bad battery?
 

I have been storing my car for the winter in a heated garage. I wanted to just start it every weekend to make sure fluids moved around and battery would get charged. However I forgot about it for a month or 2 and the battery was dead, no problem just jumped it and ran it for a while no issues. Week later its completely dead again. Is this just cause its sitting for a week or bad battery. This is the first car I have ever stored so I wouldn't be surprised if I am missing something.

I'm not using my car much and find the battery dead most times however it has recovered its charge after a couple of hours of driving. Short drives don't help as a dead battery is reluctant to take a full charge immediately .

I have been thinking about getting a battery disconnection widget but been too lazy. So I use snooper jump starter to get it running. Long term I'm sure it's not great to completely drain the battery but I am resigned to the fact that I'll probably get a new battery in the Spring.

Drive it for like 30min to recharge.

Yes these batteries blow! Is yours a Panasonic as well? Mine dies in cold weather quicker than hot as well.

I find 30minutes drive is enough to operate remotes, door locks but never enough to turn over the engine. Come Spring I will invest in better quality battery.

As with all other car batteries, charging is very slow if you're just idling your engine. After jumping it, be sure to drive it around for at least half an hour, preferably at higher speeds. If it's still not turning over, it's probably time to replace the battery.

Also, if you're just starting it every weekend without actually driving it, you're actually doing your battery a disservice--it's being used to start the engine, but it's not getting charged significantly.

bad battery?
 

Your vehicles charging system was not designed to bring a flat dead battery back to life. No amount of driving will fully recharge a dead battery. Idling the engine for periods of time will not help either.

Surface charging or continuous undercharging will lower the capacity of the battery over time and deep discharges can damage batteries and will shorten their lives. When a dead battery needs to be recharged, the only way to reliably restore it is to use an appropriate multi-stage battery charger. The charger voltage needs to be high enough to mix the battery acid evenly in the electrolyte to prevent ‘stratification’.

Discharge damage is permanent though.

I top mine up once a fortnight with a intelligent charger and batteries last 6 yrs plus.

I used to own a decent battery charger / conditioner however moved house recently and it was thrown out by someone who knows better and must be obeyed.

This is important!

It's best to put a weak/dead battery on a charger ......the alternator is designed just to replace the charge used by the electrical system during normal usage.


humfrz

Well, yes ....... "you hadn't used in the last year and don't plan on using it the next year" sooooo..........out it goes! :slap:


humfrz

Uggh. Just reading this raises my BP. Fuuuuuuu...

Exactly!!! LOL!

Well, yes ....... when was the last time you used that timing light, dwell meter, feeler gauge, carburetors synchronizer, vacuum gauge or points file ……….. ?? ...... out they go!

But don’t you dare touch the pressure cooker, canning cooker, pickle crock, colander, butter churn, wok pot, cottage cheese sack or flour sifter ……… :eyebulge:


humfrz

I hope your BP has dropped.. Just imagine how I felt, I was quietly going through boxes looking for it and didn't think once that I should ask she who must be obeyed. When I did ask if she had seen it (I had to describe it) I got silence that said it all.

I drive everyday, but very short distances. i connect my battery to a battery tender charger every couple of weeks or so. been doing this for the past couple of years. had the car 3 years now and the battery's still good.

Keep it on a 2amp charger for about 6-10 hours then the next day repeat the process. This should descale and get you back up to charge. Make sure your water level is at the Max line and ONLY use distilled water to top off. An alternator is not the way to charge a battery since it will not properly charge a battery even if you drove around for hours.

My wife had a defective battery. Subaru swapped it out.

I think I will look into a tender, the next question is will it hurt to pull the battery because I will have to keep the battery and tender in my apartment.

Nope, use the right tools, open the cells slightly and ventilate while charging.

no problem at all.
just you need to carry battery around
also it's resetting all your setting like ECU, radio, etc

This is not entirely true.
It IS true that you should not allow your alternator to recharge a completely dead battery as this can stress the alternator.
However, if the battery was "just a little too low to start the car" (but it still cranked), then it is perfectly OK to jumpstart the car then recharge the battery using the car's alternator by driving for a few hours.


It is NOT ok to Jump-start a car with a completely dead battery and THEN let the car recharge the dead battery.
In that case it is best to put the battery on a low current charge and leave it for 24-48 hours (disconnected from the car is best)


Walmart sells a $20 maintenance charger that seems to work well for long term storage but they typically will NOT recharge a dead battery.

You shouldn't be starting it unless you are taking it out and driving it
oil will not reach temp just idling, and you will create more issues
either take the battery out (like you said) or hook up battery tender in the garage ( thats what i did, ran the tender underneath so i can close the hood properly and use a cover )
There is countless threads about winter storage, really depends on how in depth you want to go

you may be able to salvage your battery now by using a trickle charger or tender (difference: trickle constantly applies low voltage, tender monitors voltage )
I'm not a professional by any means, this is the info I gathered from the internet