racerseks

Okay, well I tried to start my car. It's been sitting since November. After two cranks, it died. Sounded like it was real close to catching, but through for the night. Checked my battery with a multimeter, and it reads 11.85v. Seems like it would be enough, but after two cranks, that was it. Any opinions on that?

Also, I went through the old take-the-gill-off procedure, and took the battery out. Man, that's one I have a lot of experience with, LoL...and I am planning to charge it...but here's my question...

It's a Duralast Gold...does not say "maintenance free" anywhere on it, but it does have fill caps on top. (Yes, many say those are just for venting). Seems a lot of people ask this, but no definitive answers, just the 50/50 split I am oh-so-fond of. Anyone know what I should set my charger at? Conventional or Maintenance Free?

Hoping to put it on overnight, and try again tomorrow...

Thanks!

94VenomVette

Duralast is garbage. Set it to a trickle for overnight...what kind of charger do you have

gerardvg

Hi

How old is the battery, usually a few years is the life on average for a standard lead acid battery.

Even less from my company vehicle example, a new daily use car will usually need a battery withing two years ...... this has happened to me so many times.

If it is kept charged and used regularly, now a neglected and a battery left to slowly deeply discharge will never be the same.
Never the less it should show 12-13 volts on your multi meter, remember if it falls below 10.5 volts the cranking will stop.

Charge the battery and if it shows 12-13 volts you will be good to go, otherwise change the battery.

I recommend a yellow top optima battery for a vette not used regularly, they bounce back from being completely discharged to good as new.
Have had my optima for around 7 or 8 years now, love it

Note ... most battery chargers will not charge a battery below 10.5 volts, you need to hook parallel to another battery to charge it.
That sometimes gives batteries a bad name...

racerseks

I gotta say, the Duralasts have been very good about honoring their warranty. Have had them give me a new battery, no questions asked, as long as it's within the period...and also have been prorated in other cases. Now one that I have had a very bad time with is any battery made by Exide. Most of mine have gone bad before the warranty is out, and have never been compensated.

I have a couple of chargers. Usually use my Sears Die Hard. Do you know if the Duralast is maintenance Free? Need to know what setting to put the charger on. Thanks.

racerseks

It's about 2 and a half years old.

yea, I plan to charge it tonight. Just trying to find out if it's maintenance free or not so I know what to set the charger on. Would you know?...Or how I can tell...

Will change it if need be, but just hoping to start it for now.

Thanks for your thoughts...

jv9999

Duralast is made by Johnson Controls, same as Diehard and a lot of private label brands. All semi-modern cars have electronics that is always on and will run a battery down over time. A float charger will keep them healthy while in storage.
The voltage at rest means little. Turn the headlights on and see what it is. It probably needs a good charge. A normal lead acid battery should last 3-4 years, however deep discharges do shorten their lives especially if left discharged for an extended period.
It does not need water.

94VenomVette

I wouldn't worry too much about settings with it. Just put it on the lowest setting overnight if you feel fine doing so and let it charge. It's most likely a standard flooded cell battery. You could set the initial charge for 15Amps and see what it reads on the charger and then back it down to a trickle normally 2A overnight

racerseks

Yea, I disconnect mine when it sits. Usually serves me well, but been a bit longer this time. Unfortunately, best I can do...no garage here, as my paint job will show (In Florida...Ouch!) Would you know how to tell if it's maintenance free? Just like to know what setting to put my charger on. Thanks...

racerseks

It has a "conventional" and "maintenance free" setting. Would it be dangerous or cause any harm to the battery if I have that setting in the wrong place? It also has 2/10/50 amp settings. Any idea how long each might take,. and what the advantages are of each? I am assuming the 50amp is out...

Thanks!

Silver85

Johnson Controls?!?!?! Uh oh......gonna have to find some made by others. Can't be supporting the enemy.

Hot Rod Roy

So no tech manual on the charger? Is this your charger:

http://www.sears.com/diehard-10-2-50...-02871222000P#

If your charger is several years old, the terminology might be confusing. I'm going to guess the "Maintenance Free" setting may be referring to the charger internal control, rather than to the battery. Does your charger say "Automatic" on it? In the "Maint. Free" position, the charger may automatically reduce to a trickle charge when it detects the battery is fully charged. In the "Conventional" position, the charge will be continuous, rather than automatic. (Merely my half-educated prognostication!)

A "Maintenance Free" battery has a catalyst in the cell caps that converts the hydrogen gas that is created during the charge/discharge cycles back into water, which is returned to each cell. Therefore "Maintenance Free" batteries don't need to have water added to the cells as often. Internally, the cell construction isn't much different than a standard lead/acid battery. All Corvette batteries need water (so far!). If you can remove the cell caps, it's good to check the fluid level (H2SO4 + H2O). Lots of perfectly good batteries get discarded merely because they have been run low of water.

racerseks

Yes, I have the manual for it...but really just trying to determine which setting to out it on, as my battery does not say whether or not it is maintenance free. Any idea how I determine that?

The charger I am using looks similar to that one. I have a larger one, but unable to access it right now.

No, it does not say "automatic" on it...
Yes, I have checked, and the water level is good.


If you know of a way for me to determine if my battery is "maintenance free" or "conventional" please let me know. I figured if the caps came off to add water, it would be conventional, but seems that is not always the case.

Thanks for your thoughts...

cv67

Weak batteries can cause lots of weirdo problems in these cars

Even on a carbed car anything less than full voltage even if it started gave running issues. Toss that pos and get a new one dont screw with it.

move on enjoy that car!!!
If it still persists pull fuses til you find the draw(bet you dont)
Cars are meant to be driven. Can store but dont overthink this

racerseks

Well, the thing is I don't think the battery is bad. The car has sat before, and after I charge the battery, it's fine again. I'm really just trying to determine if my battery is "maintenance free" or "conventional", but no one seems to know how to determine that, so I guess I'm not alone.

If I charge it and it doesn't hold a charge, I'll consider buying a new one. It just seems a bit early to do that, seeing as it was sitting out there for months, and may very well be fine with a charge as it seems to have done before.

If you know how to determine if it's "maintenance free" or "conventional", I'd appreciate it. If not, it's cool...nothing wrong with not knowing. At this point, I'm inclined to see if any answers anyone provides regarding making this determination are the same, as it seems there's not a lot of info and/or knowledge determining this.

Appreciate your thoughts just the same...

Thanks!

racerseks

I think I may have been too "wordy" in my initial post, and it seems this got a bit off-topic. I'll try again and condense my question.

I want to try charging my battery. My charger has two settings..."Maintenance free" and "Conventional". How do I determine which I have so I can set my charger accordingly? If no one knows, that's fine. No harm done. Thank you...

WVZR-1

Is this your battery?


http://www.sears.com/diehard-gold-au...p-02850875000P

racerseks

No, it's a Duralast Gold. Thanks...

WVZR-1

Sorry - I saw "Die Hard" mentioned in an earlier post but I see that's maybe your charger! Yours is the AZ - no help

racerseks

Yes, that's right...Autozone Duralast Gold Battery, and Sears Die Hard Battery Charger. Thanks for your effort!

bac22

Fairly certain these are maintenance free batteries. I have a Duralast that's probably about 6 years old now and it's been fine, they are not bad batteries. This battery has 3 year free replacement so you can take it back to Autozone for them to check out, but I would be surprised if the battery is bad.

If you park the car over the winter and can't trickle charge I suggest a quick disconnect ****. I use one, they work great. The car will draw about 30mA of power, so over a few months that can cause the battery charge to drop.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Battery-Disc...RUpPLT&vxp=mtr