Battery discharged to 10.8v. Ok?

[Silver]

Dash Cam was left on for 5 days.
I turned it off.

Three days later I discover battery is dead, 10.8 volts. I'm charging it at 15 amps now.

This battery is 1 month old. Truck sat for 2 years, that's why it had a new battery.

Do you think this new battery suffered any mentionable damage? I need the vehicle to be reliable for a family member.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[skyactiv]

On the cat life scale, I'm guessing 3 cat lives were used as that is a deep discharge.

 

[y_p_w]

That's not too bad, but it might depend on a lot of things including the temperature. I had a Group 51 battery left in a car on the driveway for about 6 months and the battery is still reliable. The voltage was actually quite down after a while but never dead. I did charge it. It tested OK during a full service but who knows how reliable the test was.

You might get it tested.

 

[Silver]

It's been in the garage. Probably 50F at the coldest, average probably in the 60's.

 

[ctechbob]

You certainly don't want to let it sit there, so you're doing the right thing immediately bringing it back up to charge. Likely took a little off the end of life, but not much being a newish battery.

 

[skyactiv]

I wouldn't let it worry you.

 

[Silver]

I wouldn't let it worry you.

I wouldn't even be thinking about it if it wasn't a teen's vehicle.

 

[Tomioka]

Most places would take it as a warranty replacement and give you a new one. Tell'em it's a dead cell.

Get it load tested after it's charged when you go to the auto parts store.

 

[hemitom]

i would stop the 15 amp charge , put a smart charger on it if you have one and slowly bring it back up..

 

[samven]

Since you caught it fairly fast I dont think you did any noticeable damage. If it is a flooded cell you could use a hydrometer to test the cells but even then you would need to know where they started. You may have lost 5% or so of the pre discharge capacity, I doubt very much you will even be able to detect it. This will be less destructive than having the battery sit at 12v for a month, time is the biggest enemy.

 

[sky jumper]

it should be fine. if you have a way to apply 16V to it for 15 or 20 minutes you can clear out the sulfate that formed during the deep discharge. then keep it on a maintenace charger for a few weeks (eg overnight after being driven) it'll perform like new. a $20 load tester would come in handy for you right about now, maybe plant a seed with your wife for early fathers day gift.

 

[gathermewool]

With LA batteries you never know. I’d lean toward not worrying about it, though.

 

[eljefino]

i would stop the 15 amp charge , put a smart charger on it if you have one and slowly bring it back up..

Maybe when it gets to 90% but a good bulk charge is what the doctor ordered now.

 

[JHZR2]

I’d just get it charged and monitor it. The sooner you get it full the better, and consider keeping a charger on it for mainte since for a while, so that parasitics don’t keep drawing it down.

Its not great to deep cycle a starting battery, but it can do it a few times. In the big scheme of things it probably reduce its life 2-3%. Since you dont cycle it as a habit, cycle life isn’t really a big thing. So long as it doesn’t sit flat so the sulfation is hard to get rid of, it will come back.

 

[y_p_w]

i would stop the 15 amp charge , put a smart charger on it if you have one and slowly bring it back up..

Some 15 amp chargers are automatic.

 

[Carmudgeon]

FWIW, I left a barely year-old battery connected in a garaged car for 3-4 months while I was away on a job.

When I got back, I didn't take a voltage reading, but the interior lights were haunted-house dim, and it wouldn't even crank when I turned the key. That bit of foolishness also triggered an SRS system fault because the voltage was too low, which I had to get reset by someone who had the tool.

That battery ended up serving for nine years total. Don't write it off until it forces you to.

 

[bonjo]

I woud not worry at all about it. The only thing I would recommend is to avoid fast charging a battery (given the choice). I use a max of 5A rate.
Get a CTEK charger (MS5.0) which I use and find superior to others I have used. It has a good desulfation & maintenance routine which are important long term.

I have (accidently!) discharged my battery twice down to zero (yes I kid you not!) during its 6 years of service and it is still going strong (touch wood)

 

[Silver]

I woud not worry at all about it. The only thing I would recommend is to avoid fast charging a battery (given the choice). I use a max of 5A rate.
Get a CTEK charger (MS5.0) which I use and find superior to others I have used. It has a good desulfation & maintenance routine which are important long term.

I have (accidently!) discharged my battery twice down to zero (yes I kid you not!) during its 6 years of service and it is still going strong (touch wood)

Holy Cow that's a fancy unit. I guess some 'automatic' chargers do those steps but it actually lets you know what it's doing.

 

[bonjo]

but worth it
not all chargers are born equal! CTEK charging sequence, 8 steps (led acid, AGM & gel batteries) is better than my Noco as it che=arges my older AGM batteries to 13v as opposed to 12.8 for noco. Not to mention it's 10 days idle cycle!
they normally have LED status indicator/ display to let you know what's going on