Been battling an electrical problem for about 3 years now. (BTW - truck is a '99 LX-470 with 232K and all original except starter, fuel injector and an axle seal).
In the fall of 2009, my wife called saying that the battery was dead because my son was listening to the radio for about 20 min. Got a jump start and everything was fine for a few weeks and then, another no-start. I cleaned all the connections and didn't have problems for a few months but then, seemingly at random, the truck wouldn't start and needed a jump. around June 2010, i replaced the battery and all has been well up until about 4 weeks ago. Two separate times I thought that the battery went dead rather quickly. once, with the key on (to move the power seat around) while installing a seat cover for my wife, it didn't have enough juice to restart and recently, she was reading a book with the dome light for about a 1/2 hour. These seem pretty logical, battery with diminished capacity.
Checked voltage after letting it sit overnight and it was 12.66. Seems well within the range. Took all the connections apart and cleaned them and applied a little anti-corrosion jelly (wasn't really corroded but I fig it can't hurt).
HOWEVER, last week, she went out in the AM to pick my son up from school, drove home, parked in the garage for about 30 min, came out and it was dead.
I talked her through using my meter and the battery was 11.9v. She said that the alternator light never came on. Charged it up and it's been fine ever since. On Sat, while I was home, i checked -
Battery Load Test at Advance Auto - 600CCA (rated at 700) and voltage ok.
Held a meter on while starting, it starts so quick that it's hard to even see a reading but all I saw flash was 10.9v for the lowest. Seems ok.
Alternator, while battery was pretty full was 13.88v.
So, the alternator light comes on with the key so it's definitely got a good bulb. How can the battery discharge w/out seeing that light? In my experience, alternators don't randomly not charge either. They work or they don't.
Is there any other possibility of something drawing down the circuit that hard while the key if off? I know that the interior light cutout circuit does work properly and shuts down the lights if the doors are left open. The last time, a new battery made the problem go away, but before I go purchase one, I'd like to know if others have had a similar experience or have any other ideas.
Thanks?
In the fall of 2009, my wife called saying that the battery was dead because my son was listening to the radio for about 20 min. Got a jump start and everything was fine for a few weeks and then, another no-start. I cleaned all the connections and didn't have problems for a few months but then, seemingly at random, the truck wouldn't start and needed a jump. around June 2010, i replaced the battery and all has been well up until about 4 weeks ago. Two separate times I thought that the battery went dead rather quickly. once, with the key on (to move the power seat around) while installing a seat cover for my wife, it didn't have enough juice to restart and recently, she was reading a book with the dome light for about a 1/2 hour. These seem pretty logical, battery with diminished capacity.
Checked voltage after letting it sit overnight and it was 12.66. Seems well within the range. Took all the connections apart and cleaned them and applied a little anti-corrosion jelly (wasn't really corroded but I fig it can't hurt).
HOWEVER, last week, she went out in the AM to pick my son up from school, drove home, parked in the garage for about 30 min, came out and it was dead.
I talked her through using my meter and the battery was 11.9v. She said that the alternator light never came on. Charged it up and it's been fine ever since. On Sat, while I was home, i checked -
Battery Load Test at Advance Auto - 600CCA (rated at 700) and voltage ok.
Held a meter on while starting, it starts so quick that it's hard to even see a reading but all I saw flash was 10.9v for the lowest. Seems ok.
Alternator, while battery was pretty full was 13.88v.
So, the alternator light comes on with the key so it's definitely got a good bulb. How can the battery discharge w/out seeing that light? In my experience, alternators don't randomly not charge either. They work or they don't.
Is there any other possibility of something drawing down the circuit that hard while the key if off? I know that the interior light cutout circuit does work properly and shuts down the lights if the doors are left open. The last time, a new battery made the problem go away, but before I go purchase one, I'd like to know if others have had a similar experience or have any other ideas.
Thanks?
