Battery, cap problems (optima)
 

Hello,

I am going to try to explain this as best as i can.. last week I tried starting my car for work and it would not start over, i jumped it and it started fine and went on my way to work. When I got at work I decided to see if it would start and it would not so during my lunch I took it to sears nearby to get a diagnostics done on my battery and alternator.. After about an hour of trying to figure things out due to the battery dying before they could finish the test they came to the conclusion that the battery was fried .. meaning it could not even hold a charge. So I got a new battery and all seems well. My question is what would cause my new optima battery (these then a year old) to all of a sudden one day die? I have an audio setup,2 amps, two subs, capacitor etc. I did nothing out of the usual the day before and I did not leave anything on in the car overnight. I never had a problem before. Also is it normal for a capacitor to be on when the car is off.. meaning showing numbers? Anything that is on in the car runs off the battery when the car is turned off.. so would a cap drain a battery? I guess what I am looking for is to what caused this problem? Thanks, Nick

I've had similar problems with Optima's lately. They aren't that great anymore. I don't know if it's the new ownership, but they suck.

your capasitor should not be on when your car is off. there should be a remote wire running to the capasitor from your headunit which turns it on when the headunit turns on.

A cap only needs a remote wire for te pretty LED's and volt gauges, not to work. An Optima battery is a cap, storing electricity.

Even still, some are auto-sensing...

So is Optima good still or no? Im thinking of getting one since I have a system now and dont wanna be left outside without my car starting up lol

IF the battery you have now starts your car, you don't need an Optima. That's a battery's job, starting. After the engine is running it's the alternator that does the work. If your worried about running out of juice, get a bigger alternator.

or get a cap...

yeh i have a cap but its not installed yet

A cap has nothing to do with starting your car. They are the most over used BS in car audio. Instead of buying a $100 cap, spend the money on a better amp in the first place. IF an amp needs capacitance, it should be engineered into the power supply. IT's only when you buy a POS, rated when lightning strikes, rediclulous spec'd amp that there isn't enough capacitance. And then the amp is lacking in so many other areas that the cap makes no difference.