New Costco Battery, run down to 1.9 Volts, is it damaged?

[Owen Lucas]

Replaced the battery in my Scion a few months ago. It was a 4 year old battery which I think went too early. Put a new battery in (group 24) and the vehicle sat all winter. Had to use a booster box to start so I think there is an electrical leak somewhere.

The 2 times I placed the booster box on, the boxes voltmeter read 2.3 v and 1.9V. I don't use the car often so I boosted it again today, put a brick on the pedal to idle around 1700 RPM (I believe this is max current output rpm for an 05 Toyota alternator) for about 15 minutes and then disconnected the negative terminal to keep the battery from draining. I don't have time to diagnose an electrical drain now.

With the battery being drained so many times and for a few months continuously, would this cause damage to the battery?

 

[wpod]

Take it back.

 

[Wrenchturner44]

Get the battery load tested after it has been fully recharged. I agree WPOD......it could possibly have a mfgr defect and you will want to take it back.

 

[vw7674]

if you leave the vehicle in hibernation all winter you should keep the battery on a tender.
the security sensors & radio preset memory will drain a battery otherwise.

 

[Nick1994]

Just swap it out, Costco will replace any in-warranty battery no questions asked.

 

[RooflessVW]

Voltage that low I wouldn't even try to save it.

It's done.

 

[Owen Lucas]

Welp, I guess it's time for another run to Costco. I've left the car in hibernation for months before and never had the battery drain so something must be wrong. Once I replace it I'll leave the negative terminal off until I get around to diagnosing the leak.

 

[MParr]

Welp, I guess it's time for another run to Costco. I've left the car in hibernation for months before and never had the battery drain so something must be wrong. Once I replace it I'll leave the negative terminal off until I get around to diagnosing the leak.

Get you a Battery Tender. They are about $40 and you will save you some headaches.
Leaving the negative terminal off isn’t going to stop the battery from losing voltage. Alternators and generators are on vehicles for a reason.

 

[benjy]

if you let ANY battery set without charging it SULPHATES which can KILLL IT!! even not driving enough can have similar effects as theres a lot of unneeded "JUNK" that discharges as short slow local drives are NOT enough to keep it well. just moved my C-Teck 4.3 muse charger to another motorcycle my 13 Vic Hammer with a healthy OE battery. my summer roadster gets a shot even though battery id disconnected + a booster here + there for my 2011 fronty with 6 YO interstate battery the former owner put in!!! buy a decent charger + double any batteries life in anything!!!

 

[samven]

When you buy a new battery the voltage may look OK but it is not charged fully. If you then drive a short distance home and park it, it will drain. Its likely that the 2v you see when connecting your charger is not the true battery voltage. If its still connected in the car it still has a load on it. If you disconnect it and give it an hour to recover you will be able to measure the real battery voltage although I doubt that it will come up to more than 6v or about 1v/cell. It may still take a charge but it has been damaged and will never come back to 100% and when connected will drain even faster than before. If you take it back and they give you a new battery make sure you put it on a charger when you get home and leave it on for 4 or 5 hrs min. and then recharge at least weekly when in hibernation or like you were planning disconnect it. Running the engine at high idle for 15 min wont charge a dead battery, it may leave a surface charge that reads 12v but that will be gone in a few hours and your battery will continue to sulfate.

 

[Owen Lucas]

When you buy a new battery the voltage may look OK but it is not charged fully. If you then drive a short distance home and park it, it will drain. Its likely that the 2v you see when connecting your charger is not the true battery voltage. If its still connected in the car it still has a load on it. If you disconnect it and give it an hour to recover you will be able to measure the real battery voltage although I doubt that it will come up to more than 6v or about 1v/cell. It may still take a charge but it has been damaged and will never come back to 100% and when connected will drain even faster than before. If you take it back and they give you a new battery make sure you put it on a charger when you get home and leave it on for 4 or 5 hrs min. and then recharge at least weekly when in hibernation or like you were planning disconnect it. Running the engine at high idle for 15 min wont charge a dead battery, it may leave a surface charge that reads 12v but that will be gone in a few hours and your battery will continue to sulfate.

Thank you for the advice. What charger do you recommend? I have heard a lot of positive reviews about NOCO. Maybe a trickle charger I can wire to the battery and plug it in every week? Would a battery maintainer be good enough to top up a new battery? I can then use it to plug the car in every few days or permanently.

 

[MParr]

Technical Info

www.batterytender.com

NOCO - 2-Amp Smart Battery Charger - GENIUS2

The GENIUS2 is a 2-amp battery charger, battery maintainer, and battery desulfator for 6-volt and 12-volt batteries.

no.co

I keep my tender hooked up to my zero turn whenever I’m not using the mower. When I need to get the grass mowed, I don’t want to have to run to town and pick up a battery. A battery maintainer is cheaper than buying a new mower battery every year.

 

[ripcord]

Not unless it puts out at least an amp of current, and even then it will take a long time

 

[Owen Lucas]

Not unless it puts out at least an amp of current, and even then it will take a long time

What amperage do you recommend? This under hood charger looks alright but it's only 2 amps.

Amazon.com

 

[JeffKeryk]

What amperage do you recommend? This under hood charger looks alright but it's only 2 amps.

Amazon.com

I use the 1A version to keep our RX battery up to snuff. It sits quite a bit. Works like a champ.

 

[ZeeOSix]

What amperage do you recommend? This under hood charger looks alright but it's only 2 amps.

Amazon.com

You don't need a high amp output charger for battery tending. I've used a 2A Battery Tender (same one) for 20+ years. Battery tenders are "smart", and only put out the required voltage and current to simply maintain and not over-charge the battery.

 

[samven]

In general most manufacturers recommend a charger that is 10% of the amp hr rating of the battery so for a gp24 starter battery a 5 or 6 amp charger would work well for an overnight charge. You could go larger without a problem if its just for car batteries but you would not want to use a 10 amp charger on a motorcycle battery, or you can go smaller if you dont mind leaving it longer. A popular option is a dual current charger like a 2A/6A or 2A/10A. I know many people get maintainers and leave them on all the time and it works out most of time but there are plenty of stories about a malfunction causing the charger to stay on full all the time and cooking the battery and of course if you read the small print in the charger/maintainer they always have a disclaimer to never leave the charger unattended of course NOBODY sits there and watches their battery charge.

 

[ZeeOSix]

^^^ I use the same Battery Tender on 3 vehicles. Only connect it for 24-48 hrs every 3-4 weeks. That's all that's needed, and I don't have to buy 3 tenders that way.

 

[Owen Lucas]

In general most manufacturers recommend a charger that is 10% of the amp hr rating of the battery so for a gp24 starter battery a 5 or 6 amp charger would work well for an overnight charge. You could go larger without a problem if its just for car batteries but you would not want to use a 10 amp charger on a motorcycle battery, or you can go smaller if you dont mind leaving it longer. A popular option is a dual current charger like a 2A/6A or 2A/10A. I know many people get maintainers and leave them on all the time and it works out most of time but there are plenty of stories about a malfunction causing the charger to stay on full all the time and cooking the battery and of course if you read the small print in the charger/maintainer they always have a disclaimer to never leave the charger unattended of course NOBODY sits there and watches their battery charge.

I like the option of having the tender hardwired to the battery and all I have to do is just plug the car in every once in a while. Definitely do not want to leave it on all of the time.

 

[FZ1]

Battery tender for my bike and Optima brand tender for my Optima bass boat battery. Always plugged in when my stuff is parked.