Battery tender.

[Doug in Illinois]

My 1994 RHD Jeep Cherokee always has a dead battery when I need it. It has been to three different shops, they have tested EVERYTHING. Battery is less than 6 months old, alternator charges properly, no drains showing up anyplace.

One was a dealer, two were independents, but that is moot.

I can go out and start it every couple days or even let it sit for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks it will start OK if it hasn't got it's "attitude".

Like I said, it can sit for a long time or literally go dead overnight. That is what happened last week, NOTHING is left on. I drove it one day and actually needed it the next because of the terrible snowy roads. NO GO, very dead. Measured with my Fluke 27FM, 9.2 volts.

It has about 87,000 KM on it, or about 54,000 miles.

I GIVE UP. I can't leave my big charger on it even on the 2 amp side, I have done that in the past on tractor batteries and ended up frying them.

I have two Deltran battery tenders coming. The small one is the Battery Tender JR, the big one is the Battery Tender Plus.

I will be using one on the IH1066 to make sure it is always up, and the other on the battery draining Jeep.

Do I need the big one on the Jeep? Seems to me if it can go dead overnight I might need the faster charge rate it has. DOUG

 

[L P Gas only]

This is what you need:
www.ctek.com
Good luck.
Gary

 

[JDemaris]

If you read the owner's manual, it probably states that it has to be started every three weeks to a month.

I've got several vehicles that sit most of the time and go dead pretty quick.

Two ways that are easy fixes. #1, install a battery disconnect. Only downside is you lose all your radio presets.
#2 by an on-board battery maintainer. I've got them on my cars and plow trucks now. Harbor Freight has the best deal I've seen anywhere. $14 and it comes with brackets to mount under the hood if you want. 1.5 amps and shuts itself off.

 

[Anonymous-0]

An under hood light can do this.My wifes chevy did this.The trunk light was on full time.The car was ok on week days but would barley start after the week end.Check that battery with a hydrometer if its not sealed.Or you can charge it and disconnect and see if it looses voltage over 2 days.Battery tenders and chargers can start fires.New dosent mean much when it comes to batteries.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My 6v tractors can sit for 3 months in winter with out discharging.I make monthly hydrometer checks.Do you trust china electronics,I dont.New cars do have a steady drain but its in milliamps.I use my 96 truck once or twice a month in winter.Im retired so only go to the bank and pick up a few bags of grain in winter.Truck lost a wheel cylinder last Jan,Bought the parts and let it set till March, truck started fine after 2 month idle.

 

[JDemaris]

Tractors don't have onboard computers hooked to the battery and drawing current when the key if off. That's the problem with many newer cars and trucks.

Yes in milliamps, but anything that uses power can be expressed in milliamps.

A good battery, not hooked to anything loses 10% of it's charge every month. Add to that the 200-300 milliamp draw that some newer cars have, and a battery can go dead when parked for a month.
And if it's zero F outside? What ever is left in the battery cut in half.

As far as trusting Chineses electronics? I trust that some are good and some are bad, just like anything made anywhere else.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My truck has a computer in it, it stood idle for 2 months with out a problem.The Jeep should be able to do the same.Car dealers here have hundreds of new cars and trucks on hand and could not handle batteries going dead every week.If the diodes short in your maintainer the tranformer will burn as in flames.Your 120 line fuse or circuit breaker wont open on these small transformers when they short.

 

[RayP(MI)]

I had a problem like that a few years back, only it would go dead while wife was at work - 8 1/2 hours. About drove me crazy. Turned out to be a defective regulator in a newly rebuilt alternator. Seems it would detect a voltage drop if passenger door was opened after vehicle was shutdown. Would turn on the field in alternator - discharging the battery. If wife got out of vehicle, went around to passsenger side to get her things... When I finally got it figured out, took alternator back to rebuilder, and he put all new electronics in it, SAME PROBLEM! Seems he got a bunch of bad regulators. Found the old one in his junk bucket, and put it back in. Worked fine from then on. Only malfunctioned if passenger door was opened, and dome lite came on.

 

[JDemaris]

I didn't say anything about doing dead in one week, did I?

Battery drain in newer vehicles is a very common problem. Much depends on the options. It goes unnoticed by people who drive their cars on a routine basis. The ECU memory, radio, alarm system, remote start, etc. all draw current all the time.

I wonder why my 98 Dodge owner's manual says the van must be started at least every four weeks or the computer will put the battery into a state of discharge?

My 1998 Dodge Caravan and 1999 Kia Sportage will both go dead enough in about 5-6 weeks not to start on a cold winter day. Remember that any battery loses half it's power at zero degrees anyway - without any discharge.

My 92 and 95 Subarus, 92 Dodge and 95 Ford trucks, 95 Geo Tracker - can sit virtually all winter with no big problems.

I'm not sure what your argument is? That many car makers put those warnings in the manuals just for the heck of it?

Personally, I think it's rediculous to design a vehicle with a that sort of draw on the battery all the time. But it is what it is.

Also very easy to check with a amp-meter. Get the milliamp reading and figure with math using your battery's AH rate, to figure how long it can last when parked.

 

[JDemaris]

I didn't notice the year of your rig at first. Being a 94, I assume you've still got the older OBI computer system which usually has very little draw.

Spend $5 on a battery quick disconnect and your problems will end.

I've used them for years. Just hooked between your battery post and ground cable and has a little handwheel on it. It's not going to fix your intermittent battery drain, but it WILL fix your problem.

$5 at Harbor Freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=97853

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

If you have a 200 to 300 milliamp draw, you have a problem. When all modules power down, the draw should be in the neighborhood of 15 milliamps.

 

[Brian Jasper co. Ia]

A safe alternative to a battery charger of any type would be a solar panel. I've seen them advertised that they plug into the lighter socket and you just leave them on the dash, or if in a garage, put them in a window.

 

[loko17]

Battery disconnect has worked well for me in a similar situation. Cheap, quick and easy! LOL

 

[DJM75]

if it has sat for very long it will start to sulfate the plates and it will do what your describing.

 

[JDemaris]

My 98 Dodge factory tech manual states "current drain will be at least 25 milliamps after all modules time out. If the vehicle will not be operated for approximately 20 days, the IOD fuse should be pulled . . ."

 

[Bob from missouri]

will one of these battery tenders work on 2 batteries in series(group 31) for a diesel tractor? If so where is a good place to get one?
thanks
Bob

 

[IH2444]

I like chicken tenders better.

 

[Anonymous-0]

My 89 Olds did the same thing. I tracked down the drain by placing a test light between one battery terminal and terminal wire. Pulled fuses till the light went out completely. Turned out it was my radio. Got da have tunes so I installed in series a toggle switch and fuse at the fuse block. Now I flick on the switch in the glove box when I'm driving and no dead battery. Who cares if the clock's wrong.

 

[C.R.]

the solar pannel battery charger may not work lots of cars now you have to have the key on for the lighter to work

 

[MasseyTodd]

My Dodge 2500 gas, with an electric/hydraulic snowplow began having a dead battery each morning. I suspected plowing with the lights on was the problem. One night after plowing I noticed a glow under the hood, the light under there had been on 24/7, with the bulb removed the battery has been fine. Never noticed during the day. I also have an Audi, and when at the repair shop (very common)the door was left open and the battery went dead - what a pain - the radio went into Lock Mode, and needed to be removed (special tool), contact the dealer to get the reset code and reprogram it. When replacing the battery a jumper wire must be put on the cables to keep it from Locking UP

 

[dhermesc]

Like I said, it can sit for a long time or literally go dead overnight. That is what happened last week, NOTHING is left on. I drove it one day and actually needed it the next because of the terrible snowy roads. NO GO, very dead. Measured with my Fluke 27FM, 9.2 volts.


==================================================

If it went dead overnight you have an electrical problem that was not at all uncommon for Jeeps of that era. They had these problems when new and I doubt 15 years of use made them work better. My BIL had a 1996 Cherokee (bought new) and never could find the problem. Under warranty the dealership replaced the wiring harness and that still didn't fix it. After 4 months they gave him 100% purchase price towards another new vehicle. If your Jeep was the same year I might have thought it had turned up again (especially with the low mileage). He said later he learned that several Jeeps Cherokees in those years had similar undiagnosed problems.


Buy a battery tender (not a charger) and leave it on or unhook the cables when you park it, otherwise get ready to spend a lot of money and maybe still not fix the problem.

 

[fixerupper]

A guy I know put a disconnect in his early 90's Ford 1/2 ton to solve a battery drain problem no one could find. He doesn't drive it much so the disconect isn't an inconvenience. Jim

 

[guido]

Hello dough in illinois,
I would take a close look at the battery. When it is fully charged load test at 1/2 the
CCA Cold Crancking Amps.If the battery passes the test, check for voltage leak at the top of the battery.Put one lead of the volt meter on the positive post and the other lead all over the top of the battery. Any voltage readings is a drain to the battery. Clean the top with baking soda and water, and try againg. You can also discannect the battery, check the voltage then. Check the voltage before you hook it up.
Just some suggetsions for you. Let us know how you make out.
Guido.

 

[Anonymous-0]

Glove box lite was on full time in my truck,took the bulb out.