[TR] starter or battery

[Dave1massey at cs.com]

In a message dated 6/9/2008 2:32:16 PM Central Daylight Time, 
soknacki at soknacki.com writes: 
> But in the five years I've owned my TR6, three batteries have failed. Is
> this normal?
> 
> Every winter the battery is disconnected from the car, and stored at room
> temperature (70 deg F / 22 deg C). There's no problem starting in the
> spring. Between battery two and three I had the alternator checked out. The
> alternator is charging fine now.
> 
> Admittedly, the first battery came with the car, so I don't know its
> previous history. The second battery was from Canadian Tire, an automotive
> private label retailer. I got exactly what I paid for: two months out of
> warranty it boiled over and ruined the paint in my engine bay. The third
> battery is an Interstate, after recommendation from an advisor on their
> website and local mechanic. This battery is now about a year old and is the
> one that needs replacing. Yes, it's under warranty.
> 
> So is there something I ought to be doing differently, is this rate of
> battery replacement just bad luck, or is it typical?
> 
> 
The fact that your second battery boiled over suggests that your alternator 
was overcharging.  You said you had that fixed but I wonder.  Your charging 
system may need a closer look.  Your alternator may check out but is your wiring 
OK?  A friend of mine went through half a dozen alternators before he found a 
bad connection that was causing all the problems.  Go back to Canadian Tire 
and buy a $10 DVM and get some voltage readings.  If your voltage is over 15V or 
if it is under 13V you still have a problem.

Dave Massey