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    Amp is killing my battery

    as the subject says.

    had to disconect it so as to not completely kill the battery.
    Now it starts better with it disconnected.

    Time for a new battery?
    If so, what kind is reccomended?
    The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

    #2
    perhaps a bad ground or its a class A amp..... or like you said it could be abad battery in the first place.....get an optima red top... best thing you'll do for your system.

    Comment


      #3
      if its the stock battery from mazda, then its just a horrible battery. getting a deepcycle is the best thing to do. you can pick up a optima redtop from autzone for 120 bucks. my factory p5 battery will die if i leave the lights on for 15 min now, and i don't even have a system in my car. also, upgrade your wiring on you alt and battery and such.
      '02 classic red p5
      currently enrolled in AA.

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        #4
        leave the amp disconnected, and take your car to auto zone and have them load test your battery. that is the only real way to know that it is the battery's fault otherwise your amp might be ****ing up. my old autotek did that. the power supply wouldn't shut off, so it constantly sucked down power even if the remote turn on was disconnected it still sucked down juice i hope that isn't your problem, but it's a possiblity. but start by going to auto zone, or any other place that can check the battery for free if you are on a budget, you can get a good cheap battery at walmart for like $40. they have a nice marine one that works well for about $50, also. the main difference is that it has both standard automotive posts, and screw down studs. if needed, i can get you the model #, as i highly recomend it, if you can't afford a spiral cell

        Comment


          #5
          Blue has good advice to check the battery, and then see if there is a drain somehow related to the amp. I would be surprised though, most amps have some huge fusing in them but the truth is they never continiously run at extreme outputs. Most of the time amps are pushed no more than 30-60% of the total potential output, because musical transients (spikes) will end up hitting the 90% zone, 100% = clipping, not a good thing at all.
          I am a heretic on this subject, but on the other hand, I have in my shop six different batteries right now.
          No, I don't use them all, a couple were "evaluation" products that I still have, use, and charge as needed.
          The stock battery is fine as far as stock goes, it is no better or worse than most you find in cars like this. The battery is a pool of excess/spare voltage/amps to be drawn on as needed in a car. The alternator of the Protege is not huge, output of about 80 amps as I recall off the top of my pointy head. While that sounds like a lot, it isn't. Between the heat/air fan, headlights, rear window defroster and wipers on a cold winter night you will be eating the battery.
          The idea is to let the battery recharge as driving around on a normal basis- let it recoup and it will be good to you. If you have constant heavy drains, then you battery will get weakened by the drain and cycles. Batteries have cycle ratings, and conventional water cells don't do too well on complete drains and recharges.
          But read that closely, full drains?? That is what deep cycle batteries are good for, not daily use. Deep cycle batteries are designed to take many total discharges and recharges. By the way just using the good old alternator to charge a deep cycle is not the best idea either- they perfrom best and last longer if they they are charged by an IC controlled charger. The take a heavy initial load, a controlled taper off, and a long trickle end to correctly charge. Not doing so can dystroy a deep cycle battery in a short time, I know I did it once in my RX-7. I have a bench in the shop that is nothing but that pile of batteries, and some expensive chargers to use on them. I can keep a battery alive a long time with proper maintenance, but most folks won't take the time to do so. The charges cost about three times as much as the battery in average by the way-
          If you are running a show/competition car that will sit with the engine off playing the radio, then by all means go deep cycle. Otherwise, get the biggest honkin non deep cycle you can find and fit. The rating to watch is the CCA, cold crank amps, which shows how much total capacity the battery has (actually at zero degrees so the electrolite is slowed way down). That rating will help you understand the capcity of a new battery better than any other manufacturer B.S.
          I like the Red Tops just fine, they make a great starting battery and are rated above a stock battery by far. I also like excide and interstate batteries. The Spiral cells are cool and easier to take care of, but you pay extra dollars for the coolness. I run one now in my RX-7 and it is a good battery. Rockford and Tsunami, and Stinger all will sell you a battery and all are rebadged major manufacturers products. Very few companies actually manufacture batteiries in the United States.
          Unless you are made of bucks, get a higher amp battery that fits the space- it will do you far better in the long run.
          David A. Cameron
          "People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men
          stand ready to do violence on their behalf."

          Ex Protege Owner- and I still love em!
          2004 Cooperworks Mini
          2003 Acura TSX

          And I swear not another car until my daughter gets a drivers license!!

          De Oppresso Liber
          Sine Pari

          Comment


            #6
            ok. Well money is kind of an issue right now (saving for the swap)
            guess I will have to go to wal-mart here sometime and pick up a new battery. I need to get lithum grease to grease the terminals as well, correct?
            The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

            Comment


              #7
              did you test your battery yet? if you haven't, don't get a battery till you do no sense in wasting money

              Comment


                #8
                not yet, but I am going to today.

                What was the battery part number (if you have it on hand) blue?
                just incase

                thanks for all the help.
                The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

                Comment


                  #9
                  right now i'm using an Everstart starting marine battery. the model # is 24MS-6, and it's $42.93 at walmart, plus like a $3 core charge. it's got 500 CCA's, and 650 cranking amps at 32 degrees. i'm using it till i decide between the stinger power2 db, or a group 31 from optima

                  Comment


                    #10
                    cool thanks
                    The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Ok, well I was sitting in traffic and rolled up to a light and went over some bumps. Then the car dies. I was pissed. I pushed it to the side and then started looking under the hood.

                      Noticed quite a bit of battery acid I hadnt seen before.
                      So I wiggle the battery cable and it turned over no problem

                      Turn out needed replacement terminal clamps. Got the Tsunami gold plated ones with spare holes for extra wires of other things I want to power

                      Still sluggish on the start, but I figure a good week of the long drives I make will help recharge the battery.
                      The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        glad you figured out what the problem was

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Originally posted by blue LEDz
                          glad you figured out what the problem was
                          Well, still gave me crap so I decided to go have the battery load tested. Turned out it was bad. So got a battery from the local auto parts store.

                          About to go hook it up.

                          Should make problems dissapear......

                          Should.
                          The T3 BP MX-3 conversion has begun, and is taking forever & will kill me.

                          Comment

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