Dead battery

[applefan]

I disconnected the battery on my 318ic for about two weeks, while I was doing some work on the cooling system

When I connected the battery last Saturday, there wasn't enough charge in the battery to start the engine. I did a jump start and drove for about 100+ miles. Battery didn't get charged. Had to jump start again.

I took it to walmart to charge the battery, but they said the battery is dead. Didn't believ that. I tried to charge it myself with my friend's battery no luck either.

it was working absolutely fine two weeks ago. is there anything that I can do to bring this battery to life?

Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated

[aceyx]

When did you buy it? Many have warranties up to 7 years (you'll pay pro-rata, but it's still a discount).

[J!m]

It sounds to me like you have a dead battery!

I personally use the Optima batteries. people swear at the price, but that is the only battery I have owned that still started a car after 11 years of use.

I use them in all my cars now!

TIP: Get the ORANGE top model, if you can. It is the same as a red, but the posts are reversed to fit tthe ti battery tray and cables better.

if you have to get a red, buy a new (slightly longer) ground cable and you will be fine. My red top is just about six years old now, and still works perfectly in the BMW!

[applefan]

aceyx, I got it with the car when I bought it from the previous owner. So no idea how old it is... Thanks for the information on warranty

Jim, Thanks for advice on Optima battery. A friend of mine is kind enought to give away a used(only 2 year old) Optima red top, that he pulled out from his truck.

got to find out if it fits in the battery tray of my 318ic.

[J!m]

I have a red top in my tray, so as long as you get a longer ground cable, you should be all set...

[Criswell]

Just a heads up , I work in an auto parts store, and have religeously used Optima's in the past. I will probably never buy another one though.

All of the new ones, since they cut the warranty to 3 years (used to be 10 and then 5) seem to have a LOT of issues. We have 5 yellow top and 3 red top's at our store that are
A) defective and out of the 3 year warranty by only a few months
or
B) the customers lost their sales slips(even though they have date codes branded in them).
We tried sending them back and they refused them due to our of date or no paperwork for sales.

Im sorry but a 120~ish dollar battery should last a lot longer than that. The older ones I had were great (I wish I hadnt let my old one go in my Park Ave when I sold it) but the new ones just seem to be awful.

Anyways, just my $.02 , your mileage may vary.

[J!m]

Interesting info...

do you have anything else to add to this, or perhaps an alternate maker?

[Criswell]

not really. I mean, i reallly loved the fact that i didnt have to worry about battery acid leaking in my car, but to me gettin another isnt worth it. Exide has/had a battery thats nearly identical to an Optima called Purple Haze, but i never tried it out because it was almost 200 dollars. It looks liek they now call it "Xtreme Cycle Duty" or XCD

http://www.exide.com/products/automo...bital_XCD.html

Looks like the part # is 34XCD


Ill do a little more reading at work, but im almost certain itll have a better warranty than 3 years.

[J!m]

I guess we'll burn this bridge when we get there...

I currently have the (5-year old) red top in the BMW- it still trickle charges to 100% capacity.

I also have two 1125-amp yellow tops in my Land-Rover on a split charge circuit that are about four years old or so. I have two solar panels on the roof to keep those topped up...

So, I guess in another 5-8 years, I'll have to be buying new batteries. Until then, I seem to be OK.

Thanks for the info however, and if you come up with a good alternative, or better pricing on the Exide version, please let us know!