapest/has the best warranty.

It all depends on your system. The red tops are designed for high compression engines to yeild the most power when your starting the car to make the starters life easier. The yellow is a deep cycle design, meaning the battery can be discharged multiple times without harming it, so if you plan on neons or leaving your audio system on for long periods those are the way to go. Thats why other batteries die so fast when you use them with audio systems and such because they cant recharge fully after undergoing loads for extended periods, yes even red tops too.

So basically if you plan on lights and goodies and parking for hours with the trunk up and system on get a yellow top, its worth it Ive run one for a few years now. Otherwise the K engines dont require enough to make a red top neccesairy so Ild just use a normal battery with decent CCAs.

Sleeper6 wrote:It all depends on your system. The red tops are designed for high compression engines to yeild the most power when your starting the car to make the starters life easier. The yellow is a deep cycle design, meaning the battery can be discharged multiple times without harming it, so if you plan on neons or leaving your audio system on for long periods those are the way to go. Thats why other batteries die so fast when you use them with audio systems and such because they cant recharge fully after undergoing loads for extended periods, yes even red tops too.

So basically if you plan on lights and goodies and parking for hours with the trunk up and system on get a yellow top, its worth it Ive run one for a few years now. Otherwise the K engines dont require enough to make a red top neccesairy so Ild just use a normal battery with decent CCAs.

Thanks man! thats actually the question i was going to ask next, what the difference was between the two haha. good info thanks again

No no no wait check your main fuse I bet you anything its blown or melted! Same problem here! Melted the box a bit I think I have a short somewhere when I press the brakes the lights dim then this happened now its happening all over again. btw my battery is good

Your voltage should be 12.2V while the car is off and 14.4V when its running, maybe the internal voltage regulator is faulty...happened to me once but mine was overcharging to 17+V, I ended up replacing the alternator.

Pritchett wrote:maybe the internal voltage regulator is faulty...happened to me once but mine was overcharging to 17+V

had acustomer come in once that went through 3 batteries before he brought in his car. and its funny how important a properly charged battery is these days. some of the newer mercedes is the battery doesnt have a proper charge while its running it cause a random mis fire.

Pritchett wrote:maybe the internal voltage regulator is faulty...happened to me once but mine was overcharging to 17+V

had acustomer come in once that went through 3 batteries before he brought in his car. and its funny how important a properly charged battery is these days. some of the newer mercedes is the battery doesnt have a proper charge while its running it cause a random mis fire.

Be warned yellow and red top batts are great unless stored. It you don't drive your car during the winter, don't get an optima. You can keep them alive if you transfer them to your winter beater... or maybe a moroso hibernator would fix the problem.