Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

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Hawklady
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Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by Hawklady » Thu May 10, 2012 3:58 pm

:oops: After 2 trips, make that 3 trips on the Rollon/ Rolloff truck with me having hissy fits over scraping my stainless steel 2 on the right and then the :roll: NOSE!!!! The problem is the '96 now KILLS batteries. This is a not where we suck all the power down and it can be recharged, this is KILLED with a dead cell and throw away time. On 1 trip to the Pontiac dealership on 17 Bypass the guy said I had a bad cable and he 'fixed it', but they should be replaced and there are none available from Pontiac or GMC for the '96. Then , with starts and runs up and down the local speedway (Rt 31 with speed limit of 60 and 65 and people fly by me at 72) - Bam it happens again and I went to a different dealer 'Hadwin White Pontiac(now removed from the sign) GMC and Subaru(my new 2nd car).
They checked everything and another dead cell in the battery. New Battery time and they put in a spoonful of gas as I was low and did not make it to the station I wanted. Cold, dark, narrow road, rush hour..... Hubby came and saved me and the Red-Tailed Hawk. Again with the starts and runs and it is DEAD AGAIN ? They checked it out and the distributor, starter...all elements of the girl are fine so HELP ??????????????????????????
Gina Masters
Georgia's Red-Tailed Hawk
#40 of 41 1996 Firehawk
1.6 RR Arms, 3:73 gears, Shift Kit, Torque Converter, PanHard bar, Lower Control arms, Strut tower brace, Sub-frame connectors

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DraganHawk
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by DraganHawk » Thu May 10, 2012 4:15 pm

IMHO......Have a mechanic check it out. In my experience, I would replace the alternator.
You can have a back feed, a short, a draw etc. Best is for a mechanic to look at it. Everybody has their own opinion......here is mine. Find local mechanic shop and ask them. I prefer local shops over dealers. Some mechanics at dealerships are not ASE certified. Lotsa people don't know that. Lots of local shop mechanics are ASE certified. Again people don't know that. Local shop owned by a local will more than help you over a dealership and their emplotees who just go by the book. Not always the case but usually is.
As I read, this is happening as your driving, all 3 times? correct? Change the alternator. That is my experience with these f-bodys.

lakeratiam
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by lakeratiam » Thu May 10, 2012 10:00 pm

Yep, probably in the alternator. These GM alternators have the voltage regulator built into them. The voltage regulator is probably over charging your battery, sending too much current to it. If you aren't blowing any fuses, it's probably not a "short". Where is the the needle at on your volt gauge when you are driving it? A good mechanic should check the alternator's out put with a volt/amp meter with the engine running and at varying RPM's.
I'm EVERYWHERE Dragan! :lol:

Hawklady
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by Hawklady » Mon May 14, 2012 2:44 pm

Thanks for the input - will see who I can locate here.
Gina Masters
Georgia's Red-Tailed Hawk
#40 of 41 1996 Firehawk
1.6 RR Arms, 3:73 gears, Shift Kit, Torque Converter, PanHard bar, Lower Control arms, Strut tower brace, Sub-frame connectors

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DraganHawk
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by DraganHawk » Tue Jun 12, 2012 5:48 pm

any update?

Hawklady
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by Hawklady » Wed Jun 20, 2012 5:10 pm

I have found a new place to take the Hawk. The guy is even knowledgeable about Hawks- amazing. He said there is a considerable draw on the battery even when it is sitting since I have the security system. So DUH - I am going to go out and get a new battery and a 'BATTERY TENDER" He said I can find it at any Auto parts place, plug it is and hitch it to my battery and then if I am unable to make time to start her up and go for a nice ride for a couple weeks then she will be OK. Once I have her running again I will take her over and have him test the things as you foks have suggested. I am soooo embarrassed right now, there are actually spider webs from the back bumper to the floor and by the wheel - now that is BAD. I have had to work 6 days a week recently so makes it hard to take care of things around the house and yard , rest up and have time to play as well. This has to stop ! 8O
Gina Masters
Georgia's Red-Tailed Hawk
#40 of 41 1996 Firehawk
1.6 RR Arms, 3:73 gears, Shift Kit, Torque Converter, PanHard bar, Lower Control arms, Strut tower brace, Sub-frame connectors

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BLACK-HAWK
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by BLACK-HAWK » Thu Jun 21, 2012 11:16 pm

what battery do you have?
2001#194 (Unicorn)

lakeratiam
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by lakeratiam » Sun Jun 24, 2012 12:39 pm

Hawklady wrote:I have found a new place to take the Hawk. The guy is even knowledgeable about Hawks- amazing. He said there is a considerable draw on the battery even when it is sitting since I have the security system. So DUH - I am going to go out and get a new battery and a 'BATTERY TENDER" He said I can find it at any Auto parts place, plug it is and hitch it to my battery and then if I am unable to make time to start her up and go for a nice ride for a couple weeks then she will be OK. Once I have her running again I will take her over and have him test the things as you foks have suggested. I am soooo embarrassed right now, there are actually spider webs from the back bumper to the floor and by the wheel - now that is BAD. I have had to work 6 days a week recently so makes it hard to take care of things around the house and yard , rest up and have time to play as well. This has to stop ! 8O
I wasn't aware your Hawk was sitting for extended periods of time. That will hurt a battery, especially a standard grade automotive battery as they are are not designed to be fully discharged regularly. I use the Optima "Yellow Top" battery. Unlike standard automotive grade batteries, it is a "Deep Cycle" battery that is designed to be fully discharged and re-charged multiple times. It can still be drained by "Vampire Current" being drawn by the security system, but can be fully dis-charged and recharged with out killing it. I also use a "Battery Tender" to extend the life of the battery. I have one of these batteries that I have used the Battery Tender on faithfully that is now 7 years old and it is still within 98% of available rated amp output. Glad you found someone knowledgeable to take your Hawk to. :)
I'm EVERYWHERE Dragan! :lol:

Hawklady
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Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by Hawklady » Mon Jun 25, 2012 5:07 pm

:D I now have a new Duralast Gold Battery and a Battery Tender. Now she is running I just had to see how she felt after all this time. Soooooo, I took her up to the local speedway, Rt31 and gave her a run. I also had to remind myself why I still had this sitting in my garage. She just flew up the highway and after I had her warmed up, we met up with a Ford Explorer that thought he was tough stuff and a baby BMW that thought imports ruled. Up to 80 in a flash with the Ford trying hard and the Beemer woke up and tried to prevent me from changing lanes .... ah ha not to happen. She was so quick I was impressed myself. A glance at the speedometer said back off idiot so I brought her back down to 2 digits - Can't believe cause she was still getting quicker when I backed off. Must have thought I was back at the track in Ohio.
So thanks for all the help and dreams of driving to the meet in August are starting to run around in my head.
Gina Masters
Georgia's Red-Tailed Hawk
#40 of 41 1996 Firehawk
1.6 RR Arms, 3:73 gears, Shift Kit, Torque Converter, PanHard bar, Lower Control arms, Strut tower brace, Sub-frame connectors

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DraganHawk
Posts: 888
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Location: Lemont Il.

Re: Battery KILLING '96 Firehawk

Post by DraganHawk » Sat Jun 30, 2012 11:33 am

Hmmmmm I hope your issues are done. BUUUUUT I don't see it being the battery with the car turning off while you are driving????????

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