[Mg-t] Battery issue

[Jim S.]

I think that you have the answer.  I have heard on another forum about red-top
OPtima's failing early.  These happened on cars with alarms or radios that
draw current constantly.  I have 8 year old Optimas that are still in great
shape; but they have no load on them when the ignition is off.   Get a battery
tender to use while the car is off, if you can plug it in.
 
Also, I'm not certain; but your charging action sounds normal with a
generator.  I think that the difference you are seeing is exactly the
advantage of using an alternator (plus higher amps for the size)

Regards,
Jim
--- On Thu, 1/15/09, Stuart C. Keen, Jr. <simbafish at comcast.net> wrote:

From: Stuart C. Keen, Jr. <simbafish at comcast.net>
Subject: [Mg-t] Battery issue
To: "MG" <mg-t at autox.team.net>
Date: Thursday, January 15, 2009, 7:12 AM

I9m having an issue with batteries in my TD. Hopefully someone has an
answer. I am going though Optima batteries like they were the greatest thing
since sliced bread. Why are Optima batteries failing so frequently (every
2.5 years or less) when placed in my TD?  The Optima web site states the
battery should maintain a voltage of 12.6 to
12.8. It should NEVER be allowed to fall below 12.6 volts, otherwise it will
start to sulfate. If I don9t drive for a couple of days, the battery will
drop to 12.00 or lower! Is this normal?

With ignition OFF, drain on battery in the MG is 16 MA (0.016 Amps). This
is from a car alarm and standby voltage  for Radio and CD Player.  When
driving (without lights) the dash ammeter charging amperage looks approx
Plus 3 amps. With lights on, the dash ammeter reads basically ZERO.

I checked this morning  the status of the battery in my General Motor9s CTS
after non-use for 2.5 days. It reads 12.01 vdc. However, when I start the
CTS, the charging voltage jumps to 14.5 vdc @750 rpm. The MG only shows a
charging voltage of 11.9  at start up (idle) unless revved to 2000 rpm. Is
the MG suppose to show full charging voltage (14 - 15 vdc) when starting and
idling or is this normal for 3unsophisticated2 classic cars?