battery flat (9months old)

[teigan]

last night i got stranded due to battery issues. oddly there were no warning lights, and the last time i looked at the gauge, it was nothing abnormal. i was parked for about 3.5 hours with no lights going, but i was charging an appleIPOD in the lighter plug. is that enough to kill the battery? i had lights, pumps, and gauges when i keyed into the vehicle, but they immediately went to black when engaging the starter motor. then i could barely get the door lights to be visible. a tow truck was able to jumpstart me, and i gave the thing an overnight 2amp charge. everything seems fine now, and i plan to check the alternator circuit tonight. i don't drive the vehicle but short distances, and everyone seems to be in concensus this is the cause. however, with Lotus being a Bb instrument, i was wondering if there isn't a slow voltage leak , maybe due to a bad relay. which ones are the usual culprits, and are they all available in american auto parts stores? thanks a bunch.

[Dr.Hess]

It seems that _most_ of them have a current drain. I have mine down to 135mA, last I checked. It is common to have a dead battery after a week and a half of sitting. In your case, I don't know. You have a lot of variables: ipod (should be low, I would think), short trips, etc. Then there is the Valeo alternator.

I would recommend a volt meter on the battery with the motor running and off and see what is happening. If I understand this, you started the car and drove somewhere, parked for 3.5 hours, charged an ipod, then the battery was dead? If the battery took a charge and was fine afterwards, I would suspect you are having alternator issues.

Dr.Hess

[karmavore]

I recently bought a "Battery Tender" from the Batteries Plus store down the street cos I'd be going out to the garage to find dead batteries and now everything is great. It was only $50.

Luke.

[rlearp]

Got got a solar panel charger that I use - no cables and no problems. Mine used to get killed in 1.5 weeks too, not now as long as it is sunny about half the time.

Ron

[teigan]

just checked the alternator, and it's normal. guess it was all the short drives under two miles. never left it sitting more than a week, but it is a weekend car. i'll rig up a charger solution as suggested. i could just use the wall outlet charger, but knowing me, i'll drive off one day with the car still plugged into the wall. how come doctor who never has these sorts of problems?

[teigan]

just checked the alternator, and it's normal. guess it was all the short drives under two miles. never left it sitting more than a week, but it is a weekend car. i'll rig up a charger solution as suggested. i could just use the wall outlet charger, but knowing me, i'll drive off one day with the car still plugged into the wall. how come doctor who never has these sorts of problems?

[5150neo]

Yep! Battery Tender

[bojangles]

my s4s can sit for weeks ( 7 weeks running ) and still starts right up... i am gonna charge it this weekend,,, but a drain is NOT normal..

[ErnestM]

Along with the battery tender (a must for a V8 owner), I would also recommend the Optima line of batteries. If you are an "electronic accessory nut" try to figure out a way to squeeze in the yellow top (deep cycle) or otherwise go for the red top...

Just MHO
ErnestM

[fmxa]

After having similar issues, I installed an Optima Yellow Top (deep cycle) in my S4s. It will sit for three weeks at times and still fire up. I recall it cost about a $110 online delivered to my door.