Hi All,

I have a question regarding my battery. I (like many people before me) am experiencing some problems with my battery. I let it sit (a couple weeks ago) for about 3 days, and when I went back out to use it, the thing was dead. After I boosted it, the tow truck driver (I didn't have another vehicle to boost from) mentioned that my battery (the stock Interstate) wasn't really the best, and he recommended I get something a bit more powerful. He also said that it was likely my battery had gone bad.

Since then, I would turn the vehicle on at least once a day, regardless of if I was using it or not, just to recharge the battery. There were multiple times where the vehicle struggled to start. Once, it had died again, and I needed another boost.

Today, I turned on my vehicle to go run some errands. I used it for about 30 minutes of driving, and then made a stop outside a destination. I turned the vehicle off, locked it, and left my hazards on. I returned to my vehicle after about 20-30 minutes (sitting off, but hazards blinking), and my battery was completely dead.

I have looked into this on this site and others, but most of the time people have issues with a constant current (half an amp or so) draining their batteries overnight (BeCM not sleeping, moisture in the system, etc). I thought that might have been the case, but today's occurrence of killing the battery with just my hazard lights led me to believe that it might just be a faulty battery. It was dry and not too cold today (around 3ēC), if that is of any use.

I am looking at getting a deep-cycle battery anyway for use on the trail (lights, winch, etc), so the timing isn't all that bad. I just want to make sure that indeed I don't have any other electrical problems as well. I do have a multimeter, although I won't have it for about a month (it's at my parent's house).

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

John

 

Until you replace the bad battery there is nothing else to do or check.
You cant check for current drain with a bad battery.

 

A parts store can test your battery for free. Would also advise that until you get this resolved you unplug the alarm switch for the hood. May prevent immobilzation after battery failure/jump off.

 

What switch is this that you're talking about? What would cause immobilization?

 

Along the edge of the hood will be an alarm switch. If the truck is locked, and the battery dies during the locked period, when fresh power is applied the alarm can wake up, remeber that it was "armed" before it went to sleep, and whoa, somebody is trying to make off with the Master's chariot. Immobilize and wait for back up.

 

Is it sealed or a maintenance battery? Can you test the electrolyte levels with a cheap hydrometer? Take it to a shop and have them load test it. Also try and charge it from scratch at a low amp rate, say 2 amps for a day or so before upping the charge rate and retesting it. Might be worth trying these things Before shelling for a new battery.

 

Most parts stores in the larger cities have a computerized battery tester. No one is going to pop open the cover and start letting teenage employees suck out battery acid for testing. Too much liability. You can do your own load test, just switch on the lights, fan, etc. A battery with a dead cell will drop voltage like a stone. Most batteries are on the way out in 3 years. Yes, you can pay more and get a little more life. If you are a road warrior (traveling guy) and this is SWMBO ride, give her a new battery every year. Put the old one in something else. The charge rate from the alternator is pretty puny to start with, usually less than 10 amps, even though altenator can put out more amps.