My neighbors Dodge Pick Up Truck failed to start after sitting a couple of weeks.It only is driven on short trips which I explained is hard on it,even tho he has a one year old battery.He charged the battery,got the vehicle started,but now the check engine light is on.Will taking the negative battery post off for 15 seconds and reattaching it reboot the system?I also schooled him on a battery maintainer,especially here in Wi.in the winter.Anything I'm missing?
Battery parasitic draw with just the dome light on?
- Thread starter Cherrybomb
- Start date
Check engine light is on after charging and getting it running,he didn't mention the dome light and so I will have him check that.Thanks.Especially if it happens quickly again
Yeah if the battery dying its last gasp upset the computer then a reboot from a healthy battery to a disconnected one back to a healthy one might reset things.
If he keeps his key fobs near the house door, where the truck can "see" them, that can run the battery dead faster than if the fobs were further away.
A solar panel in the rear window behind the drivers headrest is a convenient trickle charger one doesn't have to think about.
If he keeps his key fobs near the house door, where the truck can "see" them, that can run the battery dead faster than if the fobs were further away.
A solar panel in the rear window behind the drivers headrest is a convenient trickle charger one doesn't have to think about.
I will guess the dome light is about 4 W, which would draw about 0.33 A.
That's about 10x the normal dark current of a modern vehicle, so I could see it draining a battery over a few days.
That's about 10x the normal dark current of a modern vehicle, so I could see it draining a battery over a few days.
+1
If you want to be thorough, you hook up a scan tool and see what code is causing the check engine light to be on.
Some fault codes will clear themselves by just driving a while. Some will clear by disconnecting the battery. Some need reset with a scan tool.
Lots of people like to suggest that short trips are hard on a battery, but I haven't really found that to be the case. Sitting long periods is harder, I can short trip mine every 3 days, drive for a couple miles up to the store and nowhere else for months, just to give it exercise, and the battery lasts about as long as other vehicles driven further, about 6 years.
Some fault codes will clear themselves by just driving a while. Some will clear by disconnecting the battery. Some need reset with a scan tool.
Lots of people like to suggest that short trips are hard on a battery, but I haven't really found that to be the case. Sitting long periods is harder, I can short trip mine every 3 days, drive for a couple miles up to the store and nowhere else for months, just to give it exercise, and the battery lasts about as long as other vehicles driven further, about 6 years.
Thanks for all the responses,since it wasn't my vehicle and some of his answers didn't make a direction I should pursue I had him go to Napa for a battery check.One cell was bad,short trips,big motor,I think the new battery was the cure.Now we will address keeping the battery up to full charge.Thanks for the FOB tip,