My battery is really weak in my dx and i wanted to go and pick another one up at a local shop. They guy said that they didnt have any batterys in stock for me because the book said that i needed a reverse terminal battery. what is that? the best explanation that the guy could give me was the the terminals were flipped, if so wouldnt it be the same if i flipped the batter around? the guy just wouldnt sell me a battery. It really pissed me off, especially because he couldnt even say the word terminal corrrectly.
can i just use any battery, was this guy crazy or what? is there any specific rating of battery that i need (amps? etc)
not only a dumbass but a jackass too, he really treated me like sh*t, as if i didnt know what i was talking about at all, told me to go to sears. I should have told him to go [fizzle] himself. So thats good to know optima red top, anything else in terms of ratings, because there are batteries as cheap as 50 and as expensive as 150.
The guy was actually correct. "Reverse Terminal" means exactly what it says....the terminals are flipped. This is because our terminals are on the side of the battery that is closest to the firewall. Other cars have them on the side of the battery that is closest to the radiator. Because of this, you can't just take a regular terminal battery and flip it around, as the terminals would be in the wrong places and your battery cables aren't long enough to reach the terminals either way you position the "regular" terminal battery.
Also, with regard to the optima red top; it's a good battery, but i don't belive that it is a direct drop-in. The optima "orange top" is identical to the red top, but with reversed terminals. I believe the orange top is what you would want. However, I'm not sure if the optima batteries are a direct-drop-in as they are probably different heights and you would have problems with the battery terminal leads being long enough.
I have tried using a regular-terminal battery flipped around and had problems with the leads being too short.....of course it was a different height as well.
but actually on both my pgt and mx6 the cables are long enough because i had been using a datsun(nissan) turbo battery on it for a while and it reached fine but the battery was either not large enough or too old because it would die after a couple of days of sitting there (i cant drive both the cars at the same time, although i wish i could) so to check if it was the alternator i switched the batteries between the two cars, it is def the battery that is old, so i was looking for a replacement.
so you recommend optima orange top, ill look into seeing if i can get one
It's a stupid set-up, but depending on the if the terminals are centered or offset makes a difference along with the height. With some measurements and effort, it's possible.
On the Sears Diehard battery: They used to be one of the toughest going, but now they have several different choices. If you stay with the top of the line model, it should hold up well and carry Sears great warranty. But for the money, other brands have good choices......compare & shop around !
The "6"s survival is in your hands !
~Maintain to sustain~
if your batt. was dyeing when the car is just sitting there for a couple of days. it could be the battery, but it could also be the alnator, what happens is theres a diode that stops the flow to electricity to the alt. when the car isn't running, so it won't kill the battery.
When this diode fails, the flow of DC current continues to go into the ALT. even when the car is tuned off. But since the ALT. isn't spinning (because the car is off) I can't do what it usually does with this DC current, which is convert the DC current to AC current so the electricity can flow in either direction now, which means it can charge the BATT. now. (a BATT. needs AC current to charge). FYI. DC= Direct current (flows one direction) AC= Alternating current (flows both ways).
Snce the ALT can't change the DC into AC and charge the BATT. The DC current that is leading to the ALT. still has to go somewhere, so it ends up discapating in the form of heat.
Because of this heat that the DC current is putting off a good way to tell if its a bad diode in your alt. thats killing your battery when the car sits, is to feel the ALT. if its warm then its a bad isolation diode in you ALT. thats killing your batt.
Methman
PS: Sorry for the bad grammer.
.040" cylinder overbore, K&N filter, CAI, boost/vac & A/F gauges, 2.5" CAT back exaust (side exit), NGK V-power plugs, Federal Mugal 7mm plug wires, Bosch Disttrubitor cap & button, upper front strut bar, 10psi's, Nissan 280zx hood scoop and air vent.
Methman, you don't really know what you're talking about. You've got pretty much everything backwards.
First, current does not, and cannot flow into the alternator from the battery. If you look at this schematic you will see that the diode trio setup prevents this from happening (and has a more important use as well...).
An alternator internally produces an AC voltage when the car is running (hence the name alternator.) There is a system of diodes inside the alternator that serve as a full-wave rectifier circuit to convert the AC voltage produced by the alternator into 14.4V DC to charge the battery and run the car. (A battery cannot be charged with AC voltage.)
Yeah your right I did get it backwards, but I wouldn't say that I don't know what im talking about, I mean I had the whole Idea I just got it backwards.
But my point was still made, if an Isloation doide goes on the ALT. IT WILL drain the BATT. when the car is not running, and you CAN tell if this is happening by feeling the ALT. if its warm after sitting for couple of days and your BATT. is dead then its for sure an isloation diode.
Man sometimes I think you people go and do research on a topic that someone said just so you can prove them wrong. Don't you people have better things to do with your time? @-
Methman
.040" cylinder overbore, K&N filter, CAI, boost/vac & A/F gauges, 2.5" CAT back exaust (side exit), NGK V-power plugs, Federal Mugal 7mm plug wires, Bosch Disttrubitor cap & button, upper front strut bar, 10psi's, Nissan 280zx hood scoop and air vent.
Sorry Methman, your thinking was indeed right regarding the possibility of bad diodes draining the battery. However, I think you would have noticeable charging system problems (low voltage, pulsing lights) while the car was running if this was the case.
However, you weren't right about the operation of the alternator. I just thought I would set the record straight. @-
I have a wrong battery on my car and the terminals are on opposite sides but the leads do reach!! barely, but they do! And just to let you both know, I think Methman did a good job explaining another option to this problem, even though he mixed it up a little! (big $hit, who cares)! magik8 you did a great job perfecting the explanation! You remind of sleepcounter! lol
But honestly, if Methman didn't bring it up, would you have magik8? probably not! Either way, I've learned something new as I didn't know any of that before! Just want to give credit to both of you period! @- ~thought I'd add the smiley in because it was at the end of the last two posts!! lmao
1995 Millenia KLZE engine, 8mm wires, NGK Iridium Plugs, JK Autosports CAI, Shaved key holes all around, Shaved marker lights, 4 12" MTX subs, Panasonic touchscreen motorized flip out deck, screens in the headrest and visors, White 5 Zigen 18" rims, lowered with Eibach Springs.
i know it is not the alternator and that it is the battery, because i switched batteries in the mx6 and probe just to see if it was the alternator or the battery and the same battery went dead after a bit
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