Printable View
Any advice welcomed!
I’m having an issue during starting where the car draws the battery down to around 10 volts while trying to start, and the car will only sputter at that point, and not start. I’ve been through SEVERAL batteries, including up to 850 cca AGM. Getting tired of the car that’s supposed to be “easy” to operate.
I was having similar issues with my PFM, especially in the winter. I sent messages to some battery companys asking for advice. They wanted to sell me a 14 volt battery that would fit in the car for $600. They said that the extra voltage would help the car start. I didn’t want to spend the $600 for that.
I tried using a 12 volt car battery at the quick connection at the back of the car. That didn’t help either.
Before my last track day a month ago I bought a NOCO jumper box, the 1250 version off Amazon. I also bought an extra set of NOCO cables and removed the alligator clamps and installed the matching connector that is on the back of the car. The car turned over very quickly and started quicker than it ever had. It was about $150 and another $25 for the extra cables.
I use the other set of cables in case my everyday street cars ever need a jump, so my NOCO can be used for something else instead of just my PFM.
Every one of these cars has a way it likes to operate. Through experimentation, I've found the sequence/combination of things that works for mine and now it's only problematic on very cold mornings. I thought about getting one of the wired starter/charger units (instead of a booster battery) for those cold mornings, but then realized that's just a few days a year. In your case, it may be the best option to provide continuous voltage while cranking (since, as you know, the plugs/coils need at least 11 volts to fire). I will also say - and you won't like this - I just rebuilt the engine on my other car (I have two) and it fires up literally after one second of cranking with only the onboard battery, so it could be that your engine is getting worn (like mine was) and it's having trouble building compression when cold.
+1 on the Noco jumper. It’s small and lightweight and puts out over 1000 amps. Just get an extra set of cables, splice in the correct connector as stated and you should be good to go. Works great on my Supervee. This of course is contingent on having all other components good as stated prior.
Quote:
Originally Posted by captdigi
You definitely need a jump box with these cars. I have a quick disconnect to the starter and plug the jump pack with a quick disconnect on the end of it and it starts so much easier.