What causes your battery to die?

[jretrodude]

I have an amp etc. for a stereo system and if I don't drive my GN or start it up in a few weeks to a few months the battery is always dead? I charge it up for a few hours and always says bad battery? Should I unplug the amp wire that goes to the battery, Fan Relay (the big one) and underhood light? Just frustrating having to change the battery out every winter or late fall?

 

[notacarlo]

Test for a draw and then start pulling fuses until it stops. That or get a battery tender.

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[Phoneguy]

Get a battery tender...
Factory alarm? Could be the underhood light or trunk light...Get a DMM in series with your battery and start pulling fuses until the draw on the system is gone. Then narrow it down from there

Bryan

 

[earlbrown]

....or your battery has an internal short and you can completely disconnect it.... and it'll still die.

 

[novaderrik]

unhook the battery when it's going to sit for more than a week or two.

 

[EYE-OPENER]

I had a similar issue as mine only gets driven once a month with the crap weather this year. Have a battery tender now and all I do is unplug it and starts like new no matter how long it's been sitting....disconnecting the battery causes anything with a memory to reset...screw that method...

 

[GNICETRY]

Test for a draw and then start pulling fuses until it stops. That or get a battery tender.

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X2

It's hard to find the problem if you don't do a little testing. Also lose your fan delay relay, you don't need it.

 

[6gunn]

Had the same problem, but I suspect it was because I was always going in and out of the car while doing interior work/underhood work/ect.. and not cranking the car up to recharge the battery. Got a battery tender and it's perfect now. Battery tenders are about $10 bucks from Harbor Freight. I got one for the GN and another for another rarely driven car...and will probably get a 3rd for the other vehicles. One brought an Optima Red top back from 7v. THAT sold me on battery tenders...as I've never used them until recently.

 

[notacarlo]

My service manager always said this about cars that sit.

Starting a stored car to "charge the battery" is like going to the bank every day and withdrawing cash without putting any back in. Eventually theres no money left.


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[jretrodude]

Ok I'll try a battery tender sounds like a good idea thanks by the way when late spring gets here will I have to program the pentameter of the chip again? Using the key on gas pedal method again and is it safe to have the battery tender on all winter unattended in the garage?

 

[GNICETRY]

You won't have to reprogram if you never disconnect the battery. It is safe to leave it on. Get the one from Deltran. I would still check for battery draw in case you have some issues with a fuse or wires first.

 

[Roc87]

Battery tender jr. can be found for around $20. I've got 5 of them. 1st one went on my C5. If I wouldn't drive it at least once every two weeks the battery was low/dead, just the way some C5's are. Plus I couldn't keep a battery for more than a year! With the battery tender jr. IIRC I got 5 years out of the last battery. But, for the Buick, it was fine sitting for a month or so at a time, sounds like you have a draw on the system.

 

[jretrodude]

Yes I'm thinking so to because when I forget to disconnect the power cable for the amp and subs by the battery is when it seems to be shot a lot faster than when it is disconnected. Also when my charger says bad batt and when advance always tells me there is a dead cell I'm thinking that's what it has to be. Anyone have a pic of the battery tender? Thanks

 

[salvageV6]

This is the battery tender senior, mo $$$.

I like mine.

 

[earlbrown]

Yep. 'Battery Tender' is a thing all it's own. A lot of time when people mention cheep battery tenders, they're actually talking about small trickle chargers.
That name seems to be assimilated like 'all carbonated sodas are Coke', all adjustable spanners are Cresent wrenches, all hex wrenches are Allen wrenches, all slotted pliers are Channel Locks, and all vagina owners have the one that's gold plated.

 

[jretrodude]

I just did a youtube vid on it looks like it will do the trick but is it safe to leave it in the car unattended for a day and a half and charge up in the garage? Or is it wise to take it out and put it in the house?

 

[jretrodude]

I would like to just leave it in the car and check on it when I get home from work?

 

[Roc87]

I've left the tender Jr on some of my vehicles months at a time, including a pair of RV batts

 

[jretrodude]

It's completely dead? Hopefully the 1 amp charger and my smart charger will bring it back to life then I can leave the 1 amp charger on it for the next 4 months or so?

 

[notacarlo]

A trickle charger is not meant to bring a battery up to 12v. Its meant to maintain 12v. You need a charger for that. It may show 12v, but the cca will be too low to start the car.

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