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my 94 battery is totally dead after sitting since Christmas day. I have a battery tender from a motorcycle that I hooked up to it 2 weeks ago and green light came on saying charged so I disconnected it thinking all was good. today I go to start and its totally dead, not even interior light. green light still says charged on tender even with dead battery.
I have 2 questions.
1 is a motorcycle charger ok on a car battery
2 is this battery possibly still good or is it now toast? thanks,Nutsy
With any battery tender, you should leave it hooked up all the time if the car will sit for any length of time. The green light indicates that the battery has a full charge and it will then maintain that level of charge. What battery charger do you have? Many folks here use a Deltran or a CTEK maintainer.
Take the battery to a shop where they can run a load test on the battery. Given the short period of time the car sat, I would bet the battery has a dead cell and will not hold a charge.
Did you notice what the digital voltmeter read when the car was running? If you can jump start the car, it might be worth having a shop test not only the battery but also the alternator to make sure it's providing the proper voltage/amps to keep the battery charged.
thanks for response, I know I should of left it on. charger is a schumaker battery companion. 1.5 amp.
I just looked on date of battery and its sept and for year the 3 is marked. can this be 2003? if it was 2013 would there be a 10, 11, 12 and so on? just bought car a few months ago. is battery 14 years old?
I just saw on youtube there is a meter for volts on the c4s. never knew this until now
thanks for response, I know I should of left it on. charger is a schumaker battery companion. 1.5 amp.
I just looked on date of battery and its sept and for year the 3 is marked. can this be 2003? if it was 2013 would there be a 10, 11, 12 and so on? just bought car a few months ago. is battery 14 years old?
I just saw on youtube there is a meter for volts on the c4s. never knew this until now
The longest I ever saw a car battery last was 11 years. I think 14 would be a world record. Maybe someone did the Youtube recondition trick on a old battery to sell it. I would suggest a new battery and if the car is going to be a garage queen a AGM battery will serve you best. A fair typical battery life estimate would be 3-5 years.
The longest I ever saw a car battery last was 11 years. I think 14 would be a world record. Maybe someone did the Youtube recondition trick on a old battery to sell it. I would suggest a new battery and if the car is going to be a garage queen a AGM battery will serve you best. A fair typical battery life estimate would be 3-5 years.
hi CCRED, so are you saying the 3 means 2003? I thought maybe it was 2013
hi CCRED, so are you saying the 3 means 2003? I thought maybe it was 2013
Different manufacturers have different codes. Typically you would see a 03 if it were a 2003 battery. Would help if you could post a picture. In either case its still likely you could need a new battery.
I have had totally dead batteries give a green light on a tender...it's odd but does happen. The other thing that occurs is the red just never goes off and the tender gets warm. Sounds like the battery just died...I've had many of them go quietly in their sleep without any signs of giving out. I usually get 6 or 7 years from a battery...a little over 10 is the longest I've gotten.
One more thing.... Some trickle chargers are not "floating" chargers and they will damage batteries by overcharging them. If your battery is totally dead its pretty much done no matter what the age is. At the least, running a battery to 0 volts will shorten its life significantly.
I have had totally dead batteries give a green light on a tender...it's odd but does happen. The other thing that occurs is the red just never goes off and the tender gets warm. Sounds like the battery just died...I've had many of them go quietly in their sleep without any signs of giving out. I usually get 6 or 7 years from a battery...a little over 10 is the longest I've gotten.
Nothing odd about it. Batteries can pass a load tester and still be bad. Just depends on why the battery died or is dying.
It can happen for a number of reasons. If anyone is interested here is a link to some excellent battery information.
my 94 battery is totally dead after sitting since Christmas day. I have a battery tender from a motorcycle that I hooked up to it 2 weeks ago and green light came on saying charged so I disconnected it thinking all was good. today I go to start and its totally dead, not even interior light. green light still says charged on tender even with dead battery.
I have 2 questions.
1 is a motorcycle charger ok on a car battery
2 is this battery possibly still good or is it now toast? thanks,Nutsy
Hi
Most common batter chargers need a minimum of 10.5 volts to charge a battery, they wont charge a battery below 10.5 volts.
You can get around this by using a good battery just put a jumper lead on + to + and - to - Then hook up a battery charger.
I use a yellow top OPTIMA deep cycle battery, they will bounce right back from dead flat that would be terminal for normal batteries.
They are great or cars that are not being used for some time.
Its around 6 years old now and still going strong.
my battery was strong before I hooked up the tender, could a battery tender that is hooked up to a battery but not plugged in drain a battery?, I'm thinking this is what happened. and if so would battery still be good with a charge?
From: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
St. Jude '03 thru '24
Originally Posted by nutsy
my battery was strong before I hooked up the tender,
Please explain what you are referring to by strong.
But first a few things to consider.
How old is the battery?
How often do you drive the car?
What is the system voltage when checked on a fully charged battery?
What is the battery voltage when fully charged?
Different manufacturers have different codes. Typically you would see a 03 if it were a 2003 battery. Would help if you could post a picture. In either case its still likely you could need a new battery.
Any battery manufactured by Johnson Controls will have aerated followed by a number than 4-ish more characters following stamped into the top surface of the battery.
A0XXXX would be January 2010 or January 2000.
The second thing you should do after you get a new battery is get a good float maintainer and throw that schumaker away. I used to use them years ago and they are just trickle chargers and over time cook the battery and the result was always what you describe.
Just to clarify there is a difference between a battery charger and maintainer. A maintainer is designed to keep a charged battery fully charged (or nearly so). A charger is designed to do just that, charge a depleted battery.
Just to clarify there is a difference between a battery charger and maintainer. A maintainer is designed to keep a charged battery fully charged (or nearly so). A charger is designed to do just that, charge a depleted battery.
I've been using a Deltran battery TENDER which is different from a trickle charger. The tender has electronics built into it that will not fry the battery the way some older trickle chargers can.
A trickle charger and a battery maintainer (also known as a float charger) are two different animals. They operate differently and should not be confused.
A trickle charger is a low amp charger usually one or two amps. Most expert agree that charging a battery slowly is the best method. If you leave this type of charger unattended it will over charge your battery and could result in a fire.
A float charger or battery maintainer is a low amp charger that charges at the same rate as a trickle charger but once the target voltage is reached it stops charging and monitors the voltage level. When the battery drops to a certain voltage it will start charging again and the cycle is repeated.
dead battery question
I've been using a Deltran battery TENDER which is different from a trickle charger. The tender has electronics built into it that will not fry the battery the way some older trickle chargers can.