Got a Mazda RX-8. The battery went flat Recharged it and added bat fluid.It is working now.Will it continue to work for long?
P.S.How come they don’t have RX-8 on the list?!
“bat fluid” ???
You only add distilled water. The battery originally gets Sulfuric Acid, but I’ve never heard of anyone adding more acid later.
Usually if a battery goes dead on me from an unattributable cause (lights left on etc.), then I replace it immediately. I once had a “maintenance free” battery go dry when only a year old for some reason, I pried up the top and added distilled water. It lasted for about 2 more years.
As usual, “the devil is in the details”.
The really vital details that you omitted are:
The model year of the vehicle.
The odometer mileage of the vehicle.
Whether the battery has ever before “gone flat” and been recharged.
Your driving habits–i.e.: mostly local/short trip, mostly highway, or mixed.
Whether the battery terminals are clean and tight or whether they have evidence of corrosion.
Whether the current battery is the original, and if it is not the original, how old the current battery actually is.
Nobody can possibly give you a useful answer if you don’t give the most important details.
“P.S.How come they don’t have RX-8 on the list?!”
What list??
The car’smodel list etc.
I have actually put most of those details in my reply to some answers but here they are:
- It is a 2007 Mazda RX-8.
- Driven only 15000 miles.
3.The battery is brand new and never gone flat.
4.Mixed driving habits with emphasis on short trips.
5.Battery terminals are as clean as a whistle.
6.current battery was put in by the Mazda official dealer and is brand new.
When you post the question in two different threads, you make it more difficult for those who are trying to help you. In the future, try to confine your question to one thread. You will also find it to be less confusing this way.
But, to return to the question at hand, I think that the real problem is the “emphasis on short trips”, coupled with allowing the car to sit for an extended period of time. The first bit of evidence that the short trips are taking a toll on your battery is the fact that the first one lasted for only 3 years.
Bear in mind that “deep cycling” will take a toll on a battery, even if it is a new one. Deep cycling means allowing the battery’s charge to be very much depleted before it is recharged. Batteries are much happier if their charge is replenished right after they are discharged. When you start your engine (and use lights and other accessories) and then drive just a short distance, you may not be fully recharging the battery before it is called upon to start the engine again.
When this takes place over time, the battery’s charge gets lower and lower.
A few of these deep cycling episodes will drastically shorten a battery’s normal life.
I would recommend the following:
Have the car’s charging system and the state of charge of the battery checked, just to be sure that everything is up to par.
If you continue to do mostly short-trip driving, be sure to get the car out on the highway for at least 45 minutes once each week. Not only will this help keep your battery charged properly, but it will help your engine and your exhaust system to last far longer by burning off the moisture that is currently accumulating in both the motor oil and in the exhaust system.
If you have to leave the car unattended again for an extended period of time, buy a “trickle charger” and connect it to the battery during your absence. This should prevent a recurrance of the dead battery problem.
Thanks a million to each and everyone of you for your responses.I also like to thank VDC Driver for his thorough analysis and down to the point answers. I will also follow your advice pertaining to posting in one thread for the sake of both simplicity and pragmatism.Hope you will forgive my ignorance.
Happy Easter plus nutrino showers to you all.