four batteries in like 10 months! how insane is that? i took it to the dealership (under warrenty) and they claim that everything is fine. please help me out. what is a good battery for the ralliart (please be specific)? also, is there a way to have the AC circulating on when i start my car? im sick of having to push the button everytime i start the car. please help.

 

they haven't figure out what is wrong and they keep changing batteries?

you have to tell us more to help you.. like do you have any mods, any stereo equipment, etc

any weird behavior, like the car stalls, etc..?

-joe

 

Not sure what state you reside in (if you are in the US).....but at this point I think the Lemon Law applies:
http://www.lemonlawamerica.com/
http://autopedia.com/html/HotLinks_Lemon.html

Hope you get it fixed or a new whip!

 

You probably either have a slow drain when the car is off, or an alternator that's not putting out enough to recharge the battery. If they've load-tested the alternator, and it's fine, start looking for your slow drain.

Easiest way to do that is hook up a VOM set to, say, 200mA, between the positive terminal of the battery and the cable that attaches to it. It should register some kind of drain. Start pulling fuses (start with any that are mounted up near the battery) until it reads 0 or very close to it (the radio will draw a small amount of power to store your presets), and start looking at that circuit. Somewhere on it, it's shorting to ground.

 

^^^ 50 milliamps is acceptable draw.

Did the mechanic explained what went wrong?

You don't want to deal with this if your warranty runs out.

 

^ Well, then maybe he should start with the VOM set to 10 amps, and work his way down if he gets no reading at that setting. A draw of even an amp, though, would kill a battery over time. We need more information.

Is the car slow to start in the morning?
Any aftermarket electronics? Amps? Extra lights? Alarm?
Has the alternator been load-tested?
Any other work been done to the car?

 

Damn that sucks, i haven't changed mine once. Optima's are great battery's to go with, imho

 

^ Optimas are great but if you have a problem like he has, any kind of battery is worthless until his problem is fixed.

 

Been in an accident? sometimes a wire gets pinched and you never know it.

 

$10 says its most likely the alternator.. its about to die out. in my guess. same happened to my friend's 240.

 

no accidents although a homeless guy rode his bicycle into the right front fender and left a good dent. no aftermarket parts except a viper alarm system.

 

could be the alarm system..

-joe

 

^ good possibility. maybe some wires are touching or connected wrong. check into it.

 

maybe but when i told the guy at the dealership that i put an alarm system in, he said he would check it out. two days later, dead battery. he pretty much didnt tell me anything. just said the car was ready to go, gave me the keys, and left me at the cash register. jerk.

 

Take it to another dealership, yours isn't being any help at all.