Another Battery Question
 

I have not driven my car much lately due to the new baby and everything that goes along with raising little ones.

I have a 3-4 year old full sized Innerstate battery in my '87 which is dead and will not take a trickle charge from either of my battery conditioners. I have the battery terminals towards the outside of the car which makes getting jumper cables attached nearly impossible. I am going to remove the battery soon and would like to put it back in with the terminals towards the boot. I do not believe the cables are long enough to do this.

What is the best way to rotate the battery?
Cable extensions, new cables, different battery?

I'm confused? If the battery now has the posts facing towards the 'outside' of the car...and the cables come from inside the trunk(boot), why wouldn't the cables reach with the battery reversed?
Wouldn't that put the posts even closer to the cables?

Without looking at my car, it seems to me that if you rotate the battery 180*, though the posts will be closer to the trunk, they'll be farther away from the cables. Here's a rough sketch of what I mean:


http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1183408034.jpg

It seems to me that you'd have to somehow lengthen the cables (preferably replace them with longer cables) to make this work.

I've installed a trickle charger that mounts right next to my battery. It has permanent connections to the battery, and if I'm not going to drive the car for awhile, I simply hook an extension cord to the charger and it keeps the battery topped-off.

Randy, I think you're creating too much work for yourself. Either (a) drive the car and keep the battery charged, or (b) get a little trickle charger like mine (it's a Schumacher) and keep the battery topped off.

One last thing. If you're going to replace the battery, I bought mine at Costco and it fit perfectly. Great price and a 100 month warranty!

Good luck. SmileWavy

Re: Another Battery Question
 

If the cable length is an issue, I'd try to find a work-around. Jump-starting a 911 isn't a good idea for fear the alternator will overwork itself (not designed to charge fully discharged battery). A better solution is to keep the battery in its current orientation and connect a full-time battery maintainer to the terminals. When parked for extended periods, merely plug the power cord into the wall and you should have a freshly charged battery next time you start it.

This solution works for many.

Sherwood

Re: Another Battery Question
 

Most intelligent battery chargers will not charge a completely dead battery.
Can you jump it to see if you can get a minimal charge into it.

I have an intelligent charger mounted in the car next to the battery, but I forgot to plug it in last time I used the car. As stated above, it will not charge the now dead battery. The large clamp cables on my 200 amp charger will not fit given the shape and location of the battery posts. I am going to have to remove the battery to charge it - which is more work than it needs to be. I would like to resolve this issue now in case it ever happens again. I guess I can use a different charger with smaller clamps to try to get some juice to my infrequently used mistress.

As delivered from the factory, were the battery posts installed under the fender making it difficult to attach jumper cable sized clamps?

If owners insist on jumping a dead battery and rely on the alternator to charge the battery, more power to you. Same with applying a 200 A battery charge with the battery still connected to the system.

If a trickle charger can't resuscitate a discharged battery, I suggest biting the bullet and remove the battery or pay someone to do it properly. Is there some difficulty in plugging in the battery maintainer after using the vehicle? If the battery discharges that quickly after shutdown, the system has other issues that should be addressed.

Even connecting a maintainer to the system should be a no-brainer even if the battery is hidden and inaccessible. All you need is a connection to ground (should be no problem, right?) and an access point into a circuit that's always "live" (i.e. connected to the battery). You should be able to find multiple fuse positions that fit that description.

Sherwood