Question: Battery Life of 79 vette

[repinsnug]

Hi guys,

A few months ago I installed a new pioneer head unit as well as some new 4x5 in the dash of my 79. I turned the car on to accersory mode and ran the radio for about 9 minutes. Afterwards I tried to turn the car over and the battery was dead. I took the battery to get tested and they said nothing was wrong with it. My questions are, what is the normal run time for a vette radio while in accessory mode? And if my run time was not normal what could be the problem?

Thanks

 

[DeeVeeEight]

Test the alternator

If the battery is good then the alternator is suspect. Start your car and put a voltmeter across the terminals of you battery, you should see almost 14 volts indicating a healthy charging system. If you see under 13 volts the alternator is bad. A loose belt on the alternator will cause a similar problem too, it can allow the belt to slip and the alternator will not spin fast enough to do it's job.

 

[6880 Mike]

I'm wondering whether you've got an open power drain, possibly from your Pioneer unit.

 

[Rex S]

While you need to check for a draw, if the battery came from a chain store it may still be faulty. ORiles drove me nuts with a battery last week. Dead overnight in customer's car, took it in for replacement and the counter "expert" had to have it all day to charge and test. It took a full charge so there was nothing wrong with it except it was dead again the next morning after sitting all night in my pick up's bed.

 

[repinsnug]

Thanks guys ill look into it if we get a warm day here.