dead battery..need your help

bentwings

Registered User
I've had to store my 89 SC (195k) for about a year. I periodically started it and drove around the quick storage lot a few times but eventually the battery went stone dead. It was always dead after about 3 weeks anyway. It was a nearly new Diehard. I removed it and had it charged and checked at Sears and they said it was still good. The car seemed to run ok but possibly a bit rough in the winter.
I have had the battery out for several days now and I absolutely must move the car about 15 miles to my new house. I have only one shot at this due to time, work, and moving pressures. Do I have to do anything to the computer so it will run properly when I install the battery???? One guy told me I had to park it against a telephone pole in drive and let it run for about 1/2 hour so the computer will reset. I never had to do this before when I replaced the battery. What is the deal???

Second question....why does the battery go dead after a couple of weeks in the first place.???? Is this a bad ABS relay???

thanks
bentwings
 
just plug the batt in and drive it. if you are worried that the bat isn't good use a known good batt. you don't need to park against a pole LOL. just drive it.

Jeff
 
Sounds like your alternator is shot.
If it is, and you have to put in a new one, make sure your battery is fully charged before you drive it. (If you have a weak battery, your brand new alternator will burn itself out trying to recharge it).
Also, I recommend you only buy new electrical components, not remanufactured.
 
If the battery went dead while you were driving it, that means the alternator has failed.

Even with a dead battery, the alternator will put out enough power to keep the car running as long as you don't have lights, and heater fan and A/C running all at the same time.

Ford computers will loose their temporary settings that they learned from the engine after about 10 minutes with no power. So when you hook it up, the computer will need to relearn some of it's adjustable parameters.

Basically just let it idle for 5 minutes before taking off so the IAC can learn properly, and then drive it. The computer will learn as you drive it and it shouldn't go out of range enough to cause you to stall. If it does, something is broken.

Just make sure your battery has a full charge so you have enough juice to get where you are going. Don't have the headlights on or the A/C. Leave all the power for the ignition and fuel pump.
 
dead battery thanks

Thanks for the help with the dead battery. I just charged the crap out of it for a couple of days and the car started right up. It ran a little rough for a few minutes while it warmed up. I shut it off and let it sit for about 10 minutes then restarted it. It ran much better so I drove around the storage lot a few times and it got better each lap. I had planned a dash through the town and out to the freeway then to my new house. I had not updated the tags so I did not want the local law to see me. I already got one warning for having an unlicensed car in the driveway. "Psyco" cop has been watching the storage place ever since, just waiting for me to make an escape. Fortunately a friend of mine called the day before I was to move it and asked me to fix his Hot Bracket street roadster. It has a Hilborn injector on alcohol and an MSD with all the computer stuff on a 388 cu in chev and he could not get it to run. I dredged up my 17 years of dragster and funny car experience from the old days and got the thing running better than it ever ran before. He was so gratefull that he offered to pay me a substantial sum. I refused but quick thinking I recalled the predicament I was in with the SC. He has a brand new trailer so I made quickly made a deal to move my SC with it so I didn't have to dice with the cops. Perfect deal.... as it turned out there were two city cops, one at the end of the street and one about 6 blocks away plus one THP crusier just down the the on ramp!!! I would have been caught dead cold!!! The final thing...my buddy would not let me get away with just using the trailer..he and his wife took us out dinner at my favorite restraunt!! Who says hot rodding doesn't pay!!!

thanks for all the helpful tips

bentwings

my street rod: 89 Titanium aod, bone stock, seen snow only once, 195k, leaky moonroof, dead prem. sound. still can dust most ricers
 
Back
Top