Exciting 91 FJ80 starting problem (1 Viewer)

[JakeVII]

I've been letting the truck sit for a lot recently.
Two weeks ago:
I went to fire it up, charge the batteries and make sure everything was good.
No start. Engine cranks slowly. ECU light on. Battery gauge at middle.
Figure it's a low battery from parasitic drain.
Boost battery. Truck struggles the first time I start it, struggles and dies. Fires second time I start it.
Go for an hour-long trip 10 miles from town (with the sat phone, I'm not that stupid).
Come back, park the truck. Switch it off. Start it back on after 10 seconds. Starts fine, go inside satisfied and gut the grouse I shot on my trip.

Today:
Nervous about whether or not the truck will start. Is it a parasitic drain?
Try to start truck. Cranks slowly like last time, no start.
Get out multi-meter. See 25 milliAmps draw. Shoot, that's pretty much perfect.
Boost the truck. Truck struggles the first time I start it, struggles and dies. Fires second time I start it.
Don't go anywhere because it's Tuesday afternoon.
Let truck run for 7 minutes. Battery gauge looks good for running, no concerns there.
Turn truck off. Turn it back on 10 seconds later. No start. Cranks slowly.
Notice new antifreeze underneath truck. (Probably not related, but hey I am not a mechanic).


So is this a bad battery?
This is an Optima yellow top I bought in May 2015. Temperature where I live is about -25 C every day.
I think I've ruled out the parasitic drain because of today's no start. ( I have very little faith in my ability to read my $5 analog multi-meter).
Anything else I'm missing?
Might things have gone differently if I had let the alternator work for more than 7 minutes?

 

[blkprj80]

That sounds about like any bad battery I've had.
I took it to Vatozone and they tested it. It was bad, and it was their battery.
First one was in a truck I sold a year later.
Second was in my 80, so I upgraded to one of their AGM batteries since they were giving me full purchase price toward a new replacement. So far so good...

Wait, you said -25C? Shiiittt.... You can keep that! Maybe one of those battery blankets might help?

 

[JakeVII]

@blkprj80
Even in an Optima, eh? Not the worst luck, it's probably (hopefully?) still under warranty.

 

[blkprj80]

The worst you can do is test it.

I'd maybe put a battery maintainer on it if it tests okay. Batteries don't like cold.

 

[427060]

Do you keep a battery tender on it, or just start it periodically? Optimas don't like to sit for too long, or to run too low. I went through two of them in three years because I was just using a float charger and running it every few weeks.

You can have it reconditioned if it's been cycled too low.

 

[JakeVII]

@427060
I just start it once a week and go do something with it for a bit.
Good to know that Optimas don't like sitting.

I'll look into getting it reconditioned. Can anyone recondition an Optima? Or is it a specialized procedure?

 

[JCruse]

Get a decent battery charger. You can get decent stuff for fairly cheap.

I recently got a Solar brand Pro-Logix 2320, a 2/10/20A charger/maintainer with desulfation and a unique maintain feature. After keeping 2A on it at 13.7V, roughly once every week or so it puts a load on the battery for a little bit and then charges it back up. They claim this is good for the battery. And it was only $67!

http://www.amazon.com/BA9-40-1200-Digital-Battery-System/dp/B00IZFNJ6Y/ref=pd_sim_263_1?ie=UTF8&dpID=416+Ue1xIgL&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160,160_&refRID=0532444WY4XD165Y8P60








You can also get a tester for $50-$60 bucks that tests the battery and the charging system.

I got this at the same time:









It tests CCA's for a pass/fail grade and the alternator.

Amazon.com: SOLAR BA9 40-1200 CCA Digital Battery and System Tester: Automotive














I got tired of draining batteries and guessing on their health with nothing but a DMM.
Now I can take better care of most of our car batteries.
































.

 

[maxamillion2345]

Take it to the store and have them charge and then test it. Sounds like a bad battery to me.

I'd probably replace it with something else, optima has gone to s***.