Old battery drained by map lights - any suggestions?

[y_p_w]

My kid left the map lights on last night. I headed back in why my family was collecting stuff inside my car and I locked it with my remote later. But both (incandescent) map lights we left on and I couldn't start it this afternoon. It was also blocking the driveway where I backed in, so I can't get the other car out and don't have a jumper long enough. But I do have an extension cord that can reach the hood of my car in the driveway.

I tried using my Schumacher 3/12A charger, but I think once the voltage drops below 7-9 V it thinks it's charging a 6V battery. I put it on and after a while it was lighting up as fully charged. I have a few other chargers. One is a 1A Schumacher manual wall-wart charger and the other is the older style 1.5A maintainer with a separate 6/12V switch.

When I used my 3/12A charger's voltage reader, it was coming in at maybe 2.7V, but it was able to charge to about 7+V before it stopped. I figured I would put it on the manual charger for a few minutes to see if it might bring the voltage up to where the smart charger might be able to bring it up over 12A.

I know it's probably time for a new battery. It's been maybe 4.5 years, but that battery has been abused. However, how long am I going to need to put it on the manual charger before I can switch to the more powerful smart charger?

 

[atikovi]

It was also blocking the driveway where I backed in, so I can't get the other car out and don't have a jumper long enough.

Another reason why a jump box is better than jumper cables.

 

[Oro_O]

Another reason why a jump box is better than jumper cables.

Slight thread drift, but my dad gave me one of these. I had occasion to use it 10 days ago when picking up a used car from auction. They're great. They are about the size of a thick paperback book.

https://www.costco.com/type-s-12v-jump-starter-%2526-8000mah-portable-power-bank.product.100681300.html

 

[vw7674]

I've found the older manual chargers are better than 'smart' units of recent manufacture. The old are just smart enough to do as they're told.
And I'm typing about the old ones with a simple meter & (maybe red) yellow/green scale on it & a wall plug as the on/off 'switch'.

 

[skyactiv]

An incandescent bulb will keep lowering the voltage down on a car battery into the abyss if not caught in time. Sounds like the battery is weak anyways and draining it to a low voltage has pretty much pushed it over the edge.
Many auto parts stores such as Napa and Autozone offer home delivery now. Each store has a fleet of delivery trucks. If you call them, they might get a battery out to you within a few hours. Online defaults to the next day.

 

[skyactiv]

https://www.napaonline.com/delivery-on-demand?ref=globalGoldBar

 

[y_p_w]

Another reason why a jump box is better than jumper cables.

I had one, but after a while it stopped working. It was a traditional sealed lead acid battery and not a new style lithium ion battery.

 

[slug_bug]

If you can't manually switch your 3A/12A charger to 12V Then why don't you put your 1.5 amp maintainer on it and let it charge overnight. That should at least charge the battery to the point where it is above 10V. At that point you can put your 3/12A back on it and it should charge as if it was a 12v battery. Better yet, just buy a new battery. 4.5 years old means you got plenty of life out of it.

 

[atikovi]

I had one, but after a while it stopped working. It was a traditional sealed lead acid battery and not a new style lithium ion battery.

What brand and how much? The $50-$60 Walmart boxes only last year or two. Did you always keep it plugged in ?

 

[eljefino]

You can take the battery out of your garage car and hook it up with jumper cables to the driveway one. Then you'll either be able to start it or fool the battery charger into going into 12v mode.

Or you can take an old 50-foot extension cord, cut and strip the ends, and jam them into the battery terminals on both cars where they sit. Then do above.

 

[bbhero]

Very smart ideas here by el ^^^^^^^

 

[y_p_w]

What brand and how much? The $50-$60 Walmart boxes only last year or two. Did you always keep it plugged in ?

Schumacher Mity-Mite PS-120A. Bought a couple for $40 each from Amazon back in 2006. Gave one to my parents although I doubt they bothered to charge it unless I came over. Mine wasn't always charged. It had a two-prong recessed plug and usually needed a heavy duty extension cord or an adapter of some kind to use a standard extension cord. I don't think it used more than 1A from AC.

Worked really well for a long time, but I guess after a decade of numerous starts (for my wife, my parents, coworkers, and strangers) it finally gave out. I might have drained it a few times just using it as a power supply with a lighter adapter.

 

[atikovi]

Worked really well for a long time, but I guess after a decade of numerous starts (for my wife, my parents, coworkers, and strangers) it finally gave out.

A decade? Even the expensive ones don't last that long.

 

[Chris142]

An incandescent bulb will keep lowering the voltage down on a car battery into the abyss if not caught in time. Sounds like the battery is weak anyways and draining it to a low voltage has pretty much pushed it over the edge.
Many auto parts stores such as Napa and Autozone offer home delivery now. Each store has a fleet of delivery trucks. If you call them, they might get a battery out to you within a few hours. Online defaults to the next day.

Really? I have enough trouble getting them to deliver to the shop.

 

[wrcsixeight]

I was given the schumacher mity mite ps120a in 2001 by my dad. It became useless for jump starting, in about 2005.

it has a 12 amp hour UB12120 battery inside of it. One can get such a battery for about 25$.
Even if kept in top condition with regular full charges and never depleting it it would be lucky to help jumpstart a vehicle at 5 years old.

Very easily replaced. Though I used mine for parts, and did not bother.

Its charger consisted of a 0.5 amp single voltage wall wart inside, that maxes out at 13.8v. Very inadequate , as when well discharged as it will only output 0.5 amps when battery voltage is still under 12.4.

Expecting it to survive in for longer than a few years when deeply drained and only subjected to its own inadequate charging source, is a bit more than ridiculous..

The UB12180 can be had for about 35$. It is an 18 Ah battery that comes inside many lead acid jumper packs.
One of these alone, by itself has started my 2 week cold 5.2 liter v8 in warm ambient temps.

It says right on the case, replace every 3 to 5 years.



The UB12220 is the same physical size but 3 Lbs heavier and 4 more amp hours capacity, and can be had for as low as 45$

I keep these batteries fully charged, with the leads from the mitymite ready to go, for jumping strangers.

I also hit them with much more than their 'maximum charge amperage' when well depleted.

They actually perform better when they get cycled and relatively rapidly recharged on a regular basis. I use them as portable power sources and have two of them for powering a 24v set of hedge clippers. Tons more power and longevity than the failed 24 battery that tool came with, even when new.

 

[meep]

Very smart ideas here by el ^^^^^^^

Yeah... it doesn’t sound like he’s ever done anything like this, does it? (Sarcasm). Love it.

 

[FZ1]

My kid left the map lights on last night. I headed back in why my family was collecting stuff inside my car and I locked it with my remote later. But both (incandescent) map lights we left on and I couldn't start it this afternoon. It was also blocking the driveway where I backed in, so I can't get the other car out and don't have a jumper long enough. But I do have an extension cord that can reach the hood of my car in the driveway.

I tried using my Schumacher 3/12A charger, but I think once the voltage drops below 7-9 V it thinks it's charging a 6V battery. I put it on and after a while it was lighting up as fully charged. I have a few other chargers. One is a 1A Schumacher manual wall-wart charger and the other is the older style 1.5A maintainer with a separate 6/12V switch.

When I used my 3/12A charger's voltage reader, it was coming in at maybe 2.7V, but it was able to charge to about 7+V before it stopped. I figured I would put it on the manual charger for a few minutes to see if it might bring the voltage up to where the smart charger might be able to bring it up over 12A.

I know it's probably time for a new battery. It's been maybe 4.5 years, but that battery has been abused. However, how long am I going to need to put it on the manual charger before I can switch to the more powerful smart charger?

When in Doubt; Throw it out!

 

[mattwithcats]

Replace your map lights with LED’s…

I get mine from superbrightleds.com…

There is a difference between battery chargers and battery maintainers.

Battery chargers just shove power into a battery

Battery maintainers sense what the voltage is, and at a certian voltage limit, shut off. If the starting voltage is too low, they will not start.
This prevents damage to the battery…

 

[SammyChevelleTypeS3]

An incandescent bulb will keep lowering the voltage down on a car battery into the abyss if not caught in time. Sounds like the battery is weak anyways and draining it to a low voltage has pretty much pushed it over the edge.
Many auto parts stores such as Napa and Autozone offer home delivery now. Each store has a fleet of delivery trucks. If you call them, they might get a battery out to you within a few hours. Online defaults to the next day.

That is good to know about home delivery on a auto battery. Had no idea.

 

[y_p_w]

Replace your map lights with LED’s…

I get mine from superbrightleds.com…

There is a difference between battery chargers and battery maintainers.

Battery chargers just shove power into a battery

Battery maintainers sense what the voltage is, and at a certian voltage limit, shut off. If the starting voltage is too low, they will not start.
This prevents damage to the battery…

I put LEDs in my wife's car years ago because she had a habit of leaving the interior lights on and finding the battery dead the next time she wanted to start. But she complained about the color (I picked a "white" temperature) but eventually she stopped complaining about it.

I don't think that it's necessarily the case that maintainers are necessarily like that. A lot of the new ones try to automate everything including a 6/12V auto detect that has certain problems. I still have an old school 1.5 A Schumacher maintainer with a 6/12V switch but newer 3/12A one only has an auto select. I had (can't find it now) a newer "microprocessor controlled" version of the 1.5A Schumacher maintainer but it had absolutely no switches and wouldn't be able to handle a battery that dipped way below 9V.

What a maintainer is isn't all that well defined. My 3/12A Schumacher had an auto maintain function that went into maintain mode when fully charged. My old school Schumacher 1.5A wasn't a "smart charger" but did stop when it sensed a full charge and then went into charge really quickly - like if I opened the door which caused the lights to go on.