Battery dead. Warranty ended less than a month ago…

[levifig]

2013 BRZ Limited MT owner here.

For many reasons, I haven't been driving the car daily in recent months and, as I needed to drive to the grocery store a week ago, after not touching the car for about 2 weeks, the battery was dead. And I mean DEAD: no signal whatsoever, Rev needle stuck on 9k.

Today I used my other car to jump it (2015 VW Jetta TDI) and drove around for about 5 minutes and stopped and turned off the engine. It couldn't start it back up. So I jumpstarted it again, drove home and parked. I have researched it a little bit and it seems I shouldn't have even driven it with that dead/dying battery anyway, as it strains the alternator too much. Well, I've learned that now and so now I'm in the market for a new battery. I hear the stock batteries aren't great but I do have the car stock so I don't *need* the extra power, though I'm sure I should buy a little bigger battery.

So, what is the recommended battery replacement for a stock BRZ Limited MT? And I should be able to replace it myself, right? I'm handy so I'm confident I can figure it out, but I would like to make sure this car doesn't have some special sauce that would require a special key (or enchantment) to make it work…

Thanks for the/any help…

[strat61caster]

5 minutes is not long enough to charge the battery, go for a longer drive before you drop the money on a new battery imo, 30+ minutes.

I killed my battery by leaving an interior light on over a few days, jumped it and drove it ~45 minutes and it hasn't missed a beat since, that was 2 years ago.

[dys586]

Same thing happened to me when I first got my car. I didn't drive it for about a week plus the dying out from being my first manual and car alarm proximity sensor probably didn't help either.

I also tried driving the car to recharge the battery, but it didn't help and I stopped after reading that it's not good for the alternator. I thought I would need a new battery since it was as bad as your battery, but it's like new and I've never had any issues after recharging it.

If you still want to try using your old battery, then you might want to try a battery charger like Schumacher or Battery Tender which are about $20-40 on Amazon. Cheaper ones charge slower and take longer. Don't get like a trickle charger though, get like at least 10 amp charger and charge for about a day.

[levifig]

Originally Posted by dys586

Same thing happened to me when I first got my car. I didn't drive it for about a week plus the dying out from being my first manual and car alarm proximity sensor probably didn't help either.

I also tried driving the car to recharge the battery, but it didn't help and I stopped after reading that it's not good for the alternator. I thought I would need a new battery since it was as bad as your battery, but it's like new and I've never had any issues after recharging it.

If you still want to try using your old battery, then you might want to try a battery charger like Schumacher or Battery Tender which are about $20-40 on Amazon. Cheaper ones charge slower and take longer. Don't get like a trickle charger though, get like at least 10 amp charger and charge for about a day.

That's what I heard too (about the alternator). Do those chargers really "recover" a "dead" battery? That sounds like something way cheaper than a new battery and it'll have recurring use for this and other vehicles anyway…

Any specific model recommendations?

[dys586]

I have the Schumacher SC-1200A, which was about $35. I thought it wouldn't work, but it worked for my "dead" battery.

I remember reading somewhere though that if you leave the battery "dead" too long, then it's less likely to revive, so might want to try as soon as possible.

I've also heard good things about Battery Tender, but they are more expensive and you'll probably need a higher end model to revive a "dead" battery.

[levifig]

Originally Posted by dys586

I have the Schumacher SC-1200A, which was about $35. I thought it wouldn't work, but it worked for my "dead" battery.

I remember reading somewhere though that if you leave the battery "dead" too long, then it's less likely to revive, so might want to try as soon as possible.

I've also heard good things about Battery Tender, but they are more expensive and you'll probably need a higher end model to revive a "dead" battery.

Cool! I was looking at the SC-1000A, which seems to be about the same except 10A max, but it should be fine. I'm gonna order it and give it a shot… The worse it could happen is I keep it and still have to invest in a new battery. I could always return it to Amazon though if it doesn't work…

I hope I don't have to start researching new batteries any time soon… :X

[dys586]

Yeah, only difference is the amp, recharging might take a little longer than the 12 amp, but either one will work. Good luck.

[levifig]

Originally Posted by dys586

Yeah, only difference is the amp, recharging might take a little longer than the 12 amp, but either one will work. Good luck.

Fingers crossed. Amazon will deliver it Tuesday. I'll report back as soon as I test it… Thanks for the tips and recommendations!

[ryoma]

I think you guys are worrying too much about a dead battery lol. if it's dead, jump it and drive for a good 30+ minutes. you want to go all around the rev range and not just stay like under 3k. that's what I have done on all my cars that have died on me and haven't yet encountered any problems with it.

and if you do buy a new battery, just go to autozone and buy one. all you do is tell them your car and they will get you a battery. it's extremely simple, though somewhat expensive at about $130 a pop.

[humfrz]

This may be useful information for your situation:

http://www.aa1car.com/library/battery_runs_down.htm

I feel that a car with a good battery, should be able sit for at least two weeks and still start the car.


humfrz

[levifig]

Originally Posted by ryoma

I think you guys are worrying too much about a dead battery lol. if it's dead, jump it and drive for a good 30+ minutes. you want to go all around the rev range and not just stay like under 3k.

and if you do buy a new battery, just go to autozone and buy one. all you do is tell them your car and they will get you a battery. it's extremely simple, though somewhat expensive at about $130 a pop.

I actually researched this a bit (around this forum) and it seems the general consensus is driving around with a dead battery can actually damage your alternator. Because a dead battery takes much longer to fully recharge than just 30 minutes (even if that much time might give you enough charge for another start later), the alternator will suffer more than it should for quite a bit of time…

Is this wrong? I mean… I "read it on the Internet" so it must be true, right?

[dys586]

Originally Posted by ryoma

I think you guys are worrying too much about a dead battery lol. if it's dead, jump it and drive for a good 30+ minutes. you want to go all around the rev range and not just stay like under 3k. that's what I have done on all my cars that have died on me and haven't yet encountered any problems with it.

and if you do buy a new battery, just go to autozone and buy one. all you do is tell them your car and they will get you a battery. it's extremely simple, though somewhat expensive at about $130 a pop.

Not really worrying. From my experience, jumping and driving it around won't do anything when the battery is in the condition we're talking about. The only thing that work for me that I tried before considering a new battery is recharging it with a charger.

Sent from my Nexus 5 using Tapatalk

[Dadhawk]

If the battery was totally drained, it probably isn't a good idea to recharge it via the alternator, just because it will take a while. I would spend the money for a battery charger (they just aren't that expensive) and recharge it that way. However, if your battery is over about three years old, I would just go ahead and replace it. It will cost a little more, but it takes 10 minutes to do, and you'll be done with it.


if you want to recharge the battery, do it overnight with a charger.

[Tcoat]

There are two different scenarios at play here when you start to talk damage to alternators.
An alternator is perfectly capable of charging a dead battery as long as the battery is still good. If you damaged an alternator by boosting and letting it charge then places like AAA would not boost due to all the lawsuits they would have. The alternator has a complete system that protects it from damage while charging. This is what it is designed to do.

Now if you have a faulty battery then yes you can cause serious issues by trying to recharge by driving. The charging system is designed with a properly working battery in mind so it can not protect the alternator if the battery will not take a charge at all or if there is a short.

Although the alternator will eventually charge the battery even at an idle it would take a long time. To charge it by running the car you need to keep the revs as high as possible so a half hour highway run should be more than enough.

All that aside it is a know fact that the stock batteries in some of these cars have had some issues. If your battery went flat after just a week or two of sitting then it will happen again. Bite the bullet and go get a new high quality battery and be done with it. I have had high quality batteries in project cars that have sat for two years and started on the first try.