So, my Optima finally gave up.
Left me stranded at the mall on saturday.
Three attempts to jump start it didn't work and I had to have it towed home.
Of course, these things never happen on clear sunny days at the park. Nope, happened in
the middle of a severe thunderstorm with my 3 year old daughter upset because we were
stuck and couldnt go anywhere.
Now I had a spare deep-cycle marine battery at home. I charged it up overnite put it in the
CRD the next morning and everything started up just fine.
I tested the alternator. Got 14.15 volts at idle with lights, high-beams, radio, and A/C on.
Seems good to me.
Well, this morning, the CRD would not turn over. Hooked up my battery charger and charged
@ 6amps for about 10 minutes. Started up and drove to work.
Now, this extra battery I had is lead-acid, about 5 years old, but barely used. At only 600 CCA
its probably barely enough to get it started in the morning. It tested good at the parts store
sunday afternoon and I've been plugging it into a on-board charger/maintainer every night.
I'm not sure why it was dead this morning. Maybe it developed a bad cell or maybe my on-board
charger just isn't working. Or maybe I have some sort of parasitic drain (although my tests
seem to prove otherwise).
Right now I dont have the cash for a new Optima and I'm going to be driving to TN this
weekend and will be there for two weeks.
So what do you guys think is the best solution?
If I go out and get a new battery, what do you guys recommend?
Thanks
Dave
