Quick Battery Question

[Beethoven]

I foolishly left the lights on over night, and the battery was dead this morning. Got someone to jump-start the car and drove it to work (40 min). Everything seems fine.
Is this all I've got to do? Will the battery fully recharge, or do I need a new one? The winter is coming up, and I might need all the cranking power I can get.
Thanks for your help,
Cheers,

[Rot 911]

You are probably fine. Most batteries can be completely drained 4-5 times before you kill them. If your battery is less than 3 years old I wouldn't give it another thought.

[cassisrot]

I had a similar misfortune (the light over the glove box) but my wrench told me that my alternator would not fully recharge the battery and I should trickle charge it for 24 hours. I did this and the battery is doing fine.

[Beethoven]

I'm sure there's a way to test whether the battery is fully recharged...?

[Rot 911]

Yep called a battery tester. Looks like an antifreeze tester. Glass tube with some different colored balls and a bulb to suck the battery acid into it. An easier way to insure you don't have a dead cell is just put a voltmeter on the battery with the car and all accessories turned off. You should get a reading around 12.5 volts. If it is below 12 volts you definitely have a dead cell.

[cassisrot]

This is a high jack:
Kurt I heard on the radio this morning that two murderous cons escaped near Jefferson City this morning. Killed another inmate so the story went. Stay locked and loaded.

Thread return:
Beethoven, is that your P-cars name, any battery shop should be able to tell you if your battery is recharged. I once lived on Beethoven Str. that would have been GrosKrotzenburg, Nord Bayern. I thought it was pretty cool living on Beethovens street (so to speak).

[Rot 911]

Originally posted by cassisrot
This is a high jack:
Kurt I heard on the radio this morning that two murderous cons escaped near Jefferson City this morning. Killed another inmate so the story went. Stay locked and loaded.

Couple of things on that. First they are not sure they have even escaped. The penitentary is over 150 years old and has all kinds of old tunnels and passage ways. Second the penitentary is located in town and is only 2 blocks from my office! Course it would be a big mistake to come wandering in here as we like to go to the shooting range over lunch sometimes and we are generally locked and loaded!

[Beethoven]

Thanks, guys, the car is going in for winter preparations anyway next Wednesday, Fischer Motors will take care of it!
I'm German, so I wanted to have a German name that would not be to obnoxious. And I'm a fanatic of Beethoven's music. When I bought the Porsche I was harassing the PO because he didn't have all the speakers on his cd-player hooked up. He just smiled and said he didn't think I would be listening to much Beethoven driven this car. How right he was! Now I get disoriented if I don't hear the full wail of the engine.
Niederbayern sounds grim, though.
Cheers,

[scottb]

Unless you're going to be driving for hours and hours, your alternator is not sufficient to fully recharge the battery. Go to your local auto supply store and buy a charger. They're not expensive, and you'll be able to fully recharge the battery overnight. With winter coming in Chicago, the last thing you want it battery problems.

[DaveSwiss911]

Off thread topic a bit, what are the winter preperations that will be done to this car? I am thinking of driving my 1984 911 Carrera 3.2 just north of you in Canada (Toronto, Ontario).

Winter tires are obvious but is there anything else?

Thanks,

Dave

[Beethoven]

I guess the main thing will be an oil change to 10W-40. An overall inspection of fluids and greases. A serious waxing and buffing. That's all I can think of.
Cheers,