Engine half turns over and then dead

[DmaxMaverick]

If all that's required is a trickle charger every couple weeks, stop looking for a problem. The modern technology vehicles will kill batteries in little more than that. Mine is about 4 weeks before it's dead (unable to start, with new-ish batteries), but many are much sooner. These ain't your granddaddy's tractor.

[gary_lucas]

If all that's required is a trickle charger every couple weeks, stop looking for a problem. The modern technology vehicles will kill batteries in little more than that. Mine is about 4 weeks before it's dead (unable to start, with new-ish batteries), but many are much sooner. These ain't your granddaddy's tractor.

That's good to know, I wasn't aware that the drain was that bad.

When I'd been killing batteries before it was the aftermarket lights the previous owner installed, the switch was right near my left knee. Previous owner may have been shorter and hence might not hit the switch _all_ the godamn time.

I pulled the fuse after a few dead batteries. So that's not it anymore!

[Kennedy]

"A few dead batteries" tends to mean they are weak/hurt in my experience. I had issues with my earlier model trucks because I left junk plugged in a lot and they drained. A handful of these instances and they are compromised. You could have one bad cell now that is dragging all others down. The batteries in my 2007 went 7 yrs and were still "OK" but I could tell that they were weak. I never ran them down in this truck.

Just replaced battery for brother in law. He has a Chev (Geo) prism. Battery built in Nov 2006 and we purchased 12/06. Installed 2/07. Replaced 11/17 because it was fading and inconsistent. Almost 11 yrs of service...

[gary_lucas]

"A few dead batteries" tends to mean they are weak/hurt in my experience. I had issues with my earlier model trucks because I left junk plugged in a lot and they drained. A handful of these instances and they are compromised. You could have one bad cell now that is dragging all others down. The batteries in my 2007 went 7 yrs and were still "OK" but I could tell that they were weak. I never ran them down in this truck.

Just replaced battery for brother in law. He has a Chev (Geo) prism. Battery built in Nov 2006 and we purchased 12/06. Installed 2/07. Replaced 11/17 because it was fading and inconsistent. Almost 11 yrs of service...

Thanks for the input Kennedy,

Yah, those were the batteries that cracked and leaked battery acid. They've been replaced since then. However I think we've had two times since then that I've had a low battery situation. Both times I believe the truck had sat for awhile.

These are sealed cells so I can't check them very effectively. Not sure if a load test is worth doing.

I'll probably just keep doing what I'm doing and trickle charging them once in awhile.

If I get another battery dead situation i'll resume investigation and replace them

[More Power]

Owners manuals these days recommend disconnecting the negative battery cable(s) for long term storage. AGM (Absorbed Glass Mat) and gell cell batteries can sit for months without losing much in the way of charge if they are disconnected from any sort of drain. Jim