GotBass

The original battery on my RX-8 has been slowly dying over the past year. 2004 60k miles. It had trouble starting over the winter (in Chicago). Over the past two months it has died when my car sat for more than a day (I typically drive it every day), when I left the trunk open for an hour, and when I turned the headlights on for less than a minute. Within the past week, my car has had a bit of trouble starting up. It cranked a bit longer than usual but has started, and then run fine. So I figure time to get a battery.

I went to get a new battery on Friday night. I purchased a Duralast 26R-DL (710 amps, 575 cold amps). I put the new battery in. Tried to start the car, and the car would not turn over. The car tried to start but would not. So I put the old battery back in. Car started, but it struggled like usual. Then I put the new battery back in, this time it didn’t even try to start.

Some observations, the new battery is about 1 inch shorter, thus I don’t think that I was getting a great connection. The battery cable comes up the side of the battery and then there is a 90 degree turn and it hooks up to the positive on the battery. Since the new battery was lower, the positive was sort of angled down and was still loose after tightening it all the way.

So last night I exchanged the battery I bought and got a new battery. I put it in and had the same issue. I jump started the car with the new battery and it got going, and was fine at idle. I shut the car off and couldn’t get it started on its own. My thought is that I’m getting a bad connection. So then I decided to go MacGyver on my car. I cut a piece of a 1” thick board (like one you would use to build a deck) to about the size of the battery and put it under the battery to lift it up. I hooked it back up, and it seemed that the cable was tighter on the cable. I started the car up and it got going on its own, but it took a while to turn over, and it almost died but I gave it some gas and it got going, however, when I let off the gas the car died.

I talked to a mechanic friend this morning and he said that if it is the correct batter, it sounds like a bad connection. There is a bit of white oxidation build up on the terminal, but I didn’t think it was too bad. So my next step is that I am going to get a terminal cleaning brush and some battery cleaner and see if that doesn’t solve it.

Let me know if you have any suggestions or if you have had similar problems with a battery. Or maybe it is an entirely different problem. I appreciate the help. And yes I did search.

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

The battery is not strong enough, refund it and get the 35-DLG

04RX8man

yeah a 26R is a tiny *** battery compared to what should b in there it should b a group 35 or 34 oh and duralast is prob half the problem...go buy a DieHard from Sears 34 platinum or 35 gold....and make sure your connectioins are tight.....if there is corrosion use baking soda and water to clean that up and everything shoud b good to go....

Nubo

You also need to make sure the replacement battery has a decent charge. Who knows how long it sat on the shelf before you bought it? A cheap trickle charger can be a good thing to have.

ken-x8

Any visible oxidation on a battery terminal is bad. I would agree with your mechanic friend that you've got a bad connection.

Clean the terminals (both battery and cable), then coat them with vaseline and connect the cables. If you get a Diehard (as o4RX8man suggests) the guys at Sears will install it and clean the terminals for you. They'll look everything else over as well.

Ken

GotBass

I went with this battery. I got it in the Duralast gold top. The car started up and has run fine since. Thanks

sargene

My third battery is still over oxidizing to the point where it won't recharge. I keep cleaning it . but it oxidizes again quickly. This has been a problem since day one, and the dealer has never offered a solution. Any suggestions?

sargene

My third battery is still over oxidizing to the point where it won't recharge. I keep cleaning it . but it oxidizes again quickly. This has been a problem since day one, and the dealer has never offered a solution. Any suggestions?

rx8cited

Can you post some pictures? Does you battery leak from being overfilled?

Have you tried using Battery Protector spray and felt rings?

04RX8man

yeah check to make sure it's not overfilled...and go buy some anti-corrosion spray keeps it from corroding as fast..

EDZRIDE

iTrader: (1)

Check the charging system too; make sure it's not overcharging!