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The chance that a battery - which most would consider a wear part - is covered at 35,750 miles of a 36,000 mile warranty is essentially zero. Or they MIGHT prorate it and give you (1-35750/36000) of the value of the battery - in other words a discount of $0.50. Of course if you go to the dealer to buy a battery you'll pay way over normal price.
If you are starting to get low charge - needs recharging indications, it's not such a bad idea to just pre-emptively buy a new battery.
And quit using so much battery all the time. When the car's not running, don't run a bunch of accessories.
While you're at it, get a set of jumper cables and learn how to use them. I never drive a car unless jumper cables and an aired-up spare tire are in it. Just the other day, I inadvertently ran the battery on one of our cars down (and I have been driving and wrenching for over 40 years) by turning on a dome light and forgetting about it. (This was in the driveway at home.) Because I always have a set of jumper cables in every car, it took 5 minutes to start the car and 10 more minutes to drive it a few miles to re-charge. Without cables I would have had to call AAA and wait an hour.
Look into a solar battery charger that you plug into the accessory plug. I used one many years ago for a Jeep I used to park outside during the summer months while I drove my Vetter or a Grand Prix. It worked great. Just make sure it has a circuit to prevent any possible over charging.
Granted the Jeep Wrangler did not have the higher parasitic drain newer vehicles have, you can find them with a higher output.
Due to everything being closed down, and I'm retired, my short trips into town for food and other necessities has me once a week connecting a battery charger to my vehicle in the garage and charging up the battery.
Good idea.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
I agree.
Better idea, is at least once a week, take your car for an extended drive. It will benefit the car, because A) the battery will fully charge; B) the oil will fully warm up and "cook off" any residual condensation; and C) the exhaust system will fully warm up, and "cook off" any residual condensation.
Good idea.
And there's this, a handy Winplus jumper. I bought ours at Costco a few years back for less than 50 bucks. Probably a little more now. I've jumped a few cars and it also has ports to charge cell phones and other stuff like that.
go ahead and replace it and forget about it for another 2 or 3 years..I just replaced mine in my dodge dakota yesterday..$150..it was 3 years old and died..average for down here in hot south florida..last time I replaced it 3 years ago they were $100..
Look into a solar battery charger that you plug into the accessory plug. I used one many years ago for a Jeep I used to park outside during the summer months while I drove my Vetter or a Grand Prix. It worked great. Just make sure it has a circuit to prevent any possible over charging.
Granted the Jeep Wrangler did not have the higher parasitic drain newer vehicles have, you can find them with a higher output.
Due to everything being closed down, and I'm retired, my short trips into town for food and other necessities has me once a week connecting a battery charger to my vehicle in the garage and charging up the battery.
This, If the car is outside and sees sun. Make sure you have an accessory socket that remains on when the key/power is off. I think I paid $10 for my little solar charger on sale.
Left my car at airport parking for 2 weeks with the solar charger on the dash and it started when we returned.
This is not the one I have but it looks just like it,
If you take the battery out and put inside the apartment then there shouldn't be any significant power drain. However, it will cancel your preset radio stations, forget learned shift points, and other things normally remembered by the computer.
Is that your first car?
There might be reasons why you have a problem with your battery.
Do you normally leave your phone charger plugged in?
The most common causes of the parasitic drain are under hood lights, trunk lights, headlights or glove box lights that do not turn off when the door is closed. Relay switches that are stuck in the "on" position can also cause a battery to drain. ... Alternators with bad diodes can cause battery drain.
Thanks again for the reply! No, I always unplug everything, and I have always had the dome lights on auto. My car doesn't have a trunk or glove box light. I think it is because it is a newer car and drains a lot of power. I have had plenty of cars before too.
Use a battery tender if you take it out and put in your apartment, loosening you’re preset radio stations is no big deal is it. But taking it out and putting it back in all the time is a pita.
I think you are right! Carrying up and down the stairs a few times a week will be a pain, plus having to install it each time, especially if I am wearing a dress or something nice.
Quote:
Originally Posted by leadfoot4
I agree.
Better idea, is at least once a week, take your car for an extended drive. It will benefit the car, because A) the battery will fully charge; B) the oil will fully warm up and "cook off" any residual condensation; and C) the exhaust system will fully warm up, and "cook off" any residual condensation.
I think this is a good idea. The only problem is I am soon going to start the Liberty Mutual RightTrack program (similar to Progressive's SnapShot), which plugs into my OBDII port and which dings me for driving miles. So I will just have to start the car and leave it run in place to charge the battery up for those 90 days.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Vision67
Newer vehicles have a fairly high parasitic current draw.
Consider the wireless key fob that lets you enter and start the vehicle. A receiver in the vehicle is always turned on awaiting a signal from that fob. It draws current. If you don't drive, the vehicle battery charge will diminish too much.
The solution is to use a trickle charger that essentially replaces the vehicle parasitic draw.
Another solution is to have portable jump starter battery for a quick start. That's what I do.
I love that idea for a jump starter. I used to have a few of them. They have gotten a lot smaller. But the old ones I had never worked to jump me in an emergency, even though they were charged.
Look into a solar battery charger that you plug into the accessory plug. I used one many years ago for a Jeep I used to park outside during the summer months while I drove my Vetter or a Grand Prix. It worked great. Just make sure it has a circuit to prevent any possible over charging.
Granted the Jeep Wrangler did not have the higher parasitic drain newer vehicles have, you can find them with a higher output.
Due to everything being closed down, and I'm retired, my short trips into town for food and other necessities has me once a week connecting a battery charger to my vehicle in the garage and charging up the battery.
Another good idea. I am going to look on amazon for them too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by UpstateJohn
Dont put it in your apartment on a trickle charger. Even at such a low rate of charge, it will put out gases that can make you sick. Now, if your apartment has a balcony or porch, with an outlet, put it out there, but youre going to get tired real quick of toting that battery back and forth. Just take it for a good 20 - 30 minute drive.
And depends on your warranty if its covered or not. Most likely not.
Thank you. I never thought of that.
Quote:
Originally Posted by turf3
The chance that a battery - which most would consider a wear part - is covered at 35,750 miles of a 36,000 mile warranty is essentially zero. Or they MIGHT prorate it and give you (1-35750/36000) of the value of the battery - in other words a discount of $0.50. Of course if you go to the dealer to buy a battery you'll pay way over normal price.
If you are starting to get low charge - needs recharging indications, it's not such a bad idea to just pre-emptively buy a new battery.
And quit using so much battery all the time. When the car's not running, don't run a bunch of accessories.
While you're at it, get a set of jumper cables and learn how to use them. I never drive a car unless jumper cables and an aired-up spare tire are in it. Just the other day, I inadvertently ran the battery on one of our cars down (and I have been driving and wrenching for over 40 years) by turning on a dome light and forgetting about it. (This was in the driveway at home.) Because I always have a set of jumper cables in every car, it took 5 minutes to start the car and 10 more minutes to drive it a few miles to re-charge. Without cables I would have had to call AAA and wait an hour.
Yep, I had to wait an hour too, lol! And when it was raining one time when I when I was in Philly, I had to wait two hours since no one wanted to work in the rain. They sent a tow truck from 1.5 hours away to help me. I also do have jumper cables; I just hate to bother people to jump me. I do very much like the idea of just getting a new battery too, especially since they are under 100% warranty at Costco for three years. If it goes bad in that time, I can just get a new one for free.
This, If the car is outside and sees sun. Make sure you have an accessory socket that remains on when the key/power is off. I think I paid $10 for my little solar charger on sale.
Left my car at airport parking for 2 weeks with the solar charger on the dash and it started when we returned.
This is not the one I have but it looks just like it,
"Generally, running the engine at idle or short stop-and-go trips, during bad weather at night, will not recharge the battery effectively.
In the following situations, the alternator will not adequately recharge a battery:
The battery is drained because an interior light was left on in the car for 18-24 hours.
The battery is drained because the vehicle has not been driven for a month or more.
lThe car is only driven at 35 miles per hour to a nearby store and back 2 or 3 days a week."
So it looks like I will need a new battery, since I don't plan on driving it for more than 2 or 3 miles a week when I get my Liberty Mutual RightTrack monitoring device. I have to use it for 90 straight days. More miles drivien decreases my discount. I got an 18% discount two years ago, but now I am trying for the maximum of 30% due to having to shelter-in-place (so almost no driving). A 30% discount will mean about $414 to me annually. The factors they use to deduct from the maximum 30% discount are:
1. Miles driven
2. Sudden braking
3. Sudden acceleration
4. Driving between midnight and 4 AM
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