Archived new batteries dead

[Ncostello]

I bought two new NAPA top of the line batteries for my truck 1 month ago. I figured since it was getting cold and I really wasn't sure how much longer the old ones would last, it was a good investment. Everything has been fine except just now. I went out in the garage and turned the key on and listened to my lift pump cycle. Sounded weak. It was plugged in all day so the wait to start didn't come on. I noticed my voltmeter looked low as if the grids were on. I hit the starter and it made about 1 revolution then quit. Dead batteries.



The truck has been sitting for about 4-5 days in my garage without being started. Temps have been 20's-30's all week here. Are there any parasitic loads that could kill two new batteries that fast? Its an ST so power windows, locks, seats, overhead console are non-existent on my truck.



Head lights come on fine, acts normal otherwise, just doesn't have the juice to crank over. I hope I dont have some mystery load problem to trace down. Figures that this would happen to me cause I just got a big fancy voltmeter for Christmas. Just my luck. :{

 

[illflem]

It's quite possible that one battery was bad from the factory and took the other one with it. Napa is very good about replacing batteries, trip to them is in order. Guys at Napa told me that more of their batteries fail in the first month than in the rest of the warranty period.

 

[Ncostello]

Thanks illflem. I've never had a problem with Napa batteries but that is what I suspected first. Darn!!



Both batteries were new deliveries when I bought them... the serial numbers were only 2 apart so they were manufactured fairly close to each other FWIW.



The voltmeter showed 11. 71 volts in the parallel setup so something was obviously wrong. I hooked up the batt charger set at 35 Amps but noticed the passenger one was looking a little "leaky" around the vent after a half hour so I stopped that procedure. Probably both are bad now so checking them seperately wouldn't do much good.



Funny thing was... after having them for a week, I went on a long drive, came home, and parked it in the garage. I walked past the front of the truck and heard a "popping or bubbly" noise. Intrigued, I kept listening and finally found the passenger side battery was the culprit... the vent was making this noise. Drivers side was fine. I bet it was dying right then. Hard to tell really.



I'll go to Napa first thing in the morning. Hope they will replace both as I wouldn't trust the driver side now either. The charger was humming loud and the needle was doing abnormal stuff unlike what I expected from "normal" low batteries. Thanks for your advise.

 

[Ncostello]

PS... I think I'm going to try and get the "Nascar" series maintenance free batteries because they have removable tops. Weve used them on our rescue F-350 for years and they have been great. Hopefully, Napa will let me swap them or at least pay the difference.



PSS... wouldn't you know that today I performed battery maintenance on three fire trucks and the squad today. I had to add a little water to some 8D big truck batteries and a little to the squads battery. Just when I thought I'd had enough batteries for one day... I come home to this... just aint my day in the battery department I suppose.

 

[illflem]

Neil, I guess the guys at my local Napa are wise to batteries, they only sell the type with pop-off tops unless you specifically ask for maintenance free.

 

[Ncostello]

Took them back to Napa. Guy I wanted to talk to wasn't there cause it was Sunday. Only thing this guy would do was "test" them. Tester said "recharge and retest"... therefore he said they were fine.



Well I told him I did recharge them last night... an hour each at 35amp. They read 12. 90 volts then self-discharge and end up at 11. 7 (or that neighborhood). I told him this... and he said recharge and we'll retest. Wow! I've never been treated like that there before. Plus he said he would only replace the bad one if it was in fact bad. I said I wouldn't accept that cause thats why I bought two new ones... to keep them even.



I even gave him the warranty cards all filled out and he said "umm... we dont use those". I eyeballed two just like mine only about an inch longer with 10 more amps CCA. And they have removable tops. I'm going in tomorrow and talk to the manager, whom I usually deal with. He'll trade them. Until then, I'm dead in the garage.

 

[tractorface]

If it was me I would use that fancy voltmeter and check the wiring on my truck. Could the hot line to the starter have a corroded connection or be shoted out in some way? Worth a quick check anyhow. It is real easy to just blame the batteries but that may not solve the problem and could cost you more $. Not trying to **** you off just doesn't sound like the batteries to me... especially if they checked em.



Does make me think I'll be checkin my new batteries before they go in the truck.

Good luck

 

[Ncostello]

Tractorface,



I forgot to mention that the batteries were charged out of the truck and would go to under 12 volts on their own without being in the truck.



I'm still gonna just hook up the drivers side battery only and place the multimeter (to read amps) between the + post and the positive cable. I want to see if any current is being drawn during key-off status.

 

[tractorface]

Sounds like I am way off then. Why did you change batteries in the first place?

Good luck







Whole thing sounded eerily familar to me. Even though I am a master electrician working in the Diesel generator industry I connected my charger to an RV battery and left it on charge all night... . When I looked in the morning I had hooked up the charger backwards and ruined the battery. Sounds like you are in better shape than me!

 

[Ncostello]

I replaced them for seversl reasons. I have bad luck with batteries first of all. Second, it was getting cold and I didn't know the condition of the ones I had... bought the truck used. I knew the grid heaters needed good batteries to work right.



Finally, they were slightly different than one another size wise... and they were Motorcraft Batteries... why the PO put them in there I have no idea. Must have been free or something.

 

[Ncostello]

OK... after charging again (out of the truck) fully and letting them set out of the truck for one full day, one will remain at 12. 5 (+/-) volts and the other drops below 12. And it always looks leaky around the vent. Looks like one may still be OK. But Napa said they would only replace the bad one if their little tester still showed bad. so much for me spending $168 for two brand new matched batteries so I would have peace of mind. I'll never buy Napa batteries ever again. 1 month old and all this hassle. And I will never ever ever buy sealed lead-acid batteries unless its Optima types. EVER. They said the electrolyte was probably overfilled from the factory and would eventually quit seeping... as if thats supposed to make me think "Oh... well thats OK then... since the factory did it I dont mind it leaking all over the place".



One thing however, with the one good one, I was able to determine that the truck is drawing 0. 38 amps just sitting there. Is that a normal draw for the computer or whatever?



PS: I'm done ranting about my batteries. My 911 problem seems solved for me. Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[Loren]

Neil,



I have replaced the batteries in my truck too. I wait until one actually goes bad, then replace both. This leaves me with one fairly good battery.



I rotate the batteries down the chain of vehicles. You may be able to do this too. The good battery from the diesel goes into my wife's mini-van, the one from the van goes into the Toyota pickup, that one goes into the tractor, that one goes into the RV... You get the picture.



If NAPA won't replace both batteries, you may want to consider buying a second one so you will still have a new pair. Then you can use the good battery from original pair for something else that may need it.



For what it's worth, I switched to Optima batteries (little by little) a few years ago. They fit into every vehicle we own. My oldest Optima is only three years old so I can't say how well they will hold up, but so far all of them are fine.



Another experience of mine may help you: About a year ago, I left my truck in the heated garage for four or five days and both deep-cycle Optimas were dead when I came home. It turned out to be my fault. Apparently, one of the dogs had bumped the overhead light and turned it on. That light had been on for four days and drained the batteries. I would have thought that two deep-cycle batteries wouldn't go dead that fast from just that little light bulb, but they did. You may want to check for things like that, although it really does sound like you got a bad battery in the first place.



Good luck.



Loren

 

[Ncostello]

I believe I have found the source of the problem. I posted my info in the 2nd gen non-drivetrain section so as to free up the 911 space. Thanks all for your help.



PS: The source of the problem may have been found but I still dont think the battery should have been ruined from being pulled down to 11. 7 one time.



The only thing that needs a battery is my IH Cub Cadet and it wont fit... but since its wont stay above 12V, that would kill my starter/gen on it. Good point though Loren.