Anyone else have battery trouble?

jon f mn · Dec 1, 2015

Getting new batteries in my truck again today, they were just put in in Oct. Been a long time since I've
had a set in my truck make it much over a year. Yes I have everything tested and its all working
properly. I know it's because of all the electronics putting a heavy drain on them, but it's getting
frustrating. Luckily this set came from TA/Petro and are covered under warranty.

Russ from MN · Dec 1, 2015

Nope, the 11 year old one in our JD 4600 still started it last week. It's going to sit for 3 months, I don't expect it to start in the spring! Our Son might use it, and I worry about him getting the grille put back on properly, he's an engineer, and they can't be trusted! Next year I plan on putting a plug by the dash for connecting a charger. I thought about putting a maintainer on it, but I have heard of them starting fires, so I didn't. In our 13 Silverado I disconnect the ground battery cable, that worked good last year, they have enough computer drain that I understand it would be dead in 3 months.

Adirondack case guy · Dec 1, 2015

Jon, Tom just told me you were at a TSA and having bat problems, and low and behold this post just came up. The three of us must have that mental teleprathy thing. Like the other day when I told you to say "I'm going to have a good day-I'm going to have a good day-------"
Loren

01gentdc · Dec 1, 2015

MITE NOT BE YOUR CURRENT PROBLEM ,,couple yrs ago the 96 crown vic started killin batteries ,,,,after the 2nd one , figured out it was the alternater overcharging ,,, and upon shut off ,, the alternater grounded somehow internally and in a couple days the battery would be dead ..

jeffcat · Dec 1, 2015

On a digital meter the charge system should max out at 14.2 volts and for sure no higher than 14.6. When I used to repair car radios every reference was 14.2 with 14.6 for test only in all of the service manuals. Wally world used to have a digital voltage tester that plugged into the cigar lighter. They were very accurate and I still have the two I bought. Go on fleabay and they are around $5.oo. Worth every penny.

IowaJohn · Dec 1, 2015

Got that going on in my '99 PU, If it sets for a couple of days it barely turns over, it'll still start. Put the trickle charger on it last nite and disconnected the battery. I'm going to leave it set for a few days and see if the battery goes down. The battery was new in September.

Bruce from Can. · Dec 1, 2015

Ya , ever since I turned 50 , my batteries don't seem to take a full charge, and they run down to quick too.

MARK ROBKE · Dec 1, 2015

I am presuming they won't hold a charge,or are they just going dead? Batteries only a few months old ought to be able to be recharged. I would check for a continuous draw.Anything over a 1/2 amp over a few days would drain the batteries.If you find a draw,make sure the key is off,dome lights,under bunk lights,cooler,tv,all off.It takes a few minutes for all the modules to power down,so you have to keep a meter inline for maybe 3-5 minutes to get a true reading.Did you have the alternator load tested to see how many amps it is putting out,not just checking the voltage?Amps are what keeps the batteries up.Mark

jon f mn · Dec 1, 2015

They checked the alternator when the new batteries were put in, but have to wait til they get the truck started to check it today.

MARK ROBKE · Dec 1, 2015

You may also need a higher amp alternator,too.Has it ever been replaced?Mark

01gentdc · Dec 1, 2015

uuh oh that sounds like my problem ,,.it was like that , and never had a alternator pull that trik ,, it was a daily driver so I never noticed battery drain ,..have the alternater tested

guido · Dec 1, 2015

Hello jon f mm,

Not normal! I would have a good look at the grounding of the alternator. Or jut for insurance add one to the block. Voltage regulator depends on a good ground to work properly. Bad ground at the alternator will make it go goofy. With new batteries they should be able to load test the alternator as you said. Could be just a bad regulator. How many are there in the system 3? If you are consistently operating at zero degrees a fourth one may be in order.............

Guido.

jon f mn · Dec 1, 2015

They tested the alternator once the truck started and it works as it should. One battery was totally shot and 3 were bad, so I think the bad one ruined the good ones. Of course they don't sell that brand either at th9se truckstops so they may have been a problem.

Anyone else have battery trouble?

jon f mn

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Russ from MN

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Adirondack case guy

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01gentdc

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jeffcat

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IowaJohn

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Bruce from Can.

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MARK ROBKE

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jon f mn

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MARK ROBKE

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01gentdc

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guido

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jon f mn

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