Battery drained while sitting in cold

[luca_brasi]

Thanks Jim. I will watch that video.

During the summer the truck would sit for weeks between starts and start up fine, so if I had a parasitic drain I would have noticed. It is only in winter when it is cold that the batteries don't have enough juice. I think I need at least 800 CCA.


Sent from my iPhone using AG Free

[OptimaJim]

luca, you have a parasitic drain- most vehicles do. It's just a question of how big it is. My Excursion is a Limited and is nearly stock from an electrical perspective (Edge tuner), so it has memory seats, a DVD player, etc... and has a 60-milliamp draw. I currently have two D34M BlueTops in it (750 CCA, 55Ah each).

Doing some simple math, my 60-milliamp draw is discharging my batteries at a rate of 1.44 amps (.060 x 24 hours) per day. If my total capacity when those batteries are fully-charged is 110 amps (55 + 55), that means if I leave my truck sitting, my batteries will be fully-discharged in about 76 days (if they were fully-charged when I parked).

Obviously that's more than the few weeks at a time your truck sits. However, if when you do run your truck, your charging system doesn't have enough time to replace the energy consumed during storage and starting, your batteries will become slowly discharged over time. That could mean everything seemed fine in the summer, but by the time you got to the winter months, they had discharged to the point where you had issues.

It's also important to remember that it is extreme temperatures that really harm batteries. Really hot weather does the damage and really cold weather brings out the damage that was done. With the mild winter most of the country had last year, followed by the really hot summer we just had, there are a lot of batteries out there on borrowed time. The first cold snap we have this winter will put a run on batteries that could clear the shelves in some locations.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest

[luca_brasi]

Update: I took the batteries out of the truck in into the house for a few days. Threw on a charger and got them both up to 12.6V. Then I took them outside and put them on the patio for two more nights. On day three I took a reading and they're still at 12.6V. I put them in the truck and they barely crank. Read them connected and they're still at 12.6V. It's got to be the CCA, not a voltage drain, right?

[madpogue]

Probably. But you need to LOAD test the batteries. Either take them to a FLAPS or buy one of those 100-Ampere load testers at Harbor Freight.

What's the CCA rating of them?

[kendallcschm]

kf you let them sit in your truck then they'll drain cause the truck will try and keep the glow plugs at a certain temp

[madpogue]

Uh, NO, if the key is out, the glow plugs will NOT draw from the battery. Unless something's wrong, of course.

[luca_brasi]

Originally Posted by madpogue

Probably. But you need to LOAD test the batteries. Either take them to a FLAPS or buy one of those 100-Ampere load testers at Harbor Freight.

What's the CCA rating of them?

675 CCA

[madpogue]

Oh that's right. Those 675-ers might be fine for a less challenging engine. And the lower CCA won't matter in summer because, well, it's not cold. Just put a couple of 850s in and be done with it.

[luca_brasi]

Originally Posted by madpogue

Oh that's right. Those 675-ers might be fine for a less challenging engine. And the lower CCA won't matter in summer because, well, it's not cold. Just put a couple of 850s in and be done with it.

Yep that is the plan. I'm just angry at MYSELF for not checking the CCA when I bought them from O'Reilly. They are still covered under warranty so I'm crossing my fingers I can bring them back and only have to pay the cost difference to upgrade to 850 CCA.

[OptimaJim]

I would definitely take them back for warranty service. If they show good voltage and still don't turn over your engine, they probably won't pass a load test.

Jim McIlvaine
eCare Manager, OPTIMA Batteries, Inc.
OPTIMA® Batteries (optimabatteries) on Pinterest