help! Battery/Charging Issue
This has been a chronic problem with my miata. I have a 2012 hardtop. If I don't drive
the car for about a week, the battery dies. I've been towed twice into the dealer, and
each time had the charging system checked. Each time they said that they could see
nothing draining the battery at all. They suggested I buy a battery tender for when then
car is idle, which I did. Especially makes sense for the winter months. Its a constant
battle to get the dealer to go any further.
Finally I thought I just might have a bad battery. I went out and bought a highly rated
aftermarket battery, and sure enough when I had to park the car outside my garage for
a week. It died too. Do you have any suggestions?
I had the 2011 MX-5 Hardtop (which I traded about 2 months ago)...The only battery issue I had was during the winter when I parked it for over a week and driving my SUV instead. The OEM battery drained and had to have AAA replace it. Negligence on my part, since there are still things that draw from the battery even when the car is off....Out of curiosity, I looked to see what others had to say about this...One reason in your case (and also mine) was that the key knob may not have been turned all of the way to the "off" position (which is at a odd angle) from the "acc" position. The MX-5 definitely needs push button start..hopefully, the next gen car will finally have it!
interesting... I'm taking it to a mechanic outside the dealer to investigate. Let's see what he says. Thanks !
No problem, minkmanVa! I owned my 2011 MX-5 PRHT for 2 years without ANY chronic problems at all. IMHO, it's a well-built & very reliable car. I'd be curious to hear what someone (besides the Mazda mechanic) has to say after giving it a look! :::Still miss my MX-5..hope she finds a new & caring owner soon (she's still at the Dealer's lot waiting for a buyer):::
Okay I've read many posts from owner who have a phantom draw on their battery. The problem I'm addressing is for the cars where the room fuze draws close to 1amp it should only be about a tenth of that value. Your problem is a bad ecu. Something fails and shorts inside the ecu initially you find a blown 10amp room fuse you replace the fuse and it then starts this excessive draw. A small current should be expected as it maintains error codes. A new ecu solved my problem sorry for the bad news.
I have a 1994 Mazda Miata. I experience the same problem with my car battery. If I don't drive it for a week, the battery dies. I bought a battery charger, but the battery does not get charged any more. Weird! Are the remedies only: Trickle charger, Solar- operated continuous charger, Battery key-switch to disconnect the negative or positive cable, or un-plugging the negative when not driving the car? SOS! HELP!
I have the same problem with my 1990 MX-5. It sits for a couple of weeks and it's dead. I carry an electric jumper in the trunk all the time. Miata batteries are small. I'm going to: 1) Get a heavy duty alternator 2) A new battery with more cranking amps. I know the trunk space is limited, but I'm sure there is a way of doing it. I'm tired of having to use my electric jumper all the time. My Question: What Alternator puts out the most charging power ? and What battery should I buy ?
I went to a higher AMP alternator and my battery is I think 300 cranking Amps. While idling it shows 14.35 volts at the battery
