Need Help!

[Bill Cleveland]

I don't think it matters; I put mine on the neg cable because it was more convenient to do so.

[isaltz]

Well Mark, theres always a smart ellic in the bunch and i guess its me, lol so heres my thought, ditch auto zone and try oreily's or somewhere else, thats the first step. other than that i agree with all the others, how long is it inbetween times that you use it. i have a clock in mine that has a memory but its LED so it doesnt pull much current. Good luck!

[mike wade]

I don't think it matters; I put mine on the neg cable because it was more convenient to do so.

Don't really matter which cable just like Bill says just make it where you can reach it easy and then you will not forget to turn it off all the time........Don't ask me how I know but if you don't use "IT" the battery will still run down just like it does now!!!!!!! .....

[Indycars]

Several times this summer, a dead battery has limited me from maximizing my fun.

How old is the battery?

How long is it setting before you try it again?

Using a volt meter, what does it show across the battery at idle with your BRIGHT lights and
anything else you can turn on? Also at a fast idle (1200-1500 RPM)?

[rbsWELDER]

Several times this summer, a dead battery has limited me from maximizing my fun.

How old is the battery?

How long is it setting before you try it again?

Using a volt meter, what does it show across the battery at idle with your BRIGHT lights and
anything else you can turn on? Also at a fast idle (1200-1500 RPM)?

1-The battery is probably 4 years old.

2-Sets about 3 days between use.

4-I will have to get the voltages, when it warms up.

5-I have always liked O'Reilly's, but in Mooresville, NC the O'Reilly's absolutely HATES customers. If you stop by, it is always like you are interrupting their nap or their milk and cookie time. The AZ and the Advanced are great to work with. NAPA is so-so.

[Indycars]

Well it's certainly old enough at 4 years to be having trouble. Temperature, depth
of discharge and time are major factors concerning battery life.
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/ar ... 5396023713
http://www.power-thru.com/documents/The ... 0Paper.pdf

[attachment=0]DischargeCyclesOfLeadAcidBattery.JPG[/attachment]

A good battery should easily stay charged for 3 days obviously.

It will be interesting to see if the alternator is putting out enough to charge the battery
while also carrying any load that's put on the system.

[isaltz]

WELL depending on the quality of the battery, 4 yrs is stretching a cheap battery, i'd say you probably got your life out of it. but, it could still be good and be like some of what the others have said. but im thinking after 4 yrs batteries do go bad.

[rbsWELDER]

Okay, I completed the first test.

I charged the battery until the charger kicked out and then measured the voltage every 24 hours. Results:

Day / Voltage

0 / 12.65
1 / 12.56
2 / 12.50
3 / 12.46

So its this a normal decline?

I, also, reran the amp test. Detaching the negative side and measuring the amps between the negative post and the negative wire, on a 10X scale, it kept flashing between .00 and .01 and finally settled on .01.

Opinions? Thoughts?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[Indycars]

Okay, I completed the first test.

I charged the battery until the charger kicked out and then measured the voltage every 24 hours. Results:

Day / Voltage

0 / 12.65
1 / 12.56
2 / 12.50
3 / 12.46

So its this a normal decline?

Seems like alittle too much voltage drop, but nothing drastic. Would it start after the 3rd day?

Would still like to see .......
Using a volt meter, what does it show across the battery at idle with your BRIGHT lights and
anything else you can turn on? Also at a fast idle (1200-1500 RPM)?

https://www.batterystuff.com/kb/article ... asics.html

BatteryVoltage.JPG (32.39 KiB) Viewed 311 times