this is starting to bug the hell out of me but my battery dies if the car sits in the cold it seems for more than an hour or two.I've got a brand new alternator and a year old battery. It has 650 cold cranking amps is this to little for under 40 degrees?

650 CCA ought to be enough. I'd just drive to an auto parts store and have them load test the battery, as it sounds to me like your battery is shot. It only takes one bad cell and you have big problems. If your battery is only a year old, depending on the warrantly, it shouldn't cost you more than maybe $10 to get it replaced.

You will need a multimeter for these tests.

To test your battery:

1- make sure your battery is fully charged (charge it w/ a batter charger overnight)
2- hook up the multimeter to the battery and make sure it reads ~12.6v
3- as somebody starts the car (w/ nothing on), observe the voltage
4- if voltage drops below ~12.1v, then your battery is on its way out

To test your battery:

1- start your car (jump it if your battery can't start it) and make sure nothing is on
2- hook up the multimeter to the battery
3- if it reads 14-16v, then your alternator is working ok. If it reads 12.6-14v, then your alternator *might* be on its way out.

Automotive batteries consist of 6 cells, each producing 2.1v. The cells are connected in series so the battery produces 12.6v. If the battery is on its way out, then the battery would not be able to maintain 12.1-12.6v w/ the amperage draw. If the alternator is on its way out, then voltage would read close to 12.6v (maybe even less) on the battery.

Michael.

A bad battery can kill an alternator pretty fast, so you should make sure to get it fixed soon!

--Eric

If testing a starter you should also measure Starter Draw-measured in Amps-over 200A-bad (measured during cranking)

If Alternator, Starter, and battery tests good, see if if you have a drain somewhere(hook up a multimeter to neg. cable term-
neg cable->multimeter->neg batt. terminal. Set meter to read volts DC <12V. (not sure of acceptable draw probaly like .25v to be sure check FSM) If excessive voltage is found pull fuses 1 at a time to see which circuit/component drain is in.
my2cents
Thanks,
Chris