Dead Battery... Too long in the driveway!

Personal Finances Buying and Maintaining a Car
1

Well, earlier in the year, March, I had my '06 F150 serviced, as well as replacing the elderly battery… Less driving had led to the old battery failing, so OK, replace it…

Well, after a bit of a virus, hip pain, once again I haven’t been driving again… But, seeing the cobwebs n such, my plan today was to take it through the carwash, grab lunch, etc… Oops…

Never happened, totally dead battery, I measure 1 volt on the terminal posts… Couldn’t reach the back seat where the Jump started was… Back door would not unlock, can’t reach the little knob…

So hooked up the reliable Exide charger, it shows power ON, but still no Charging lamp, even in the Start mode. Apparently the voltage is too low for it to kick in…

So I did read the Jump Starter, it may be low, but it didn’t kick it over either, so I’m charging that… There is a Force Start button I hadn’t known about on the connector, will try that when I try again…

Only thing I know that was on was the trailer brake controller, it’s dark, so no power also indicated… Just too long not being used…

I could call AAA, but they’d want to replaces that new battery, I’m hoping I can recover it if I can actually fire it up…

How to mess up a nice quiet Sunday… (DW is off to a family event on the coast…)

Bummer…

weco

Update: ~5PM - - After re-charging th Li-Ion Jump Starter, and using the magic hidden button to Force Start, I had action, it started, so I closed up everything, went for a long drive, keeping the rpm up, back home, it restarted OK, but the Exide Charger now shows it is Charging, so it just couldn’t pick it up from that 1.026 voltage it had settled down to… So I’ll leave the charger on overnight, should be good to go… I did run it through the car wash, exterior only so I didn’t have to shut it off… All clean again!

5 Likes
2

Yup! gettin “olde” sux; for us, for vehicles, & for batteries. The latter two are replaceable by purchase.

Us? Not so much.

sunray
a man with a charger & a portable jumper box

3 Likes
3

Nice to see you posting again sunrayman.

1 Like
4

Well, once again, I hadn’t driven the F150 for a few weeks, easier to hop in the RAV4 Hybrid n go, but DW needed it today, so out again with the little Jump starter… Let it run when I dropped off some dry cleaning, drove around a5 or 6 mile block to drop off toner carts, electronic waste at Staples, and it started fine again… Need to remind myself to use it! That gas is getting old! Still a 1/4 tank, likely last the rest of the year! :slight_smile:

(Staples took everything but a smoke detector and they won’t take any bulbs, LED or fluorescents. Battery & Bulbs will take them, but charge $1 each! So have to wait for a hazardous waste day.weekend…)

5

Hi @wecoguy,

Yes, you should.

Also, keep the tank topped off. Even newer “closed” fuel systems will breath enough to acquire moisture over time.

We kept 2 gallon and 5 gallon portable fuel containers (can’t seem to use the word that starts with ju** because it must be a “dirty word.”) of gas on our trucks to run pumps. Before I joined the department, they used plain gas and sometimes had problems with pumps running properly. Getting to a fire and not having a reliable pump is not good.

I started buying Sta-Bil and using it in all the portable fuel containers. I also put masking tape on the handle with the fill date written with a permanent marker. I rotated any “old” gas at one year to more “current” uses.

Had ZERO problems for the next 14 years that I was in the department.

For my personal vehicles, I use SeaFoam in the gas for cars/trucks once per year or so. It is rated for 2 years. In diesel engines, tractor/truck/RTV, I use Lucas Oil Fuel Treatment. For our lawnmower/tiller gas, I use Sta-Bil, also good for 2 years.

Does that help you?

Gene
All holdings and some statistics on my Fool profile page
Profile - gdett2 - Motley Fool Community (Click Expand)

3 Likes
6

Yes, indeed, for my other fuel needs, I’m using Stability, didn’t think about the F150 needing it, but as it turns out, I didn’t expect to be driving the RAV4 so much, but got hooked on all the gadgets, cameras, lane guidance, collision avoidance, etc… And the near 40 mpg as well, so I need to adjust a bit, use it at least weekly…

I had it, the F150 serviced, new battery after that first round, but there are still power draws, even setting idle I see LEDs on the trailer brake controller, as well as the OEM alarm/lock system.

I did buy a disconnect for the battery, decided it was a problem to use as then all the Alpine radio settings would be lost, so I didn’t put it on… Door lock remote wouldn’t work either, so not the best solution… I did also but a small ‘Battery Tender’ but again, that means a cord from the garage out to the truck, didn’t use it either. If I look up the trailer pinout, I might be able to make up a simple plug connector for it, though, so it’s a possibility…

The Li-Ion jump starter is surprising, keeps its charge, cranked it up like it had a full charge… Well worth having at hand…

The only hard use for the F150 is to tow our travel trailer about 40 miles to the coast next October… I didn’t do it last year, we rented a trailer, but it’s not the same as having all your own stuff… Won’t do it again…

7

Well, once again, I left the F150 set, unused in the driveway… drive our RAV4 all the time… Totally dead, wouldn’t even unlock the doors, not even a starter click… Alpine radio needed to be set to English! Dead! Connected the Exide Charger, but it was so flat it wouldn’t even begin to charge. But connected the Li-Ion Jump Starter, it fired right up, let it run a bit, and then the Exide Charger decided it was OK and it went to charge mode…

I guess I need to drive it once every other week or so to keep it alive… Or buy a Li-Ion battery, but even then it needs a trickle charger going…

8

Sounds like your battery is ok. But items like clock and security slowly drain battery. Just idling probably produces enough power to charge battery.

Work out your schedule but probably run engine once a month or so for 30 min or so.

1 Like
9

I just need to hop in, take abhor or so ride out to the coast, bring my Jump Starter… I had bought a triple charger, but I don’t likelleaving the power cord out in the rainy driveway, but I’m thinking if I could get the connector for the trailer hookup, use it to trickle charge it would be simpler, out of sight, keep it charged. Yes, built in systems, just enough drain to deplete the battery, time flies, and over 2-3 weeks is not working in my favor…

I don’t think a solar panel would be useful, but… Need to see if any can push one or two 12v amps…

10

Hi @wecoguy,

Do this google search:

12v solar battery charger with overcharge protection

It returns a boat load of solar battery chargers.

Does that help you?

Gene
All holdings and some statistics on my Fool profile page
Profile - gdett2 - Motley Fool Community (Click Expand)

1 Like
11

Thanks, yes, it did, does, but then the selection becomes a kick, from 7.5W to 30W, with or without light displays, but I do like the cigar lighter option, simple, set it on the dash…

My SIL, & his Dad, have used solar panels on their RVs for years, so I dropped a note, see if one works better than others…

In any case I do need to jump aboard, see what works…

weco

1 Like
12

Probably irrelevant, but if you elect to go with a trickle charger, put an empty box on the driver’s seat to remind you that you’re plugged in. Toss it aside when you’ve unplugged, put it back when you park again.

Too easy to hop in and start driving, yanking the cord and pulling it down the road as you merrily go your way to the local CVS.

3 Likes
13

Good idea, we do get distracted…

In the end I just ordered a solar panel, many choices, best option seems to be this one, and if it doesn’t work, easy, simple return for me… Others were cheaper, but lower Wattage, if this works out, I can maybe use it for the trailer if we traveled more, but for now, the low miles driven, this should do the trick…

4/7/25 = Panel arrived, double boxed, plus bubble wrapped, opened, plugged it in, and it’s off n running, saw a 25% charge, via the cigar lighter connection, so I’ll check and see how it’s doing later this week… I have a secondary driveway I need to move the F150 to the 2nd driveway, to clear the main driveway as we get closer to her surgery date, leave more room to make it easier for her to access the RAV4…

While I did see the measurements of the solar panel, it seems larger, but it fits fine on the dash… morning sun will crank up the charge rate…

4/9/25 - Charged to 100% per the solar panel lights, so it’s doing the trick… Some sunny days… Maybe didn’t need the 30W, could have gone with a 10W or 20W, but better to have a bit of reserve, and possibly useful on the RV as well…

14

I can see myself tossing that empty box into the passenger seat and driving off to HomeDepotLowes to get that darn thingamajig that stopped me dead in middle of working on something in the house.