Quantcast
Battery issues - Beyond.ca - Car Forums
Results 1 to 11 of 11

Thread: Battery issues

  1. #1
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    The depths of despair!
    My Ride
    Anything topless.
    Posts
    3,073
    Rep Power
    25

    Default Battery issues

    So I have a fairly new battery (a couple of years old) and am having a few issues with it now. The car it is in is only driven in summer and has a propensity to sit for months at a time. After each winter (around March/April) for the past 2 years, I've had to jump start the car with a battery pack and after running, it's held its charge until it sits once again for a long period of time. It has also sat for about a month's time in July while I go on vacation and would need another jump start when I would return.

    I've noticed that it seems as though the time it can maintain a charge is getting shorter and shorter. About a month ago, I noticed that only after a week of sitting, the car was not able to start. I then bought a 2 amp trickle charger and left it over night and got a full charge on my battery at about 12.7 volts and it started right up but just last week I let the car sit overnight and the battery had dropped to around 12.2 and the car wouldn't start unless I used the battery pack jump start. 2 nights ago after driving the car all day and having a full charge, the battery needed another jump start the next morning. Last night, I brought my jump start pack to work and had to use it after work and drove across the city to the NW from the deep SE and let the car sit for about an hour and a half and when I went to start it, it cranked right up. I then drove home and let it sit and checked the battery in the morning and again, it was down to about 12.3 so I threw on the trickle charger for about 2 hours for the drive this morning.

    I'm just wondering if there is a slow drain or if the battery is shot. I haven't had any issues with any electrical aspects of the car so I'm leaning toward the battery. Could the battery be knackered from the multiple jump starts or could I have accidentally overcharged it with the trickle charger the first night (I can't remember how long I actually had it on initially)?

    I'm guessing I will need a new battery but I just want to know what I need to do differently next time.
    sig deleted by moderator, click here for info

    WTF!! I am a moderator!!


  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2011
    Location
    Strathmore
    My Ride
    2005 Dirtymax
    Posts
    2,222
    Rep Power
    22

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by LUDELVR View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    So I have a fairly new battery (a couple of years old) and am having a few issues with it now. The car it is in is only driven in summer and has a propensity to sit for months at a time. After each winter (around March/April) for the past 2 years, I've had to jump start the car with a battery pack and after running, it's held its charge until it sits once again for a long period of time. It has also sat for about a month's time in July while I go on vacation and would need another jump start when I would return.

    I've noticed that it seems as though the time it can maintain a charge is getting shorter and shorter. About a month ago, I noticed that only after a week of sitting, the car was not able to start. I then bought a 2 amp trickle charger and left it over night and got a full charge on my battery at about 12.7 volts and it started right up but just last week I let the car sit overnight and the battery had dropped to around 12.2 and the car wouldn't start unless I used the battery pack jump start. 2 nights ago after driving the car all day and having a full charge, the battery needed another jump start the next morning. Last night, I brought my jump start pack to work and had to use it after work and drove across the city to the NW from the deep SE and let the car sit for about an hour and a half and when I went to start it, it cranked right up. I then drove home and let it sit and checked the battery in the morning and again, it was down to about 12.3 so I threw on the trickle charger for about 2 hours for the drive this morning.

    I'm just wondering if there is a slow drain or if the battery is shot. I haven't had any issues with any electrical aspects of the car so I'm leaning toward the battery. Could the battery be knackered from the multiple jump starts or could I have accidentally overcharged it with the trickle charger the first night (I can't remember how long I actually had it on initially)?

    I'm guessing I will need a new battery but I just want to know what I need to do differently next time.
    Do a parasitic draw test and see if something is using juice. Could be the radio for example. Best idea for long sits is disconnect the terminals if you can.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Location
    Only 15min from Aspen!
    My Ride
    Nothing interesting anymore
    Posts
    8,403
    Rep Power
    100

    Default

    I'd say there's a parasitic draw, and you've killed the battery too many times now. Replace it while it's still under warranty (if it is only a couple of years old). Like firebane said, disconnect the terminals when it isn't in use. You can even get a battery disconnect switch for fairly cheap.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    The depths of despair!
    My Ride
    Anything topless.
    Posts
    3,073
    Rep Power
    25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by firebane View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Do a parasitic draw test and see if something is using juice. Could be the radio for example. Best idea for long sits is disconnect the terminals if you can.
    Yeah, I'm going to disconnect the battery once I take it off insurance this season and when it's time to start it up, I'll check the voltage and use the trickle charger for an appropriate amount of time. I've read that it's like 1 amp charge per hour. This way I won't overcharge it. I'll also look into doing a parasitic draw but I'm just wondering if it's possible for the radio or part of the electric system to suddenly just start drawing power away from the battery when it hasn't done so for the past 9 years. I feel like the only thing that has been introduced into that equation was dealing with the battery, more so with jump starting the battery and using the trickle charger for longer than I should have.

    - - - Updated - - -

    Quote Originally Posted by Tik-Tok View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    I'd say there's a parasitic draw, and you've killed the battery too many times now. Replace it while it's still under warranty (if it is only a couple of years old). Like firebane said, disconnect the terminals when it isn't in use. You can even get a battery disconnect switch for fairly cheap.

    Unfortunately, I missed the date as the battery had a 2 year over the counter exchange warranty but I bought it in April of 2016!
    sig deleted by moderator, click here for info

    WTF!! I am a moderator!!


  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Calgarian Living in Edmonton
    My Ride
    93 240sx SE, 17 Infiniti Q50S, 2008 Highlander
    Posts
    6,681
    Rep Power
    35

    Default

    The battery in my 240sx was dead from 3 years of non-driving. Tried putting it on a trickle charger and it wouldn't charge, kept giving me an error. Brought it to work, connected my battery to a brand new battery and put the battery charger on low amp. It finally took a charge and charged fully. Battery has been on trickle charger for 2 years now though lol. But the charging with the new battery did the trick and brought it back to life
    Originally posted by GTS Jeff
    You know those bored stay at home moms who's entire lives revolve around driving their kids to soccer, various cleaning accessories, and worrying about neighbourhood rapists? The kind of people that watch the View and go "uh huh..." Those unfulfilled people who try to fill the void in their empty lives by writing whiny letters to the editor complaining about shit that no one really cares about?

    Well imagine if instead of writing that letter to the editor, she just posts on a car forum for car enthusiasts. That's Kritafo.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    The depths of despair!
    My Ride
    Anything topless.
    Posts
    3,073
    Rep Power
    25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by dj_rice View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    The battery in my 240sx was dead from 3 years of non-driving. Tried putting it on a trickle charger and it wouldn't charge, kept giving me an error. Brought it to work, connected my battery to a brand new battery and put the battery charger on low amp. It finally took a charge and charged fully. Battery has been on trickle charger for 2 years now though lol. But the charging with the new battery did the trick and brought it back to life
    Wait a sec... so you have to keep trickle charging it or you don't have to anymore because you charged it with a new battery? I would love to breathe new life into this thing and save the cash but I was under the impression that once it's toast, it's toast.
    sig deleted by moderator, click here for info

    WTF!! I am a moderator!!


  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Upstairs
    My Ride
    Natural Gas.
    Posts
    13,330
    Rep Power
    100

    Default

    Every car has some parasitic drain, and anytime you are storing a vehicle for more than 2 weeks you really should either disconnect the battery or hook up a battery tender to it. Most people prefer the battery tender route because then you don't loose the radio stations.

    Deeply discharging a battery though parasitic drain can permanently damage the battery. Some "smart" chargers claim to be able to reduce this damage though a recondition process, but that only helps a little, and not on badly damaged batteries.

    Some smart chargers won't even charge a deeply discharged battery, so you need a charger with a manual mode to get them up to 80% before the smart charger will engage. Or that trick with hooking it up with a healthy battery works too, although it's not great for the other battery. My Noco has a manual mode for this purpose. Any old school trickle charger would work for that too.

    And in the end, batteries have a finite lifespan even if you don't damage them. That lifespan can be extended with proper care, but it's finite in any case.

    Want to lend me the battery? I'll work on it and tell you what I find.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

  8. #8
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    The depths of despair!
    My Ride
    Anything topless.
    Posts
    3,073
    Rep Power
    25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Every car has some parasitic drain, and anytime you are storing a vehicle for more than 2 weeks you really should either disconnect the battery or hook up a battery tender to it. Most people prefer the battery tender route because then you don't loose the radio stations.

    Deeply discharging a battery though parasitic drain can permanently damage the battery. Some "smart" chargers claim to be able to reduce this damage though a recondition process, but that only helps a little, and not on badly damaged batteries.

    Some smart chargers won't even charge a deeply discharged battery, so you need a charger with a manual mode to get them up to 80% before the smart charger will engage. Or that trick with hooking it up with a healthy battery works too, although it's not great for the other battery. My Noco has a manual mode for this purpose. Any old school trickle charger would work for that too.

    And in the end, batteries have a finite lifespan even if you don't damage them. That lifespan can be extended with proper care, but it's finite in any case.

    Want to lend me the battery? I'll work on it and tell you what I find.
    Yeah, I'd be totally keen to see what's up with this battery. I reckon the season is almost over anyway so I'm not too bothered if I park it.

    I did want to see how the battery was after leaving it tonight for about 5 hours of sitting and the voltage dropped from 12.7 to 12.3. I tried to test the parasitic load and disconnected the negative battery and found it would got to .8 amps for a couple of seconds then drop to 0. In that time though when it was up, I would hear something electrical kick in and then my factory alarm light would flicker and then shut off when the multimeter went back down to 0. I'm wondering if I was triggering something by connecting the circuit.

    I was able to start the car after all if this tonight when the battery read 12.2 and after shutting it down right away, it then read 12.1 volts. I'll see what it is in the morning and if it is super low, I'll trickle charge it because I was planning on driving it.

    If you take a look at it, you should be only able to tell if it's toast or not, yeah? Will you be able to assess if I have a parasitic draw or not? I'm thinking I did the test correctly.
    sig deleted by moderator, click here for info

    WTF!! I am a moderator!!


  9. #9
    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Location
    Upstairs
    My Ride
    Natural Gas.
    Posts
    13,330
    Rep Power
    100

    Default

    Well, just to be clear, you do have a parasitic drain, because all modern cars do. Some have unusual drains, but all have some kind of drain.

    I'm not the guy to test that. But I can fuck around with your battery. Although if it was down to 12.3 or 12.2 after sitting less than a day, I'd say the battery is toast.

    I'll still take a look. It's a hobby of mine.
    Quote Originally Posted by killramos View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    You realize you are talking to the guy who made his own furniture out of salad bowls right?

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2002
    Location
    The depths of despair!
    My Ride
    Anything topless.
    Posts
    3,073
    Rep Power
    25

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by ExtraSlow View Post
    This quote is hidden because you are ignoring this member. Show Quote
    Well, just to be clear, you do have a parasitic drain, because all modern cars do. Some have unusual drains, but all have some kind of drain.

    I'm not the guy to test that. But I can fuck around with your battery. Although if it was down to 12.3 or 12.2 after sitting less than a day, I'd say the battery is toast.

    I'll still take a look. It's a hobby of mine.
    Sounds good man. PM me your number and I'll get ahold of you so you can have a look at it. Cheers man.

    Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that this battery was replaced because the old one was completely toast...literally. My car is turbo'd and the manifold and turbo are very close to the battery. I've tried my best with the current battery to keep it a bit cooler by wrapping it in a reflective wrap as well as put some heat barriers between it and the manifold but am now wondering if the heat might also been a contributor to my battery's demise.
    sig deleted by moderator, click here for info

    WTF!! I am a moderator!!


  11. #11
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    calgary
    Posts
    1,749
    Rep Power
    17

    Default

    Where is the battery/car over the winter? You no doubt know this but as the charge decreases the freezing point of the electrolyte solution increases. If it’s draining and anywhere but a heated garage you’ve been freezing it solid. Once a battery freezes it will never recover.

    A deeply discharged battery will also build up corrosion on the plates and will also never recover

Similar Threads

  1. Battery issues.

    By ShauKnee in forum Mechanical
    Replies: 2
    Latest Threads: 05-18-2009, 08:48 PM
  2. Battery Issues

    By rumeo in forum Computers, Consoles, and other Electronics
    Replies: 5
    Latest Threads: 12-02-2008, 06:58 PM
  3. Battery issues with '91 Integra

    By JordanEG6 in forum General Car/Bike Talk
    Replies: 8
    Latest Threads: 10-24-2007, 01:11 PM
  4. Battery/Alternator Issues - Battery Light - Car Stalls

    By adamq in forum General Car/Bike Talk
    Replies: 5
    Latest Threads: 07-11-2007, 10:54 PM
  5. Battery Issues

    By Skyline_Addict in forum General Car/Bike Talk
    Replies: 8
    Latest Threads: 02-08-2006, 08:33 PM

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •