newfusionowner2010 Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Has anyone else had there stock 500 cold cranking amps battery go dead within 30 minutes with the car off after adding aftermarket stereo and amps and subwoofers? I'm thinking the battery might be to small to power the amps and subwoofers any input would be greatly appreciated 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewdingemans Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 I've had this problem in my mazda. I've left my current system running for hours and it hasn't killed my battery. In my mazda, it was most likely the fact that it was the original car battery which was over 12 years old (highly not reccommended for a custom stereo build). I would reccommend using Optima batteries, but personal preference. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) well optima doesn't make a battery for any model fusion I checked there site and the biggest I found is 590 cold cranking amps where as the original that's in it now is only 500 amps I was hoping to get at least 615 amps but haven't had any luck Edited April 12, 2012 by newfusionowner2010 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewdingemans Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Hmm, let me call my audio guy and see what he can find. I'll let you know if there is a good one out there for our fusions. Not too many bass heads drive fusions, HAHA. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 I know my family says I'm obsessed with my cars lol my mustang I traded in on my fusion I had put over $4000 in stereo equipment through the 8 years I had it I took my subwoofers out of it and put em in my fusion its hard to go back to stock after having subwoofers and everything aftermarket stereo wise. I just keep running the battery dead with the car off and the stereo on time I wash and dry it its dead and only clicking ugh 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewdingemans Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 (edited) You might have the key turned one click too far forward where it's running all accessories. Our stock batteries are Motorcraft BXT-96-R, which have a cold crank of 500amps at 0F, and 625amps at 32F. It has a reserve capacity of 90min. of normal use. For the fact that the subs and amps pull more power, that can be substantially reduced with an aged battery. The battery is 8.97" (228mm) long, 6.30" (173mm) wide, and 6.88" (175mm), at 32lbs. (14.5kg). My guy said that we are pretty much limited to what we can put in if you don't want to have to do any modifications. I know the engine bay is extremely tight for me so I am not sure If I can get a yellow top optima in mine (which I would live because they are all in the 900+ amp range). If you wanted to use ones other than Autocraft, motorcraft, or duralast, you may have to chnge and/or modify the battery tray and retention mechanism for the battery, but I am pretty sure the 2.5L and 3.0L engines have more room in that area. I have a friend with a 2001 mazda speed with 2 15" solo-barak subs with 5000W of power who has been using an original yellow top Optima battery since 2005 and it's still kicking as hard as day 1. What my guy told me was that he is not sure what the higher ampage would do to all the tech gear the fusions come with as he has never changed a battery in a fusion before. If I have time to poke around under the hood today I'll get some dimensions to see what the maximum size is we can fit under the hood. If you could maybe measure to see how much space you have in your bay then we can compare and see what works. Edited April 12, 2012 by andrewdingemans 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 12, 2012 Author Share Posted April 12, 2012 I will when I get off work in the morning I work 3rd the biggest I've found is 590 cold cranking amps but I'm worried like you said bout messing something up running a higher amperage battery 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Guy in Fla. Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 Guys, I don't think you'd need to worry about a higher CCA battery, as the battery does not force current through the system; it only reacts to whatever amount of current being drawn from it by your equipment. As such, a higher CCA battery will be able to cope with bigger loads... 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Your battery is probably old and weak. If you have a big stereo you should probably replace it with an AGM type battery. There are other brands besides Optima that make AGM batteries (DieHard is one). 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Ok I bought my 2010 fusion used with right at 53,000 miles on it back in September it has over 58,000 now didn't think it be going bad already 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Guy in Fla. Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Ok I bought my 2010 fusion used with right at 53,000 miles on it back in September it has over 58,000 now didn't think it be going bad already If you live in Florida, you can pretty much count on it... Heat and humidity here are very rough on standard batteries. Lotta Interstates and Optimas sold around here. I have personally not had good luck in the past with DieHards. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 No I'm in NC but I think the car originally came from Pennsylvania I've had the battery checked when I got off but don't know if its accurate since I drove the car and the alternator charged it some how can I really check the battery? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 No I'm in NC but I think the car originally came from Pennsylvania I've had the battery checked when I got off but don't know if its accurate since I drove the car and the alternator charged it some how can I really check the battery? You need to have a shop do a load test but even that isn't always accurate. Just replace it and be done with it. Worst case you know you won't have to worry about it for another 3-4 years. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Already did it showed up as being good I'm wanting a little more crash than 590 but don't know if it'll mess up the electronics in the car and or the car itself 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Already did it showed up as being good I'm wanting a little more crash than 590 but don't know if it'll mess up the electronics in the car and or the car itself AGAIN - the CCA has no impact on the car or the electronics. The battery still puts out 12 volts (give or take) and each device uses only whatever it needs. The device draws the power from the battery - not vice versa. You only use 590 amps when you're cranking the engine - thus the name Cold Cranking Amps. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 We know that we're not dumb I only have trouble when I cut the car off n listen to the stereo with the car off it runs the battery down and won't crank the car 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 (edited) So what you're really inserted in is reserve capacity (RC). RC is defined as the number of minutes the battery can run a 25 amp load until the voltage drops below 10.5 volts. This rating is most applicable to running your stereo with the car off. So I think you should be searching for a battery that has a listed RC of 60 minutes or more. Some (most?) starting batteries don't list this because they are not designed to be completely drained more than a few times in their life. As far as CCA, I have the same battery as you to crank my larger 3.5L V6. Your engine has two less cylinders and camshafts compared to mine, so it's much easier to turn over. My car starts fine in -20ºF weather with the stock 500 CCA battery. You don't live in a climate that is as cold as me, so a 500 CCA battery is more than enough to start your car. You would probably be fine with a 350 CCA battery honestly. The Interstate MT-96R is 590 CCA and has a RC of 95 minutes. The stock battery has a RC of 90 minutes I believe. Edited April 13, 2012 by FusionDiffusion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
newfusionowner2010 Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 Yea I guess mine goes dead within 30 minutes of having the stereo on and the car off didn't have the issue till I installed my subs and amp 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akirby Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 Yea I guess mine goes dead within 30 minutes of having the stereo on and the car off didn't have the issue till I installed my subs and amp So nothing changed except a new sub amp that consumes huge amounts of power? Gee, that's a tough one. Either your battery's reserve capacity is low and needs to be replaced and/or your system simply pulls too much power to be left on without the engine running for 30 minutes. Either way the solution is simple - crank the car after 15 minutes or so to recharge the battery. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Guy in Fla. Posted April 14, 2012 Share Posted April 14, 2012 If you want more reserve capacity, you could always add a second battery in parallel. A trunk installation should be easy, but you need to use one of those batteries made for the trunk. They have a little vent tube which carries harmful and corrosive gasses to the outside of the car. Then, you will need to make sure you are running an alternator that has enough grunt to charge both batteries when they are low. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewdingemans Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 so I ran into the same problem this weekend. Had the car up on jacks both saturday and sunday changing oil, underbody maintenance, paint, repairs etc. Saturday had the key turned to accessory, played music for probably 4-5 hrs with the sub off. Sunday, decided to get some bass going for the new music I downloaded and killed the battery in 20 min. Deffinitely going to run a dual battery setup or change the current one to a larger diehard or optima battery. My tech guy said that our stock batteries should have a glowing green light inside the battery when it is at capacity, but I am not sure how true this is or not. there is a tiny 1/2" clear cover on the top of the battery so i am assuming that is where this might be. Anyone know anything about this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FusionDiffusion Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 (edited) Yes, there is a built-in ball hydrometer window on the top of the battery. If you look down in there (you might need a flashlight), you will either see a green ball, a red ball, or no ball. Green means the battery is charged. If you don't see anything, then the battery is marginal and should be charged. If you see the red ball, the battery is pretty much dead and has to be charged. If you run your stereo off of your battery for extended periods like that, you need to put a battery charger/maintainer on the battery afterwards or else it will go bad in no time. The same will be true with a new battery, so keep your batteries charged if you want them to last. Edited April 16, 2012 by FusionDiffusion 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Guy in Fla. Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Yes, you will damage your normal car battery if you run it dead over and over. It takes a special type of battery to survive this type of use. It's called a "deep cycle" battery, and is most often seen for marine use. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewdingemans Posted April 17, 2012 Share Posted April 17, 2012 Yes, there is a built-in ball hydrometer window on the top of the battery. If you look down in there (you might need a flashlight), you will either see a green ball, a red ball, or no ball. Green means the battery is charged. If you don't see anything, then the battery is marginal and should be charged. If you see the red ball, the battery is pretty much dead and has to be charged. Ok, I will have a look tonight to see what I see. I ended up boosting it with my brother's car then leaving it over night with a trickle charger. If you run your stereo off of your battery for extended periods like that, you need to put a battery charger/maintainer on the battery afterwards or else it will go bad in no time. The same will be true with a new battery, so keep your batteries charged if you want them to last. Yes, you will damage your normal car battery if you run it dead over and over. It takes a special type of battery to survive this type of use. It's called a "deep cycle" battery, and is most often seen for marine use. Yes the marine batteries are perfect for this. This is why around here, Optima sells tons of batteries for the audio guys and bassheads. I'll have to look into the die hards aswell to see if there are any deep cycle batteries that will fit in my cramped engine bay. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just a Guy in Fla. Posted April 19, 2012 Share Posted April 19, 2012 Yes the marine batteries are perfect for this. This is why around here, Optima sells tons of batteries for the audio guys and bassheads. Not all Optima batteries are deep-cycle type. You'll want the one with the yellow top. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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