3 batteries in 2 years, any ideas?

I'd have the alternator tested before I kept replacing the battery

Sent from my XT1030 using AG Online
 
Do a load test on the battery, too, and see if you truly need yet another one.
 
Get an optima yellow top!

I had a jeep cherokee 12 years ago that had all sorts of things on it ie winch, light bar, cb, etc etc.. I too had a battery drain somewhere down the line. I was buyign cheap batteries from this crap hole auto parts store that had used engine blocks and oily transmission parts all over the place just leaking oil all over the place for 50 bucks a pop. I got tired of replacing the battery and my buddy at 4wheel parts hooked me up with a yellow top and that battery never failed me.

I dont know where you live but crap batteries dont do well when its cold out either. Another thing is where is this battery located? In the trunk or under the hood? Also is it in its original battery tray?
 
swanicyouth said:
Sounds like your talking about a normal OE drain that is normal for the vehicle. New cars do have a lot of electronic junk on them - but most of it is switched off with the ignition.
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I would blame it on the crap "Delco" battery that came with the car (the second one lasted a little longer than the first) but then there's the dealer saying 2 weeks is too long to leave the car sitting--what are people supposed to do with their new car if they go on vacation for 2 weeks?

I don't want to argue with you but the "normal OE drain" now includes telematics systems trying to talk to the cloud to give you emails telling you what your odometer says and keyless entry systems listening for your fob. I'm not sure that the satellite radio isn't also listening for a push from space to give it the new channels, which it can't get in the garage. I may have contributed by leaving a charger plugged in or a radar detector on, but I go back to the dealer telling me 2 weeks is too long to go without starting the car. Sorry done.
 
Make sure that flashlight charger is on the ignition side of the electrical system. If thats charging while the car is off thats way too much drain without the car running. What kinda car is it? can you up grade battery type? Size? Ammount? I had a Chevy Avalanche My Brother has Tahoe they both have a second battery tray I installed a second battery in both deep cycle to counter different problems. Tahoe was weekend car left at a vacation house, Avalanche had a factory problem with battery drain that was a recall, they said a ECU/VCU reflash with new program would fix it which it did not. So I put second deep cycle in never had issue again with dead battery. Had sports car that was garage kept that kept killing its battery if you didn't drive it for 2 weeks did battery 2 times under warranty. Then they got pissy with me about it asked if I lock the car when I park it I said "ummm no its parked inside my garage why the hell would I lock it" they told me if you don't lock their cars its like leaving the key in the accessories position and it will kill the battery. Long story long I still forgot sometimes to lock it killed another battery this time went got my own when I removed the battery noticed the try was 6" wider than the battery did quick research there were 2 batterys same height and depth but wider with a lot more capacity upgraded it to the biggest one and never had problem again.
 
As for Optima Batteries, and their reputed long life, I've had them for years, and they too can be just as prone to failure and a short life failing before their time if the vehicle has charging problems, considerable parasitic draw, or is not being driven regularly.

That they too will sometimes not "come back from the dead" if they're kicked in the butt too many times.

Hope you get your problems resolved and let us know what your conclusions were.

As I understand it, and even under optimal conditions for a battery, all of them eventually bite the dust. One product that may help extend their usable lives is a good battery charger, such as perhaps a CTEK, or a Pulsetech like I have which "fully" recharges a battery, and the Pulsetech is also said to de-sulfate the plates while it charges.

Every once and awhile, I'll hook up the Pulsetech on either vehicle to "refresh" the battery for a few hour's time. Usually the Pusetech upon initial hookup only shows 75% charge on either. My Tahoe does have an Optima YellowTop.
 
Yes, I know ... an '06 Suzuki, the heart of the problem. The light is hooked up to the battery side of the electrical system, not the ignition side, as it always has been and like I mentioned it has been that way since I bought the car with no problems until a few years ago.

Originally I was going to wire it up to the ignition side ... it would have been easier ... but after my cell phone kept getting drained after a day or two of being plugged in on the ignition side, I didn't want to have a dead flashlight when I might really need one.

I wanted to get an Optima, but finances are tight and I couldn't pull off an expensive (relatively) battery ... although I'm sure the diagnostics the shop is going to run aren't going to be cheap either.
 
I'd pass on the optima battery all together. They aren't manufactured in the same place they used to be, and quality control has slipped.

You can Google optima battery failures. Prior to 2010, there isn't much out there. After is a different story.

Look into an AGM battery. Absorbent glass mat. Not the battery for the cheap people of the world, but it has a pretty good life span as vibrations aren't the primary longevity killer of these batteries, and they use minimal acid. Doesn't need to be vented if it's a trunk mounted battery either.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
Huh?
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Originally I had my cell phone plugged into a 12v outlet to keep it charged in the car. I only took it out when I was going somewhere or at work. Every few weeks I get the weekend off (three days) so the phone would remain in the car, plugged in to a socket that was only 'live' when the car was on or running. On those weekends, the phone would go dead even though it wasn't used. But if I had the phone unplugged and in the house, the charge would last for several days.

I didn't want this happening to the flashlight, because I spoke with STREAMLITE and they said the best way to keep the battery in the light performing at its best was to keep it plugged in except for when it's in use, so I wired it to the battery side of the system.

Maybe I need to get one of those "battery tender" things that monitors battery life and 'disconnects' it when the charge gets low, but there's still enough juice to start the car.
 
Don M said:
On those weekends, the phone would go dead even though it wasn't used. But if I had the phone unplugged and in the house, the charge would last for several days.
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Something doesn't sound right about that. Do you still have that charger plugged into the car?
 
No need for an expensive shop diagnostics test. Take the alternator out and take it to an AutoZone or Advance Auto and they should be able to bench test it for you for FREE.
 
Something else to check is your battery cables, grounds, starter, etc for any cracks, corrosion, or anything similar, and do note that if your body grounds sits upon painted surface than its not fully connected with the vehicle and will need a small section of the paint removed
 
I don't even think I'd go through all of that now that we know the flashlight is not on a switched circuit. The battery-charger-battery circuit isn't particularly efficient and will present a relatively large parasitic draw. I'd bet it's in the neighborhood of 200 mA even if the flashlight is charged.
 
FWIW, I upgraded from the stock wet cell 350 CCA battery to a sealed AGM Deka with 900 CCA and haven't had an issue in my own car. I'd go Deka again before looking at today's Optimas.
 
Setec Astronomy said:
I would blame it on the crap "Delco" battery that came with the car (the second one lasted a little longer than the first) but then there's the dealer saying 2 weeks is too long to leave the car sitting--what are people supposed to do with their new car if they go on vacation for 2 weeks?

I don't want to argue with you but the "normal OE drain" now includes telematics systems trying to talk to the cloud to give you emails telling you what your odometer says and keyless entry systems listening for your fob. I'm not sure that the satellite radio isn't also listening for a push from space to give it the new channels, which it can't get in the garage. I may have contributed by leaving a charger plugged in or a radar detector on, but I go back to the dealer telling me 2 weeks is too long to go without starting the car. Sorry done.
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I don't think a Suzuki is getting emails from a cloud. Most (all?) of those things are off with the ignition being turned off. Sirius updates and is live with the key - and keyless entry find have been around since the 1980s.

I'm not convinced cars drain power significantly more when they are powered off today. I can't imagine an engineer (well, maybe a Ford engineer) designing the electrical system to go dead in 2 weeks. All the new cars in transit and on the lot would be dead.
 
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