Don't drive the truck much...Battery Q?

[fgtex]

I have purchased a cheap commuter car and parked my truck for the most part. I know that I need to drive it occasionally. I have not driven it in about three weeks now. Last night I tried to start it and it wouldn't even turn over. I am going to have the batteries checked after work. All the lights come on when I opened the door and the dash lights come on when the key is turned to RUN. When I tried to start the truck, all of the lights got dim and the guages all went to the far right. The batteries are right at two years old. AutoZone Duralast Gold.

Is there some thing that I can do to preserve my batteries if I only start my truck once month or so? Should I leave them disconnected between uses? Does this mess with the electronics?

 

[sagebel]

Drive it more often. I drive mine once a week. Your batteries should be ok, they might just need to be charged.

 

[JRJ04]

might not be a bad idea to put battery maintainers on it. just keeps them charged.

 

[BIG JOE]

Sounds like yer battery connections are corroded/dirty from set'n. Clean'm up real good and try it again.. bet the o'l boy'l fire right up.

These things (almost Any vehicle anymore) are Volt/Amp sensitive. Any shot of 12v will make any 12v bulb light up.. but the ECM/PCM and Starter ? No Way.

 

[Zookie400]

somebody had a thread similar to this but in referance to boat batteries going dead. i had suggested then, although i dont know if its worth it for you having outlets handy, solar chargers for RV's. we have large panels on ours to keep the house batteries alive and on a sunny day the panels will pump 10 amps easily. the camper can sit for months and the batteries will be ready to rip.

the solar panels may not be as economical as a battery tender though, seeing as you have access to an outlet.

 

[Crumm]

Crummy sits around for a few weeks from time to time and has never failed to start. I have a 75' F250 that sits for months at a time and it never fails to start. My boat sits for 7 months at a time and it never fails to start. While batteries will drain a little while sitting unless you have a large drain the truck should start after a month. I would check the batteries and connections and go from there.

 

[fgtex]

Tried cleaning the posts and connectors...no dice. Took the batteries to AutoZone for testing. Two bad batteries. Got two free replacements under warranty. Truck fired right up.

I am looking at the battery maintainers. Do I need one for each battery or one for both?

 

[Zookie400]

one for both, as they are connected 100% of the time.

 

[crsig]

I had a 99 7.3 that would drain batteries after a couple of weeks as well. Found the 4X4 relay under hood to be stuck on. Pop hood,look in front of brake master cylinder for what looks like two little black boxes on a metal bracket. Feel them. If one is hot to the touch, it is stuck on and draining batteries. This only works if truck has been sitting a while ( so engine and everything else around will be cool ).If hot , remove ground cable at both batteries. This resets computer and makes it go off. Mine came back every so often. The 4X4 High light on dash would light up and stay on for a minute or so after starting truck. This is when i new it was stuck on again. The truck isn't in 4X4, the comp. just thinks it is.

 

[Tbar]

Battery maintainer or a solar panel...........


Tbar