Hi – I am the original owner of a 240, SE, 1991 fastback. She has 84K miles on her, is misty blue metallic and purrs like a cat. I adore her. She has been good to me and I have been good to her. She has been in a closed garage when not used for 12 years.

Three questions:

1. my 15-month-old battery with a 72-month guarantee would not turn her over. I got a jump and brought it back to NTB, where I bought the battery. They did a diagnostic on it and said the battery health was at 80 percent but the charge was 30 percent and that was because I was not driving it enough. My alternator was fine. I drive her 3-4 times a week, but only for 3-6 miles at a time. Are they right? If yes, given the price of gas, would you suggest buying a battery charger or do you think something fishy is going on with their assessment? They offered to recharge it, but I would have to come back the next day as that it may take up to three hours.

2. I told my neighbor about the three hours and he offered his auto battery charger. So, he took both cables off my battery and put his charger cables on them. About an hour into the charging, I opened the passenger door and the seat belt retracted and the inside over head light came on. We looked at each other in shock and said, huh? How could that be? It took one and ½ hour to get it back to 100 percent. My radio stations and clock did not lose their settings. What is up with this? Do I have a back up of sort? What kept my seat belt, over head light, radio selections and clock running during that time? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

3. My car was made in Japan. Any way to get seat covers replacements for my model?.

I'm afraid you might not find much help here, this forum caters primarily to the original Z models, 240Z, 260Z and 280Z, built from 1969 through 1978. Your car sounds like it is a 240SX, which is a totally different breed. Not much experience with your model here.

You might wanna try Nicoclub.com, they cover all Nissans and there is a strong contingent of 240SX owners on there.

Some of the guys on my forum might know: http://www.nissanpacific.com.

Good points, however this is a basic charging system question.

While it only took 1.5 hours to charge the battery to the point that it would operate some basic items, it was probably not fully charged at this point, even if it was able to start your car.....once or twice. Or maybe it was. The point it that 1.5 hours charge may be enough, depending on the capacity and settings of the charger itself, what mode it was in, and the condition of the battery . Also, driving 3-6 miles a couple times per week, should be enough to keep your battery charged, assuming that you're driving for 15-20 minutes each time, and not draining the power with some huge overpowered stereo system. Now if this is really only once per week or 1-2 miles, then it may not be enough. To complicate matters this also depends on factors like the condition of the alternator, battery terminals, how many times the battery has been fully discharged, as well as the condition of the rest of the electrical system and what being used while you're driving (lights stereo, wipers, A/C, fan, etc), and especially when you're not driving.

It's also possible that you have an electrical short somewhere slowly draining power from the battery when you're not driving it, in which case the 3-6 miles a couple days a week may not be enough time for your alternator (in good condition) to fully recharge the battery (in good condition), and in the end a battery can only be discharged and re-charged so many times before it starts to lose the ability to hold a charge for any length of time. Hence the quote of 80%.

Keep in mind that anything electrical in the car runs off the battery, and it's the job of the alternator to keep the battery charged. The alternator only works when the car is running. It should be able to keep the battery charged if regularly driven. Assuming that nothing else is going on that you are not telling us about or are not aware of, 3-4 times per week for 3-6 miles should be enough but I would say that you are probably just on the edge. if anything is not in good working order, this will probably not be enough driving time to keep the battery charged. I hope this provides some clues for you.

Adam