Dead Battery... NOT!!

[Skandocious]

So my battery is playing jokes on me, it seems. I went out to drive my truck this morning and the unlock button on the remote didn't do anything

Open the door with the key and the dome light is barely on. Key in ignition, **click** (what did you expect?)

Pop the hood to check all my electrical and everything looks fine. Then I look up and notice the underhood light burning nice and bright. Ehhh... what?!

Back into the truck, dome light shining nice and bright Key in ignition, fires right up


So after this happened I remembered that I was having these same symptoms intermittently about a year ago and THOUGHT I had cured it by cleaning my battery terminals. Ever since then I've cleaned the corrosion off routinely and haven't had problems until the rain set in so I'm thinkin' maybe the moisture has something to do with it. Anyone know of any way that rain/moisture in the air could cause something like this?

 

[TexasNomad]

Other then lose wires I can't think of any thing that would cause that Skan really thats a good one.
Maybe it could have been just some kinda of strange hic-up my truck has done strange things before and I could never find the corporate..

 

[radialarm]

I had a similar problem. The batt. cable to the starter, the factory cross threaded the nut on the solenoid of the original starter. I didn't find it until I changed the starter.
It would not start when it was wet until it rewelded itself to the post. When I hit the key the solenoid on the fender would just buzz.

 

[95F350XL]

If you clean up ur postes really good, you can put some aintseize or grease on the posts then put the cable onto it. That will keep it from comming out and keep the moisture from going around it. I had that with my truck, battery would test good at work, drive around a day or so, then next morning be dead, ck battery says good, jump start, go good for a bit, then dead, finally got annoyed and put in a battery and I havent had the prob since.

 

[Skandocious]

Well I think I narrowed it down a bit... I forgot to mention in the original post that it did this after I tried to remote start it from the house. I chalked up the remote start to not have anything to do with it, but Trista's dad suggested that it may be the problem.

So later I tried to remote start and it did it again... I figure it was still just the same problem as before. So I put the key in, turned it forward, no crank. Back to off, back to crank and she fired up..

So we drove to get dinner, came back out and I figured I'd test the remote start. Got into the truck, and turned the key to ON to make sure it got power, no problems. Took the key back out and hit the remote start button. Power came on and the fuel pump primed no problem, then as soon as it sent power to the starter everything shut off! So it sounds like I might have a wiring problem with the remote starter. I'm gonna investigate it more later.

 

[Lost]

Also there is a spray for terminalsto keep sealed .cheap I use paint on type on all conections..

 

[subford]

Sounds like bad battery cables. When you replace them use vaseline on the battery post, best thing I have found for the battery post.

 

[nobodyspecial]

He has probably already used up the vaseline on other things...

 

[Skandocious]

He has probably already used up the vaseline on other things...

Ohhhhh surrrrre. Stop posting for weeks and then come back and make fun of me and my vaseline!

So Bill is the vaseline for preventing corrosion or what? The corrosion is happening on the cable end, around the tightening bolt, not near the battery post. Will the vaseline help?

I'm also thinking that I should move my subwoofer amp cable from the positive battery cable over to the 3 o'clock on my starter solenoid.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Chris - I wouldn't move the amp power cable. I ate up 2 solenoids drawing way too much power through that thing.

Ryan

 

[Skandocious]

Chris - I wouldn't move the amp power cable. I ate up 2 solenoids drawing way too much power through that thing.

Ryan

Cool, thats why I asked. I'll leave it where it is-- though it seems that a lot of corrosion is happening right around that connection so I'm wondering if it's at fault.

 

[Skandocious]

So it wasn't the remote start

Talked to Brad on the phone and he was saying it sounded more like corrosion to him. Suggested I wire brush it (as usual) and then also use the spray-on corrosion remover, and follow that with a sealer spray. So I went to Kragen and got all the supplies (along with a set of $50 Sylvania Silverstar Ultra's on sale for $30. Saw the deal and couldn't help myself ). We got in the truck and I cranked it with the key and got nothing but a click Tried it several times and it won't do anything, so I grabbed my terminal wire brush from the toolbox and cleaned the positive cable. Put it back on and she fired right up. Also tried starting it with the remote start and it worked fine.

So I got home and wire brushed, cleaned, and sealed everything and it's lookin' pretty nice That cleaner spray works GREAT! Permetex is the brand that I used, for anyone who is interested.

I'll report back as I drive it more. Trista's dad also noticed that my battery looks like it's leaking a bit, which is probably why the positive post/cable have continually corroded. So hopefully the sealer will help prevent that until I get a new battery.

 

[Skandocious]

Here's the bulbs I bought:

http://www.sylvania.com/ConsumerProducts/AutomotiveLighting/HighPerformance/Silverstar/default.htm

If you've got Kragen nearby, $30 for this set is a GREAT deal. They retail for $50. It was $10 off at the register and $10 mail in rebate. If you don't have Kragen, they might have the same deal going at Checker, Schucks, Advance Auto... They're partnered I believe.

 

[O'Rattlecan]

Chris, what do they look like when you're facing the vehicle? Are they the blue ones, or just the super-bright clear white?

Ryan

 

[Skandocious]

Sylvania claims 4100k for the color tone, versus 4000k for the regular Silverstars. In the daytime they still had a little brown in them, but did look a bit whiter than the regulars (which is what I was using before). I'll report back after I drive back to Davis tonight

 

[O'Rattlecan]

I'm lookin forward to hearing about it...

Ryan

 

[radialarm]

I'm running the regular silverstars. There was a difference in brightness.

clearer blue light.

They've been on for about 4 years now, and still doing fine.

Funny thing about AZ is you could by two singles cheaper than a two pack.

 

[subford]

So Bill is the vaseline for preventing corrosion or what?

Yes it will melt down into the wires and around the battery post. It makes the battery look a little oily around the post but I have never had any corrosion around the battery post and the weather will not effect it.

The corrosion is happening on the cable end, around the tightening bolt, not near the battery post. Will the vaseline help?

It will stop it around the battery post cable bolt.

 

[Skandocious]

Report about the headlights-- very nice!

Of course I can't look at both side-by-side while I'm driving but it seems that they're much brighter I'm satisfied with my purchase of only $30. Plus I've got space working bulbs if one burns out when I'm away from a parts store.

 

[blackhat620]

Chris - I wouldn't move the amp power cable. I ate up 2 solenoids drawing way too much power through that thing.Ryan

Starter solenoids have a very short duty cycle. A starter solenoid is designed to pass high current with low resistance for a short period of time so that the starter will get full power in all weather conditions.

For a power amp or any other device that draws power for a long period of time you need a constant duty solenoid or a direct connection to the battery. Constant duty solenoids have a higher resistance and do not pass as much current as a starter solenoid by they last under long periods of use.