Battery size?

[brelandt]

thisisntjared, how did you find out that your starter needs only 220 cca to start?
I just have a 1.6L engine. Shouldn't be much.
As far as loads???? I have no powersteering, A/C, or electric fan (though I will be installing 2 soon 8" each). All I use while driving is my fan for blowing cool air in, radio on low, ecu w/ obd-1 and lights when needed.
Doesn't sound like much but might be.

[thisisntjared]

Originally Posted by brelandt

thisisntjared, how did you find out that your starter needs only 220 cca to start?

i own the shop manual for the car.

sometimes a google search can answer questions like this though. i would definitely find out though, guess and check isnt too good of an idea.

[trebuchet03]

Originally Posted by brelandt

As far as loads???? I have no power steering, A/C, ...

...Doesn't sound like much but might be.

Those two (other than the blower motor for a/c) will not change your alternator draw

A for how much load you have -- you can easily test this with an ammeter

[cfg83]

theclencher -

Originally Posted by theclencher

Tempted to put a crank on the snout! Heck, I've started old tractors and cars with cranks... I'd get some looks in the grocery store parking lot for sure! Put a magneto on there and throw the battery away alltogether!

Good idea. Why not one of those cables you pull to start the lawn mower?!?!?

CarloSW2

[brelandt]

Ain't no way I'm putting a crank on my truck, HA!!!!! Everyone at work already asks me if I have names for the 4 squarrils under my hood!

I can only imagine what they will have to say when I'm cranking the handle at the end of the day?!?!?

As far as mentioning the A/C and power steering was the fact that on my brand they have an electrical switch on the powersteering pump which will cause a load when tripped and the A/C has an elecromagnetic clutch that draws power when you turn the A/C on asell as a stand alone electric fan that runs when the A/C is on as well. May not draw much power on their own but can add up. Luck for me I do not have it

Might do this mod soon?

[JanGeo]

Another thing to consider is the need for some battery capacity in case of emergency i.e. flashers and lights. Too small a battery and you could be a target for sleepy night time drivers if stopped by the side of the road with no power for the emergency flashers.
Another thing to consider with a bigger battery is it will loose a percentage of the battery charge when not being used and that will require more energy to recharge off the alternator unless you are charging off the grid.
Forget about NiMh batteries they are less energy efficient when fully charged - not sure about partial charging as in the Prius but when fully charged they require constant trickle charge and abour 30% extra charging to top off than they put back out.
Lithium is too expensive and generally a fire hazzard if overheated plus they usually have a short calendar life compared to about 10 years for Lead.

[JanGeo]

Better yet a wind up spring with gear reduction drive or even compressed air start - imagine an air powered engine hybrid with air start regen braking.

[cfg83]

Hello -

I keep thinking that there should be some kind of foot pedal or turn crank in the car that you could use to build up enough juice to turn the starter. With a foot pedal, maybe people would think your tapping your feet to the tunes. If it was in the car, it would be less obviously uncool to the naked eye. Wear earphones and they wouldn't think your doing anything odd.

CarloSW2

[Bill in Houston]

One of my pals back in 8th grade had a moped that had a wind-up kickstart thing. It was cool. Kick it three or four times (it was very easy), and then hit the Start button to spin the engine. It could work on a car I guess, but would probably be pretty heavy.