When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Yeah, that's the trouble with moving. Too much other priority crap before getting to the fun stuff.
Good news is there were no rats under the hood or squirrel nests under the seats, so I'm feeling better about that. I need to retrieve the battery so I can put it on a trickle charger for the next millennium and hope my brand new yellow top survives 4 months of Miata dark current.
I'm sure you probably know, but I literally just "revived" a red top 2 weeks ago and it worked:
RECOVERY OPTION #2: THE DIY SOLUTION FOR CHARGING A DEEPLY DISCHARGED BATTERY.
This is a recovery method for the do-it-yourselfer using the equipment you've got in the garage. With this option, you're going to trick your traditional charger into charging the deeply discharged AGM battery.
Here's what you need:
Battery charger (under 15 amps)
Jumper cables
A good battery, preferably above 12.2 volts. (It can be an AGM or flooded battery- it doesn't matter.)
The seemingly dead, deeply discharged AGM battery
A voltage meter
A watch or timer
Now, here's what you do:
Hook up the good battery and deeply discharged AGM battery in parallel – positive to positive and negative to negative. Do not have the charger connected to the battery or turned on at this stage.
Now, hook up the good battery to the charger. Turn on the charger. The charger will "see" the voltage of the good battery (hooked up in parallel), and start providing a charge.
After the batteries have been hooked up for about an hour, check to see if the AGM battery is slightly warm or hot to the touch. Batteries naturally become warm during charging, but excessive heat may be an indication that there really is something wrong with the battery. Discontinue charging immediately if the battery is hot to the touch. Also discontinue the process if you hear the battery "gassing" — a hissing sound coming from the safety valves. If it's hot or gassing, STOP CHARGING IMMEDIATELY!
With your voltage meter, check back often to see if the AGM battery has charged to 10.5 volts or above. This generally takes less than two hours with a 10-amp charger. If it has, disconnect the charger from the wall outlet and remove the good battery from the charger. Now, connect only the deeply discharged AGM battery to the charger. Turn on the charger and continue until the AGM battery reaches a full charge, or until the automatic charger completes the charge process. In most cases, the AGM battery will be recovered.
Are you back in your house again or do you have to stay away for a while? Everything ok in your house?
Yep, back in the house. We got an evacuation warning Friday afternoon and by the time we left, they were putting out structure fires about 1/4 mile from our place. We spent a couple of days with my Mom up in Redding. Lots of ash, cinders and bits of burnt crap that rained down into the yard, but we made it through just fine. Unfortunately others in the extended family were not so lucky. No fatalities at this point, but many have been impacted. The in-laws lost their home, and at least 4 members of my sister in laws family also lost their homes. My brother & sister in laws house appears to have survived, but they lost their vehicles, out buildings (shop, barn, etc) and their business in downtown Paradise. The smoke is pretty bad up here, but its not terrible as long as you stay indoors. We stopped by the Redding Costco and bought a huge mountain of jackets, socks and underwear that I'm going to go drop by one of the donation centers tomorrow. I prefer to donate material things that people can actually use, rather than hoping that at least $0.75 of my dollar makes it to those in need.
Miata & Subaru are dirty as ****. I accidentally left one of the back windows in the WRX open about 1" and now its full of disgusting wildfire stench and ash. Ungh. Nobody is ever going to believe me when I tell them it's a "non smoker" car. I guess at this point I should just be glad I have a house and a car to go back to.
Clearly I can't get enough of this orange business
I like how with the Qmax, you've got a constant flow of hot coolant over the thermostat due to the heater hose outlet. Very nice design, and great machine work. Not super impressed with the brass hose nipple, but it's serviceable. The stainless snap ring and 1/8" NPT plugs are also a nice touch.
Speaking of nice touches...
Stainless hose clamps with rolled edges appropriate for silicone hose! Nice I appreciate this level of attention to detail.