nicksfoursix

There is a lot of good info in this post about charging system maintenance. A vehicle charging system is designed to work in 100+ degree weather, but just like the human body, it is under a great amount of stress to operate at it's optimum. A small deficiency in the charging system will show up in these extreme conditions. Heat and electricity are enemies...in fact, more batteries fail in hot temperatures than cold.
Battery protection (maintenance) is the key and will result in a battery that performs well for a long period of time.
There are a multitude of batteries out there to choose from, but there are only five or six manufactures who make them. Delpi makes Walmart batteries as well as A/C Delco....Johnson Controls makes the ever-famous Sears DieHard as well as the Motorcraft Battery. All batteries, by principle are similiar in construction and choosing a battery for your vehicle is actually quiet simple. There are some "rules of thumb" that I apply. These are not absolute factors, but my choices as a result in my years in the automotive business.

1). Install the correct size and battery output as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer. Like using a higher octane fuel in an engine that doesn't require it, an oversize battery is just overkill. The battery does not start the car...it simply turns the engine during a start attempt. The engine requires proper operation in other systems, i.e. fuel manangement, secondary ignition, as well as others, for the engine to actually start. The battery capacity is a calculated part of the vehicle electrical requirements. Yes, it will crank it longer, but if an engine will not start, you could have a 650 CCA battery or a 950 CCA battery as it won't make a difference.

2). Keep the blanket.... 2 of the 3 cars I own (one being the Mustang) has a battery blanket or insulation barrier that wraps around the body of the battery. This blanket is NOT designed to keep the battery warm, but instead, keep it cool. Our Mustangs have a limited amount of underhood space. Heat rises to the top of the engine compartment and the rear of the engine compartment get the least amount of ventilation...you guessed it...right where our batteries are mounted.

3). Keep the battery clean. Keep the battery post and battery cable ends clean. be sure they are properly installed and tight. Electrical resistances at the battery/cable ends can create problems is all areas of the vehicle electrical and charging systems, from no start-to-engine stall-to-CEL light on conditions and more.

4). The battery is only one part in the vehicle charging system. As previous poster stated, check the basics and be sure things such as alternator health and belt condition and tightness are confirmed.

As I said before, these are the things that I observe regarding the charging systems in my vehicles. I use Delco batteries in my GM products and Motorcraft in my Mustang GT. I have averaged 4-5+ years out of my batteries.

Good Luck with your concern.

Bmr4life

I'm not sure about your wording there. The battery provides power to the starter, fuel pump, accessories, and everything else to get the engine started. Once running, the alternator takes over and also replaces the energy that the battery gave up during the start cycle.

wayne613

Not to keep going on a tangent, but the battery is the reservoir, in many instances the alternator would not keep the vehicle running. The alternator just needs to keep up with the averaged drain from it directly and any extra taken from the battery during periods where it can't keep up.

In that vein, depending on the amount of crap you tack on, how long your trips are, etc... overkill is often a good idea.

Nuke

The battery will also supply any additional output that the alternator can NOT keep up with, whether it's due to exceeding the alternators output (you guyz with those 1 megawatt amps with subwoofers know what I mean) or an ailing alternator that no longer meets it's original design output. The "ailing alternator" is one of those problems that is very hard to notice until the battery is depleted to the point that you begin to notice low voltage issues and those weird "gremlins" our S197's exhibit under those conditions. A simple battery replacement is a bandaid until the ailing alternator again prevents it from regaining a proper charge and folks just scratch their head and wonder WTF...

wayne613

I am curious as to what the OP has found out now, as I assume it's made it to the "zone" by now.

mystangisblack where art thou?

JIM5.0

If you think its bad up where you are at, just come one Oklahoma height distance south to Central Texas. It has been well above 100degrees F every single day since about mid April, and will stay this way at least until halfway through October.

Our cars, even the 4.6L 2valve engines, are designed to operate in excess of 120degrees F with no problems, even check engine lights. I say that it is not temperature related, just a part somewhere either giving out or faulty.

If you have a tune, make sure you are not running lean. Ask your tuner to rewrite the tune if this is the case. If it is not the tune, find out what part or mod you have that might cause a lean situation. And if not a lean, maybe the spark is advanced too far forward. Again, talk to our tuner to retard the spark some.

Also, take into consideration if you are upping your CR. higher CRs by natural physics causes more heat. And thus possibly detonation. An extremely dirty head can cause this; all the carbon buildup can significantly increase your CR.


These are just some of my guesses. There are other factors I am missing.

JIM5.0

Yes, this is true, especially if power drain exceeds your alternator's generating capacity. Especially in the case of providing enough power to the fuel pump to avoid a lean situation.

In either case, if you are going to go overkill on your electrical power producing needs, go with a higher rated alternator. Because even though the battery is a back-up power reservoir, when that is drained (deep discharged), not only does your lead-acid batt becomes toasted, but of course, you are now back in your situation where you are short power again.

nicksfoursix

Bmr4life,
Thank you for the clarification. My statement was hazy and open for misinterpretation. The vehicle charging/electrical system, to include the battery is responsible for supplying the required amount of electrical energy to a variety of vehicle components which are used to start and run the engine and operate all other electrical devices and systems on the vehicle.
Actually it is the starting motor, and not the battery, which turns the engine.
Sorry for the inaccuracies.

mystangisblack

So I took it to AutoZone. They can only do so much. They told me the alternator was barely getting enough power to the battery. But, last night, it cooled down to about 85 degrees, and I drove home from my girlfriends house which is about 6 miles. The Check Charging System didn't appear once.

Also, for everyone saying a battery, I bought a brand new one in March, Duralast I belive. But I got the 3 year warranty on it, should I attempt getting a new one?

wayne613

Assuming you've done the basics, and cleaned grounds, and contact points as suggested... My personal opinion is to take it to a reputable dealer to have both tested. I didn't think Autozone would be of much help from the posts I've seen. Replacing the battery unless you were running without a heat-shield and it was truly damaged, or you got an [unlikely] defective one from the start, is not going to solve anything.

It's not coming on now, but having it come on at all is not a good thing. No matter the weather conditions. Hotter than hades here in the NE up until today, can't say I've had any dash lights come on.

You can get an refurb/re-built alternator on ebay and the like for about $100, as that would still be the main suspect in my view, but you really want to know what the issue is for certain before you go throwing money into parts.