Battery issue?
 

I was driving today with the radio on and the AC on full. I stopped and parked the car for about 15 minutes and when I went to restart it was like I didn't have quite enough juice in the battery to get it to start. The engine turned over but no start. I jumped the car and it started right up. I don't know the age of the battery.
Two questions
1) Do these cars have a good charging system or could I have exceeded the alternator by running to many things.
2) What is the best battery I can get for this car. I'm thinking cold cranking amps, power storage etc.

I have the stock Bosch 100 amp alternator and I have a stereo system with three amplifiers.
My car starts fine. The Bosch alternator if working properly will handle the stock vehicles needs and then some.

Take the car to an auto parts store, batteries plus, sears automotive or .... and have it tested. They do it for free and if you're still in doubt or didn't think the person testing your car knew enough try another to get a second opinion.

You might have dirty terminals on the cables and or the battery and these should be visually inspected and cleaned before the testing. Make sure the terminals are tight. They don't need to be so tight you're deforming them they just need to be making good contact. Make sure both sides of the positive terminal are tight. One side on the stock cable tightens the cable to the terminal and the other side is just a stud that has wires that lead to the fuse box. You can be tight to the battery and still be loose to those wires (found out the hard way at night in the dark).

You might have and alternator that's wearing out and isn't capable of supplying as many amps as it's rated. The starter could be wearing out and it's dragging and in so demands more amps that the system can supply or maybe the battery no matter it's age is starting to go :confused:

Because of these variables you need to have it tested and it's normally free.

If you need a battery, one upgrade is to use a group 48. The stock battery is a group size 47 but the 48 is about an inch longer and has a higher CCA rating.
I have a 48 in mine and it fits nicely. The stock battery hold down fits as the width of the 47 & 48 are the same.

The battery washers look a little hooky but trust me they are worth the extra buck or two as they really do keep the corrosion on the terminals in check.

#1 Battery is dying. The battery likely has 6 cells. A cell can go bad and you not know it. Two can go bad and it will start acting weak. When the third goes bad, you're done.

#2 Battery Connectors. Connectors corrode even when they don't look like it. Mine got me just last week (actually for the past few months) and I thought my starter was bad. I had the car towed, replaced 2 alternators and 2 starters before I realized that the lead side of my possitive battery cable connector had built up corrossion between the wire leads. So I pulled the connector apart and scrapped and wire brushed the connector before putting it back together. Fired right up.

Like the prince said, have the battery and alternator checked at a parts store or somewhere. I have a ScanGauge II so it's a little easier for me to see if the alternator is charging or the battery is weak.

Did some home testing with my VOM and I got 12.1 volts after running it for a while and shutting it off. I kept the meter on and tried to start the car and the voltage dropped almost instantly to below 11. Got a new battery. I found a date written on the old battery in paint pen like they use at pick N Pull of 2010 so I think it was at least 4 or 5 years old.

Were you getting 12.1 with it running or after you shut it off ??

More important, what voltage are you getting with the new battery while it's running ??

Just over 13 when running 12.1 when it was off but when I tried to start it the voltage dropped to almost 9.

My car was starting with the volts dropping to 7.9. I think the cranking amps made a difference. A volt meter will not tell you if you have bad cells.