Time for a new battery??

[fletch09]

09 TB w/ 45,xxx mi
original battery

last weekend helped move my oldest daughter move out of the house :wootwoot: (1 to go)
had to park in a no parking zone while unloading a 6 x 12 enclosed trailer.
had emerg. flashers on (TB & trailer) for at least an hour, TB off, battery went dead.
jumped it (using the 2 posts under the fuse box cover)
let it sit running for at least an hour, volt meter/gauge where it should be
shut it off and it restarted, and it has been starting ever since
going to throw it on a trickle charge overnight tonight.
question is: should i be looking for a new battery, or was the flashers being on for an hour or so,
just to much for the battery to handle (TB and trailer)
has anyone had this happen before?

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Well looks like you had the battery for about 3 years maybe more? If it is a 4 year battery you possibly will need a new one because it prob went bad at this point. Also can you run a Voltage test on it to see what the batter is getting? Jump it and see what the inside of the car says the volts are at also, you should get a good 14v if the battery is good. Mine gets 14

 

[Wooluf1952]

It's probably a good time to have the battery load tested. IIRC, they can do it while it's still in the truck.

 

[jrSS]

Hmmm. 2 weeks after I brought my SS home I had to change the battery. The battery was 5 yrs old. It was only putting out 400 cold cranking amps. So I bought one with 850 cca. Awesome!!! Starts like a champ!!!

 

[fletch09]

Well looks like you had the battery for about 3 years maybe more? If it is a 4 year battery you possibly will need a new one because it prob went bad at this point. Also can you run a Voltage test on it to see what the batter is getting? Jump it and see what the inside of the car says the volts are at also, you should get a good 14v if the battery is good. Mine gets 14

when TB is on, i am getting 14+ on the volt meter/gauge

It's probably a good time to have the battery load tested. IIRC, they can do it while it's still in the truck.

will do that tomorrow, assuming ( i know never assume) that the load test is good, the battery just could not handle TB & trailer flashers being on for an hour +.
or should it have gone much longer???

 

[ItsOnVoy]

Yeah run a voltage test and see what you get. I know our Yukon bought brand new within 3 years we needed to change the battery twice. Just your luck on the battery really.

 

[TexazReece]

You prob need a new battery Fletch. What brand of battery is/would be a good replacement?

 

[Chickenhawk]

jumped it (using the 2 posts under the fuse box cover)

LOL! Are you sure all the electrical now works to the rear fuse block?

Every time we hear of people jumping their battery using the two posts under the front fuse box cover, we CRINGE. They probably blew their megafuse.

Any time you are boosting a battery, attach the positive terminal of the cables to the positive terminal of the battery FIRST, then attach the negative terminal of the cables to the negative GROUND of the engine. (It is the big lifting ring on the front of the engine, clearly marked with the letters "GND." It is in your owners manual.)

Never attach both cables to the bad battery. Gases released from a charging battery are VERY explosive, and the slightest spark can cause a huge explosion that will blast acid into your face so fast that you will blindly stumble towards the tire test tank to wash the burning acid off your face before it causes permanent scars. (Yup. Been there; done that. Got the holes in the t-shirt.)

 

[ScarabEpic22]

I was just about to say the same thing! NEVER use the underhood fusebox as a jumper spot, especially connecting both pos and neg to it! If all that happened is a megafuse blowing, consider yourself lucky! Sorry fletch, not trying to be mean here. Just NEVER do it again, use the positive battery cable and the lifting bracket on the I6 located conveniently next to the negative battery cable and is marked with GND.

Doh, didnt read Chickenhawks post fully, must be time for bed.

 

[Matt]

LOL! Are you sure all the electrical now works to the rear fuse block?

Every time we hear of people jumping their battery using the two posts under the front fuse box cover, we CRINGE. They probably blew their megafuse.

Any time you are boosting a battery, attach the positive terminal of the cables to the positive terminal of the battery FIRST, then attach the negative terminal of the cables to the negative GROUND of the engine. (It is the big lifting ring on the front of the engine, clearly marked with the letters "GND." It is in your owners manual.)

Never attach both cables to the bad battery. Gases released from a charging battery are VERY explosive, and the slightest spark can cause a huge explosion that will blast acid into your face so fast that you will blindly stumble towards the tire test tank to wash the burning acid off your face before it causes permanent scars. (Yup. Been there; done that. Got the holes in the t-shirt.)

I was just about to say the same thing! NEVER use the underhood fusebox as a jumper spot, especially connecting both pos and neg to it! If all that happened is a megafuse blowing, consider yourself lucky! Sorry fletch, not trying to be mean here. Just NEVER do it again, use the positive battery cable and the lifting bracket on the I6 located conveniently next to the negative battery cable and is marked with GND.

Doh, didnt read Chickenhawks post fully, must be time for bed.

You guys didn't see the purple sarcasm colour, did you?

As to which battery, I've never had a problem with Walmarts Everstart Maxx.

 

[fletch09]

knew i would get a few people to bite on the fuse box jump.
even though it was in purple.
wonder if some smart phones don't show colored text

anyway, put it on a 2 amp trickle charge last night
w/in 2 hours charger said it was full.
this morning will take it for a load test and report back

after rereading Chickenhawk's post, i believe he did see the purple text,
and was just giving a warning to the possible noobs that might read this
in the future. (they might not know what the purple text means)

 

[The_Roadie]

wonder if some smart phones don't show colored text

I can confirm that Tapatalk on Android shows the purple, but it's not very distinctive. Easy to miss. And since we didn't have that tradition on trailvoy, many folks aren't tuned to be looking for it.

 

[fletch09]

had the battery tested.
still had full charge from last night, maybe had driven it 10 mi since the trickle charge.
battery, best we could tell, is 600CCA (new)
w/ test it registered 500CCA
so i will give it awhile and maybe have it tested in about a month,
see if it drops anymore.
if it does, will replace the battery before the cold chicago winter gets here

 

[ScarabEpic22]

You guys didn't see the purple sarcasm colour, did you?

knew i would get a few people to bite on the fuse box jump.
even though it was in purple.

Nope, I completely glossed over it. I feel really smart now.

 

[Matt]

Nope, I completely glossed over it. I feel really smart now.

 

[fletch09]

had the battery tested.
still had full charge from last night, maybe had driven it 10 mi since the trickle charge.
battery, best we could tell, is 600CCA (new)
w/ test it registered 500CCA
so i will give it awhile and maybe have it tested in about a month,
see if it drops anymore.
if it does, will replace the battery before the cold chicago winter gets here

update:
never checked it again, this morning it died again.
jumped it w/ daughters car, got battery, made sure everything was turned off before shutting down.
replaced battery in about 15 min.
every thing ok, except:
i switch rims and tires for winter, winter rims do not have TPMS, usually i have a TPMS warning lite all winter long.
since battery replacement no warning lite. have driven maybe 10 miles since batt. replace. normally when i switch over to winter rims,
with in 5 mi the warning lite comes on.
should i just wait and see, or is this a way to have the warning lite stay off? (disconnect the battery for a while)
any thoughts??

 

[ScarabEpic22]

I mean it is, but you'll be pulling the battery cable every ~5min to keep the light off. Not worth it, just let it throw the light and ding at you once, then it will ding when you first start the truck and not again. Believe me, Ive looked at this for ~3 years, just gave up and decided having the light on is worth the $200+ savings on the TPMS.

 

[fletch09]

After driving for a little longer, the warning lite came back on.
So I guess I will just deal with it.
Thanks