argument about battery w/ me and my dad question..

[SnoopySnooper]

alright, i just bought a memphis sub, alpine mono amp and a deck. i hooked up my RF 4 gauge to the amp to the battery. i play it every time i am in my car at atlest 15, and after about 5 minutes of driving it starts to reek of coroding battery. the festiva just has the old battery that is a little old POS, dont know what kind, just know it looks like its been in there for a while and really small (i could fit a bigger one in) my dad says i dont need a new battery, but my friend bill said (who used to work at a car audio place installing, and note my dad knows nothing about cars) if i dont get anew or better battery in that it will ruin the subwoofer and amp over time. also i went to turn it on and i would barley turn over. my dad says that if you dont turn everything off in the car after you take the key out, it will drain the battery. now what he meant was to turn the stereo completely off before taking the key out and walking away. he said that what it said in the manual. it said work for word "don't forget to turn everything off in the vehicle before turning the engine off, i.e. windshield wipers, lights, stereo, etc. because they could be draining power from the battery" what i thought it meant was when you turn the engine off but keep the car on like when you sit in it to wait for somebody or something like that. THEN it could be sucking power because when i was little, every time i got in my moms car and left the radio on after i turned the engine off, one time the battery died. it just doesnt seem logical that after you completely turn the car off that the radio that you had on is still sucking power out. he told me to ask you guys because he doesnt believe me although i know cars and work on them often and he has never changed his oil. so... whos right?

[thewalrus]

It depends on whether the accessories are hard wired to the battery or wired to come on with the ignition. If they're hard wired, leaving them on could drain the battery.

Also, go buy a new battery.

[FestYboy]

also make sure your Alternator isn't overcharging which can produce those nasty smells as well

[wrestler3025]

Our cars don't have the accessories hard wired to the battery, as most cars don't. I believe the only time that would happen, is if it is done after the car left the factory. When you turn the key to the off position it breaks the circuit, otherwise you would have a lot of stranded teenagers out there because they left their radio on before they turned off their cars:-)

[htchbck]

if it is hardwired, you'll know, cause the radio will stay on after the key is taken out... if it turns off then the key is out, it won't drain the battery unless there is a short somewhere

(and Joe, what're you doing up at 4 in the morning?!)

[SnoopySnooper]

alright, gotcha. so in lay mens terms, what you guys are saying is that my dad is wrong and mis-read the manual and that i do in fact need a new battery right?

[wrestler3025]

Yes you do need a new battery, and maybe he was reading the manual to another item and got mixed up :wink:
I was up at 4am trying to figure out whats wrong with my car

[HappyMom]

What your dad might have been referring too is the theory / good practice of turning things off so that they don't start-up draining energy from the battery when you start-up the car the next time.

Imagine your battery is weakish, it's winter, -40. You need all your battery just to get the car started. It won't help if your stero is blarring, the blower full blast and the wipers trying to push 3 inches of snow.

[thewalrus]

You can tell Mom is from Canada

[gdawgs]

Audio amps and decks have two power wires(along with quite a few others)(actually the deck has a third one as well). The main(your heavy 4 Gage) should get wired directly to the battery. The other power wire is the switch wire. You hook this wire into something that comes on when the key is turned on. With Festivas, I usually run them to the cigarette lighter since it is on when the key is on, and off when the key is off. So when the switch wire receives power(when the key is on), it switches the power on. When there is no power present in the switch wire, the unit turns off. So if it is wired correctly, it won't drain your battery.

The third power wire on the deck, needs to go to something that is hot all the time(can go directly to the battery). This ones is for the memory which keeps your clock and stations set when the deck is powered off. If you disconnect this wire, you have to reset your clock and stations.

Sounds to me like you need a new battery.

About the only things you need to turn off when the key is turned off are the headlights and the dome light. That is about all you can turn on and off with the key off.