Why Dead Batteries?

[MajesticSyntax]

My heater fan will run with the master switch shut off. Its easy to miss on a cold day.

That has happened to me. It ran for a little over a week after I parked the truck. When I went back to fire the beast up, it wouldn't turn over, but that heater was still blowing... I was a little upset with myself.

 

[saddamsnightmare]

February 2nd, 2010.

Unforgiven:

All the posters up above have given you things to check or things toi think about. How often do you check your battery water levels? Even though you are using Interstates, which I have never had any luck with as a brand, has anyone considered the fact that Las Vegas probably has very hot sunny days, and chances are this truck is probably not spending a lot of time in the airconditioning.... Down here in Texas, batteries rarely make it past 3 years, and when you think about where the deuce batteries are mounted at, they get a great deal of heat off the pavement whether the truck's rolling or sitting parked. My Unimog just finished off its batteries at three years, and her battery box is, if anything, much higher off the road then a deuce, and her starting loads are nothing like a deuce in the amperages demanded to turn over a 134CID gas engine.

Just something to consider.

Cheers,

Kyle F. McGrogan

 

[pa.rich]

I have a five ton and a gas powered M211. Had started out with new fully charged batteries in both trucks. Both sit alot. They both will slowly draw down to dead if not started and run every couple days. I could'nt find the draw on them so I disconnected the cables each time. After that I put a main cut off swith on the floors of the trucks to completely solve that problem. Now I get in , flip the switch and I have good cranking power. If it is the diode in the generators, how do you replace that? I think its easier to install the cable shut off switch than mess with the generator. It also serves as a anti theft device if hidden under the seat.

 

[roscoe]

Just curious, Would a bad Solargizer cause this?

Uh, I just developed this drain problem. The truck does have a solargizer and I was wondering the same thing. Would a poor connection between the batteries result in a drain also. I thought maybee the batteries were bad so I put two brand new batteries in and overnight the truck wouldn't start. Front battery showed 11 volt and rear showed 6 volt - the following day with the truck just sitting. This situation started after replacing the two belts driving the alternater and fan. It only drains after sitting over night. Any ideas?

 

[TIGERFANS2]

poor connections between batteries will inhibit current flow

go to harbor freight and buy their 2.99 digital voltmeter, pull the battery to battery cable and, with the v.m. in the 10 AMP range (READ THE INSTRUCTIONS), place one lead in on the cable and one on the battery terminal it came from. if you have a low current indication (=< ~ .2 amps) disconnect and set up the v.m. for low current measurement to see what your actual draw is.

I'm guessing if you're killing a new battery overnight the draw will be significant

regardless of what you have for a drain h.f. also sells battery disconnects, won't fix the Problem but will save batteries

 

[cranetruck]

Uh, I just developed this drain problem. The truck does have a solargizer and I was wondering the same thing. Would a poor connection between the batteries result in a drain also. I thought maybee the batteries were bad so I put two brand new batteries in and overnight the truck wouldn't start. Front battery showed 11 volt and rear showed 6 volt - the following day with the truck just sitting. This situation started after replacing the two belts driving the alternater and fan. It only drains after sitting over night. Any ideas?

Did you charge and check the "new" batteries before installing them?
The only good way to test your batteries is to measure the specific gravity of all cells, as told over and over in the PS magazine articles over the years. Also, charge the batteries individually with 12-volt charger or "maintainer" whenever possible.
The basic Solargizer is not a charger and will not restore batteries to a fully charged condition. They were designed to remove sulfation from the plates, which builds up when batteries are not kept fully charged.

 

[roscoe]

poor connections between batteries will inhibit current flow

go to harbor freight and buy their 2.99 digital voltmeter, pull the battery to battery cable and, with the v.m. in the 10 AMP range (READ THE INSTRUCTIONS), place one lead in on the cable and one on the battery terminal it came from. if you have a low current indication (=< ~ .2 amps) disconnect and set up the v.m. for low current measurement to see what your actual draw is.

I'm guessing if you're killing a new battery overnight the draw will be significant

regardless of what you have for a drain h.f. also sells battery disconnects, won't fix the Problem but will save batteries

I'm going to give this a try. Something is draining the batteries. I wondering if I did something when I installed the new belts.

 

[roscoe]

Did you charge and check the "new" batteries before installing them?
The only good way to test your batteries is to measure the specific gravity of all cells, as told over and over in the PS magazine articles over the years. Also, charge the batteries individually with 12-volt charger or "maintainer" whenever possible.
The basic Solargizer is not a charger and will not restore batteries to a fully charged condition. They were designed to remove sulfation from the plates, which builds up when batteries are not kept fully charged.

I didn't do a volt test on the new batteries. I just installed them and then flipped the accesary switch on and judging by the buzzer loudness I determined them to be fully charged. The battery to battery connection appeared to be snug on one of the posts but was not. But would that drain a battery? I am now fully charging both batteries seperately to eliminate bad batteries as a cause. I'm fairly sure it is something I did when I replaced the belts - but I don't know what.