maintaining batter is in northern climates

Question

i just disconnect the motorhome battery for the winter but the old van I use to drive to the curling rink twice a week is hard on its battery because the short drive to and from the rink doesn't make up for the charge loss on two cold starts, so I put a battery maintainer on it. This 1992 vehicle has a live cigarette lighter Jack when the engine is off, so it is quite convenient.

What do city people living in apartment buildings with no 120 V outlets in the parking lot at home or work do? Is there a battery powered battery maintainer? It must get tiring carrying the car battery up the stairs to the third floor apartment every night after work. Maybe this is the reason people live so far from work!

jack_diane_free · Answer

I have left my truck sitting outside for up to a month in the winter and it fired up just like always. I think you might have a charging or other battery problem.

k_charles · Answer

We also leave a truck and a car, often for six weeks or more and the start when we get home. You should find out what is wrong and get it fixed.

jayw900 · Answer

I'll parrot others that you may have a problem. I can go a few weeks without start-up and my vehicle is mid 2000's.

royb · Answer

You may want to check into a 15-20WATT small solar panel (AMAZON) to keep your battery topped off.  Just plug it into your live 12VDC Socket.  I have my panel laying on the dash behind the windshield and my truck is always parked so it will get the most high sun it can during the day...My 2010 F150 Truck has way too much electronics in it I guess - IT does not like to sit unused for a very long time...Roy Ken

harvey51 · Answer

Thanks for getting me out to check.  The parasitic draw is an amazing 15 mA.  I discovered my cheapo voltmeter plugged into the cigarette lighter reads half a volt low; it was only 0.3 low in the house (25 below C outside today) so the battery was only down to 12.4.  Not so bad.  The two year old alternator is providing 14.7 volts immediately after start.I have one of those 10 watt solar panels and it should be of use now that the sun goes up to nearly 30 degrees at noon (we are at latitude 56 degrees) and it is actually sunny today.   No direct sunlight on the driveway though, due to trees and a house.  I did check out my old van last year when it failed to start.  It turned out to be two things - an old connector for powering a tent trailer from the engine battery was drawing half an amp,  battery cable had a poor side connection.  When switching to post connectors I found one of the cables was corroded at its end.  A new battery helped, too.Still, it must be hard for the alternator to fully charge the battery on a 4 block trip after a cold start. Especially in cars with more current draw from gadgets like remote control door locks and alarms.  There ought to be a way to maintain the battery charge when parked away from 120 V.

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maintaining batter is in northern climates

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