Wrong battery and hot start symptoms
Discussion
Went to start my Chimaera last week only to find a completely dead battery. I phoned around and eventually found a new battery with 650 amp crank rating (Yuasa 096). The SH bible states that the battery should be minimum 630 CCR and anything less than this will eventually be killed off by the high power output from the Chimaera alternator.
When the old battery was removed it was found to be 550 CCR and looking back I think this may have been the cause of a couple of odd instances of the dreaded hot start problem. These occured towards the back end of last year when both the weather and engine were not over hot and the car had been stationary for at least 20 minutes - not conditions normally associated with hot start issues. I now believe that the battery was on its way out having been damaged by the high alternator output. I think it just didn't have enough oomph to turn the starter motor against even minimally increased resistance. In each case the car started OK after a few more minutes rest. On the few days I had the car out in January the starter was sluggish and I made a mental note to check the earth connections. And then, of course, the battery finally gave up the ghost altogether.
So my reason for posting was to share my thoughts but also to suggest it's worth checking that you have the right battery.
When the old battery was removed it was found to be 550 CCR and looking back I think this may have been the cause of a couple of odd instances of the dreaded hot start problem. These occured towards the back end of last year when both the weather and engine were not over hot and the car had been stationary for at least 20 minutes - not conditions normally associated with hot start issues. I now believe that the battery was on its way out having been damaged by the high alternator output. I think it just didn't have enough oomph to turn the starter motor against even minimally increased resistance. In each case the car started OK after a few more minutes rest. On the few days I had the car out in January the starter was sluggish and I made a mental note to check the earth connections. And then, of course, the battery finally gave up the ghost altogether.
So my reason for posting was to share my thoughts but also to suggest it's worth checking that you have the right battery.
The alternator does not have a "high output" that can really damage the battery. The output voltage is clamped so to not overcharge the battery (all car lead acid batteries have the same peak voltage requirement), but alternators have different current ratings depending on how much electrical equipment they are going to power, but the peak available voltage does not change. The absolute worse case is a dead flat battery, and the car is jump started. A high power alternator can then provide a higher current to charge the batttery, but in the odd case could overheat the battery plates and warp them, but this is an exceptional situtation, not your day to day running when the battery never gets that flat. Most batteries fail due to sulphate on the lead plates that builds up over time, specificilly if the battery is allowed to stand in a low charge state.
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