Battery keeps dying - Ideas for keeping battery fresh?

[man0fsteel]

100 watt solar panel installed on the roof rack works for me. Battery always fresh and fully charged. 80 is parked outside, so even on the cloudy day it will charge. Dead battery in the 80 is the thing of the past.

I’ve been investigating this as I’m going to get a 12v fridge and I don’t want to go to a dual battery system.

 

[man0fsteel]

If you already have a battery tender on it, then you have a pretty serious drain.

If you still have the "factory" alarm, that could be your issue. I was having bizarre electrical issues until one day mine decided it wanted to go off in a parking lot and completely disable my truck. I have NEVER had a fob and only locked the doors with the button inside and used the key to unlock.

After that issue, I ripped out the factory alarm by the roots and all my electical issues went away.

If you MUST have an alarm, have a new one (maybe viper) installed professionally.

Otherwise, use a battery disconnect under the hood that can be quickly turned back to power so you can drive it. That said, UNLESS you MUST have an alarm for glass breakage or such.

Amazon product ASIN B09W5KDTN2

I do have the OG alarm. Funny, I had a Volkswagen Corrado back in the day and I had all kinds of electrical problems after I installed an alarm (back in those days, stereo theft was rampant). When I traveled for work, I would park my car at the top level of the parking lot so I could jump start it if the battery was drained (it was 50-50 whether the car turned over). My next car was my Landcruiser because I was tired of problems! One of the best decisions of my life!!

 

[mudgudgeon]

I’ve been investigating this as I’m going to get a 12v fridge and I don’t want to go to a dual battery system.

100w solar panel is unlikely to keep up with power draw from your average 12 volt fridge. Maybe in ideal conditions.

A dual battery gives you a buffer, and power when there's no sun, and preserves your starting battery so you can drive away regardless of how much energy your fridge has consumed.

 

[man0fsteel]

100w solar panel is unlikely to keep up with power draw from your average 12 volt fridge. Maybe in ideal conditions.

A dual battery gives you a buffer, and power when there's no sun, and preserves your starting battery so you can drive away regardless of how much energy your fridge has consumed.

I'm going to have to see where the drain is coming from before I even go down the solar/dual battery set up. But I have had my eye on the Anker battery powered fridge - Hopefully it's out by the time I've got things sorted out (and as slow as my restoration is going, I'm sure it will) Anker EverFrost Powered Cooler—Everlasting Coolness. Anytime, Anywhere. - https://www.anker.com/everfrost-powered-cooler

 

[man0fsteel]

Microprocessor-Controlled Battery Charger/Maintainer

Efficiently maintain car, boat, or power equipment batteries with our microprocessor-controlled charger.

www.griotsgarage.com

Battery Desulfation Tutorial | ChargingChargers.com

A tutorial on lead acid battery desulfation methods

www.chargingchargers.com

I wonder what that battery charger does that my little battery tender doesn't? Too bad it doesn't have a quick connection plug like the Battery Tender does. If all goes according to plan, I'll have my LC in the garage after I clear out the parking area, currently occupied by my 2 motorcycles and I can just keep it attached to something like that more advanced charger without it getting exposed to the elements. My new motorcycle shed just got installed so all I have to do is sell the other one and voila! Home for the Gretty. Oh, wait, I have my entire outdoor kitchen on pallets blocking the way too but those will be installed in a month as part of our outdoor renovations...

Man this damn list of sh*t to do is getting longer and longer.

 

[man0fsteel]

test the draw w/ the key off. report back

what type of battery? lead acid? agm? agm prefers a higher charging voltage, but mine is doing fine on the OE alternator. i did splurge for a new maintainer that has an AGM profile, repair mode, 12v supply mode, and higher amps. its a Noco 10A. my ~1A Battery Tender still works but I keep that on a different car w/ a lead acid battery. both vehicles have permanent cables connected so i can quickly connect the chargers.

Yup...going to dig into the draw (hopefully this weekend). It's a regular sealed lead acid battery and I've got the battery tender on now.

 

[man0fsteel]

But he doesn’t mention which model of Battery Tender he’s using. There are several. If it’s a Battery Tender, Jr, it might not be powerful enough to do the job.

 

[DrDuc]

View attachment 3344808

That 1.25 amp rating may be why you’re having trouble. They make one that goes up to 8 amps, if I remember correctly, and others in this thread have mentioned other brands that go up to 10 amps.

 

[western flyer]

Yes, 1.25 amps is quite a low amperage for a large car battery, even more so with a parasitic drain. That charger I recommended can put out a selectable 2, 10, or 20 amps in full charge mode. The smart charger function in that Griots' charger will also tailor the charge curve to lead acid, AGM, or GEL batteries. I have mine float charging an old AGM battery in the garage now. Nevertheless, that fancy Griot's charger is more than the OP needs here. As noted, a moderately "smart" battery charger with a float mode and several more amps than 1.25 would probably adequately keep up with the OP's situation.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

My battery drain issue back in the day was the dead protection zener diode on the 'room light control' module that makes the ring around the ignition switch glow. There's a thread about the fix. Just cut it off the board. Replace it if you insist but it appears that it doesn't really need protection.

Following that fix, a float charger rated at 750mA has been more than adequate to keep it topped up while it is sometimes parked for a few months. I got 8 years out of my last battery.

 

[man0fsteel]

My battery drain issue back in the day was the dead protection zener diode on the 'room light control' module that makes the ring around the ignition switch glow. There's a thread about the fix. Just cut it off the board. Replace it if you insist but it appears that it doesn't really need protection.

Following that fix, a float charger rated at 750mA has been more than adequate to keep it topped up while it is sometimes parked for a few months. I got 8 years out of my last battery.

Thanks - I just checked and the green light around the key does indeed time out after a few seconds of closing the door. I've got a multimeter on order and it'll be here Monday. I have a sneaky suspicion the drain might be from the factory alarm or perhaps my after market head unit.

What is an acceptable load for our Cruisers? I've read the draw should be less than 50 ma for most cars. Am I right to assume that if I have a 1.25 A battery tender, as long as I have a draw less than that, the battery will charge? Obviously I want the draw when parked to be as little as possible so when I'm out and about it's not going to die either.

 

[Timpanogos Slim]

Thanks - I just checked and the green light around the key does indeed time out after a few seconds of closing the door. I've got a multimeter on order and it'll be here Monday. I have a sneaky suspicion the drain might be from the factory alarm or perhaps my after market head unit.

What is an acceptable load for our Cruisers? I've read the draw should be less than 50 ma for most cars. Am I right to assume that if I have a 1.25 A battery tender, as long as I have a draw less than that, the battery will charge? Obviously I want the draw when parked to be as little as possible so when I'm out and about it's not going to die either.

Yeah, before i fixed the module, in full darkness i could see that the ring around the ignition switch was still glowing faintly.

I don't know what the acceptable nominal load is. I still have the factory alarm but i typically keep the cruiser on a float charger because i might not drive it for a month or three.

The factory alarm seems to be losing its mind, i lost the fob that was reliable, and the other fob is degrading. I bought an aftermarket alarm that I'll be installing when i get a round tuit.

 

[jht3]

Thanks - I just checked and the green light around the key does indeed time out after a few seconds of closing the door. I've got a multimeter on order and it'll be here Monday. I have a sneaky suspicion the drain might be from the factory alarm or perhaps my after market head unit.

What is an acceptable load for our Cruisers? I've read the draw should be less than 50 ma for most cars. Am I right to assume that if I have a 1.25 A battery tender, as long as I have a draw less than that, the battery will charge? Obviously I want the draw when parked to be as little as possible so when I'm out and about it's not going to die either.

a multimeter is a MUST for everyone's toolbox! i finally upgraded to an auto-ranging model. can never have too many meters.

when you get it, figure out how to put it in series between the battery + post and cable. watch the numbers as you turn off the ignition, close doors, and various relays click off. i don't have a factory draw number, but in our old trucks it should be low....like in the 50mA range, once the the headlight relay and power window relay time out after ~60secs. i want to say when i tested my truck, i saw it drop to ~35mA, but my memory ain't so great any more!

if it stays high, look at the cabin fuse box and start removing fuses while watching the meter.

your 1.25A tender is plenty adequate to keep a charged battery maintained. high amp models like my 10A i have for repairing completely dead batteries or supplying 12V to a car while i code modules or flash an engine tune. you can also put your meter inline for the tender as well, and watch the current output. would need a 2nd meter to also watch the battery voltage. remember what i said about can never have too many meters?

 

[man0fsteel]

a multimeter is a MUST for everyone's toolbox! i finally upgraded to an auto-ranging model. can never have too many meters.

when you get it, figure out how to put it in series between the battery + post and cable. watch the numbers as you turn off the ignition, close doors, and various relays click off. i don't have a factory draw number, but in our old trucks it should be low....like in the 50mA range, once the the headlight relay and power window relay time out after ~60secs. i want to say when i tested my truck, i saw it drop to ~35mA, but my memory ain't so great any more!

if it stays high, look at the cabin fuse box and start removing fuses while watching the meter.

your 1.25A tender is plenty adequate to keep a charged battery maintained. high amp models like my 10A i have for repairing completely dead batteries or supplying 12V to a car while i code modules or flash an engine tune. you can also put your meter inline for the tender as well, and watch the current output. would need a 2nd meter to also watch the battery voltage. remember what i said about can never have too many meters?

Multimeter arrived and I got around to checking the amp draw this weekend. It was quite low (see pic). This was without the alarm turned on. When I turned on the alarm, the draw jumped up briefly, then dropped back down to approx the same draw (33mA).

Reading up, it sounds like my previous batteries died as a result of them being drained multiple times, since it doesn't appear there is a large parasitic drain. I should have mentioned, that my battery tender wasn't attached during a lot of the winter as we had a nutty rainy season. It was during these times, the battery died (the alarm could not be disarmed with the remote)

I appreciate everyone's help. If the battery dies now with the battery tender on it constantly, I'll revive this thread.

Cheers!

 

[sunrk]

Disconnecting the battery won't stop it self-discharging but it will eliminate all parasitic loads. There is always some parasitic load if there's a sound system since even though it's 'off' it's not actually off (only on standby). Same as if there's an alarm. The factory clock has power all the time (if it works properly).

Any decent battery charger worth it's salt should do the job like a Ctek unit, but if you want to do that the vehicle has to be out of the weather as you don't wants a mains power electrical device not designed for constant outdoor use running 24/7 in all weathers.