Road trips kill the battery

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

H

Hendlerj

Joined
Aug 26, 2020
Threads
25
Messages
168
Location
VT
I have a weird situation.

I have 2014 200 with 156k miles on it.

If I use it around town for thirty minutes missions, everything is fine.

If I drive it 75mph for four hours straight on a road trip, it kills the battery.

Symptoms are the radio starts to reboot, sometimes the whole car seems to reboot while at speed, sometimes the car acts silly when I turn it off (like putting itself back into AUX mode) and sometimes it won't start after a four hour highway drive.

Is my alternator overcharging the battery and cooking it? Or something like that?

Has anybody has this?

Thank you
Jared
 
What is battery voltage (with negative terminal disconnected) when you have driven it for a while with symptoms you share? When you connect the -ve terminal back and start it/idle, what is voltage across terminals? If your battery is draining while driving the long it will eventually make your car stall if driven long enough. If the latter, it may point to a faulty alternator. I would also get your battery tested for good measure at a big box store.
 
What type of battery are you running? Are there any mods to the vehicle or is it stock?
 
I am running an OEM 72 month Toyota battery that was installed in October. The previous battery was from an auto parts store. Problem has occurred with both. I have a winch and ARB lights. Only because I take long drives so infrequently was I able to pick up on the pattern that the long drives is what kills it.
 
I wonder if an electrical connection in the alternator or charging circuit is faulty and overheating after a while to the point it opens up. That could be tricky to diagnose. In addition to the voltage checks already suggested, make sure cables are good and main grounds clean. Any testing would be best done with the vehicle hot. And, as my usual recommendation for any weird electrical issue, make sure the connectors in the door sills are clean and dry.
 
hoser said:
Disconnect all aftermarket electrical accessories to simplify troubleshooting.
Click to expand...
I brought it to a local shop and he just called to say there was a huge loa from the winch. He disconnected it. Is there an in line switch people use to reconnect the winch when it's needed?
 
Yes, Blue Sea and many others offer battery disconnect switches rated at 500A or so that can work as a winch disconnect. But I would still fix the issue at hand. A winch shorting out could cause a vehicle fire.
 
hoser said:
Yes, Blue Sea and many others offer battery disconnect switches rated at 500A or so that can work as a winch disconnect. But I would still fix the issue at hand. A winch shorting out could cause a vehicle fire.
Click to expand...
Agreed. A constant load from the winch that is higher than what the alternator could supply to the battery for charging is pretty crazy.
 
hoser said:
Yes, Blue Sea and many others offer battery disconnect switches rated at 500A or so that can work as a winch disconnect. But I would still fix the issue at hand. A winch shorting out could cause a vehicle fire.
Click to expand...
Who fixes a short in the winch? Small engine repair shop?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom