i bet its the alternator

 

Went to Autozone and they did a load test of the battery and alternator, turns out the battery was bad. Purchased a new one and it starts like a champ. Will be returning my 3 month old battery to NTB next weekend. Glad it wasn't the alternator. I appreciate all the feedback.

 

I'd still be a little suspicious. Unless the battery was defective to begin with, your problem should be resolved. But there's still the possibility that the alternator is causing the battery issue. I'll assume that the load test on tha alternator was fine since you stated they tested that, too. But I'd keep a watchful eye on the battery over the next few months. You may want to check the terminal voltage every few days after the car has sat overnite and before starting it just for a little peace-of-mind.

 

yeah, I'll definitely keep an eye on it, thanks.

 

I probably should have added that you should see typical no-load voltage of about 12.6 volts or higher and it shouldn't trend down much if any over those first few months. There will be some variance (temperature, amount of previous charge, etc) but you should be able to get an idea of what's normal and what's not over time.

 

I Bing-searched on "Shaker 500 battery draw" and got directed back to an old thread here on MF. Apparently there is some correlation between leaving CDs in the changer and battery draw. Leave CDs in, draw more current. Quite a bit more, if you go into the entire thread.

https://mustangforums.com/forum/4329128-post81.html

I have the 500, never leave any CDs in it except during rest/food stops on a long trip, almost never shut it off, and have never had a starting problem even after three weeks not starting the car.



(Nuke - does MS ('10) = Grand Gulf?)


Norm

 

Great find, Norm (and btw, PM sent).

I keep CD's in my Shaker 500 and the car often sits for 1-3 weeks at a time. So far so good. Maybe I have one of the batteries from a better lot.

 

I'd be at greater risk of getting lazy and leaving CD's in the box if I still had that 55 mile commute (ref. PM). But for my now 5 mile commute (up from 4) it just isn't worth the trouble, and there's a segment on one of the broadcast FM stations that comes on during that little slice of morning travel time that I kind of look forward to anyway.


Norm

 

Glad I have a base GT. My stereo is terrible, but it's better than those MASSIVE speaker grills in the door and a third of the trunk occupied by what looks like an outdoor deck speaker disguised as a rock.

 

That's only the 1000. No big boxes in my car's trunk with the 500. Door speaker size is a judgement call.


Norm