Batteries

[Skyco]

I knew I never should have read this thread on battery life
In the last two weeks I've had to buy 4 batteries- first the 2 6v golf cart batteries at my camp bit the dust- dead cell in one, then the battery in my old 96 Civic (standby car) did the same, yep dead cell.
I also found the battery in my Honda EU3000 generator dead, thats the second time thats happened in 2 years and it is run every month.
Then yesterday the small riding mower battery I have wired to start the Onan generator on my toy hauler dies....so I've spent over 200 bucks on batteries this month:confused2:
I'm not even gonna replace the Honda generator battery again- it starts easy with the pull rope.
I will say the batteries in the Civic and the RV lasted way longer than I expected...the RV generator battery was 7 years old, not bad for a $25 battery.

 

[Diamondpilot]

Bummer about the battery. It seems some vehicle eat through batteries faster than others.

This is true. All of the company cars we had were Caddies before the GM bail out. Now we have Lincolns. Anyway they would discharge a batter in a week if they set at the airport while folks were out on flights. Same thing with my mechanics Mountaineer. He rides a motor cycle in the summer and it will go dead in about a week just sitting.

I have also dealt with this for years with my dad and uncle having Corvettes. Just last year I finally got them both to agree to let me put battery maintainers on them. So far so good as long as they plug them in.

Chris

 

[brin]

I second Spyder's suggestions. There are some good, quick tests you can do with a cheap multimeter that take a lot of the mystery out of electrical problems. And, like he said, TBN could get you using it in no time.

Bummer about the battery. It seems some vehicle eat through batteries faster than others.

Quote:
Originally Posted by SPYDERLK View Post
You can get one for less than $10 [ala $2.99 on sale] at Harbor Freight. Easy to learn to use. A great cheap tool to trouble shoot tractor electrics. A good investment. If you had one members could talk you thru it quickly.
larry

Iplayfarmer you and Larry were right....Turns out I did not thoroughly clean the battery terminals...I took the battery to Autozone this AM and they checked the battery and it was fully charged and fine...so I bought a new one of the terminal cleaning brushes, a set of fuses and a tester and came back and used the terminal cleaning brush on all terminals , installed the battery and she fired right up...Duh ! Makes me feel really dumb...thanks for the help....:thumbsup:

 

[Iplayfarmer]

...came back and used the terminal cleaning brush on all terminals , installed the battery and she fired right up...Duh ! Makes me feel really dumb...

It always seems to be the dumb little stuff that gets us. I once replaced a battery because it wouldn't take a charge only to find out when I came back home that I had the charger set on 6v instead of 12v. I've spent hours chasing a short when the fuse is blown. I spent a whole evening troubleshooting the fuel system in a 4 wheeler when all it needed was a spark plug. (It sparked when it was out of the engine.)

 

[brin]

It always seems to be the dumb little stuff that gets us. I once replaced a battery because it wouldn't take a charge only to find out when I came back home that I had the charger set on 6v instead of 12v. I've spent hours chasing a short when the fuse is blown. I spent a whole evening troubleshooting the fuel system in a 4 wheeler when all it needed was a spark plug. (It sparked when it was out of the engine.)

Isn't that the truth ! and in my mind I was already thinking the worse..starter, solenoid, some broken wire in a hard to find place etc. ..I guarantee I will sure keep the terminals clean from now on ! I would have hated to have that happen to me when I had the tractor 5 miles away on the farm...that is a long walk back home...:laughing:

 

[SpringHollow]

There is a terminal spray you can get that will keep them from corroding - basically "lacquers" them. I believe some people use vaseline but i would check on that first. Fluid Film is another one that people use.

Ken

 

[brin]

There is a terminal spray you can get that will keep them from corroding - basically "lacquers" them. I believe some people use vaseline but i would check on that first. Fluid Film is another one that people use.

Ken

Thanks Ken..I will stop back in Autozone and pick some of that up...it will be a good preventive maintenance thing for me to do to avoid being stuck at the Farm where I have no access to a charger or electricity..

 

[Willl]

battery maintainers

Curious as to what brand maintainer your using.

I've been happily using the Batterytender.

Is there something better ?

 

[SPYDERLK]

....Turns out I did not thoroughly clean the battery terminals...I took the battery to Autozone this AM and they checked the battery and it was fully charged and fine...so I bought a new one of the terminal cleaning brushes, a set of fuses and a tester and came back and used the terminal cleaning brush on all terminals , installed the battery and she fired right up...thanks for the help....:thumbsup:

Glad youre up and running. :thumbsup: ... That $2.99 multimeter would have identified that problem instantly ... just by making measurements with the lights OFF, then ON. I dont believe a standard "tester" is as sensitive.
larry

 

[dcyrilc]

Curious as to what brand maintainers your using.

I've been happily using the Batterytender brand.

Is there something better ?

I'm not sure what brand I use without going to the farm and looking. We got out first one from the dealer who sold us our quad and it works well. I simply go back and get another one from them as I need and can afford them. I one I use comes with both battery cable type ends and a permanent mount style. Both ends have about 3 feet of cable and the permanent mount one has a cap for the end to keep dirt out when not plugged into the tender. The tender itself has 5-6 feet of cable.



Never mind. Dummy me just looked at your link after posting. I'm using the same one you are.:laughing: