I put a new battery in the garage queen over a year ago. Of course it sits there slowing draing away-- I only put 500 miles on the car in 12 month. A couple months ago I had to (begin to) jump the car to start it. Now, the battery is fully dead-- no security light/clock etc.
Did I ruin it by keeping it connected to the car? It used to hold a charge for several days, now I don't know.
Time for a new battery?
Peter
Battery 101- questions
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Peterofdevon
- Posts: 388
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Re: Battery 101- questions (Peterofdevon)
Maybe- maybe not. Use a charger to fully recharge the battery- hell, dont do that, you should still be under the full replacement warranty at only 1 year- take it back and get a free replacement battery!
Once you get your free new battery, purchase an inexpensive Battery Minder trickle type charger to leave connected while car is stored in the garage, preventing this from reoccuring.
search google for "Battery Minder" brand of maintenance chargers- about $40 if purchased wisely.
Once you get your free new battery, purchase an inexpensive Battery Minder trickle type charger to leave connected while car is stored in the garage, preventing this from reoccuring.
search google for "Battery Minder" brand of maintenance chargers- about $40 if purchased wisely.
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oldmako
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- Car: '99 Infiniti Q45 190K Black&Tan
'96 Chevy Silverado 5.0 245K
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Re: Battery 101- questions (qship96)
About the worst thing you can do to a cranking batt is to allow it to go fully dead.
Follow the above and start from scratch.
Follow the above and start from scratch.
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Skibane
- Posts: 1056
- Joined: Wed Apr 26, 2006 5:33 pm
- Car: 2000 Q45 AE 110K
- Location: San Antonio, TX
Re: Battery 101- questions (Peterofdevon)
Starting/Lighting/Ignition ("SLI") batteries don't tolerate deep discharges very well - They use thin plates that are capable of delivering a lot of current in a relatively compact, lightweight package, but those thin plates are also prone to cracking and buckling when the battery is heavily discharged.
Best solution is to use a trickle charger (like the Battery Tender/Minder that '96 mentioned), or a solar battery maintainer if the vehicle is stored where it gets plenty of sunshine. (Note that the Q's dashboard cigarette lighter socket is disconnected from the battery whenever the ignition switch isn't in the ON or ACCY positions, so the lighter plug that is supplied with most solar maintainers must be discarded in favor of some other permanent connection to the battery).
It's also nice to have a battery that will tolerate heavy discharges without suffering permanent damage. 4WD'ers and RV'ers often substitute deep-cycle ("RV/Marine") batteries for this reason - These batteries have thicker plates that don't deliver quite as much cranking current as their SLI counterparts, but they'll tolerate many deep discharges without croaking. The Group 24 and Group 27 sizes are commonly available - the Group 24 can be squeezed into a Q's engine compartment without much fuss.
Best solution is to use a trickle charger (like the Battery Tender/Minder that '96 mentioned), or a solar battery maintainer if the vehicle is stored where it gets plenty of sunshine. (Note that the Q's dashboard cigarette lighter socket is disconnected from the battery whenever the ignition switch isn't in the ON or ACCY positions, so the lighter plug that is supplied with most solar maintainers must be discarded in favor of some other permanent connection to the battery).
It's also nice to have a battery that will tolerate heavy discharges without suffering permanent damage. 4WD'ers and RV'ers often substitute deep-cycle ("RV/Marine") batteries for this reason - These batteries have thicker plates that don't deliver quite as much cranking current as their SLI counterparts, but they'll tolerate many deep discharges without croaking. The Group 24 and Group 27 sizes are commonly available - the Group 24 can be squeezed into a Q's engine compartment without much fuss.