my E-150 van battery question

[crackedpan]

i have a digit volt meter i plug into dash.
yesterday bought new 'duralast platinum 65-agm battery'
digital read out when engine is just shut off is 12.9 
i shut off all dash knobs. (i have no solar or extra battery)
in morning reading has dropped to 12.5

is this normal? or is there something to worry about?

FYI: after battery install i did everything as listed in my manual to reset everything.

as a side note, this morning my driver seat (electrical) will not go backwards (forwards, up, down are ok)
is this related?  or a separate issue?

 

[bullfrog]

The simplest test you can do is after charging remove the battery cable(depending on your car you may need to plug in an outside battery source before doing so) then reconnect it the next morning and see if the voltage is above 12.5 still. If it is, with everything shut off you can pull the fuses one at at time, see if the reading goes up. The only one you won't be able to check this way is the one the voltmeter is plugged into. It would really be better to wire up a plug with some probes you can plug the meter into and use remotely. Battery voltages will change after charging due to temperature and slight surface charges. If the voltage continues to go down after a full day or two of sitting then that would also indicate a load. I would adjust my driver's seat and then unplug it to insure it isn't the problem. What was the reason you replaced your old battery?

 

[crackedpan]

i replaced the old battery because it was going down to 12.3 overnight.  it was the exact same model battery, but was 5 years old so i thought it was just time to be replaced.  i didn't want to get stuck in the desert with a dead battery.

i appreciate your response but is a little to technical for me.  i am guessing you are telling me it shouldn't go down like that overnight (12.9 to 12.5)? i am in quartzsite, is there a business i can go to and have them check it, and what exactly do i ask them to do?

sorry if my questions are dumb but i just don't understand this stuff.

 

[highdesertranger]

first off there are no dumb questions.

second what do you mean when you say you have a digital voltmeter you plug into the dash?

to get an accurate battery reading you need to go directly to the battery. however trying to determine state of charge by voltage alone is a poor way to do it.

did you have any symptoms of a dead or low battery?

did you have the place you bought the new battery from check the capacity of the old one?

highdesertranger

 

[bullfrog]

Sorry if I confused you. Yes have the battery and charging system checked so you know everything is working correctly. You should have a trusted mechanic check your vehicle before traveling long distances to remote places especially if you do not have the ability or knowledge to do so yourself and do general maintenance spring and fall at a minimum.

 

[crackedpan]

second what do you mean when you say you have a digital voltmeter you plug into the dash?  it is a small gizmo that plugs into the accessory outlet on the dash, and it gives a digital reading  of battery voltage (i thought)

did you have any symptoms  of a dead or low battery?  none, just worried that it read 12.9 when i shut off the engine, and then 12.5 in the morning before i start it again.

did you have the place you bought the new battery from check the capacity of the old one?  no, i replaced it because it started dropping to 12.3 AND it was 5 years old.

 

[crackedpan]

You should have a trusted mechanic check your vehicle before traveling long distances to remote places especially if you do not have the ability or knowledge to do so yourself and do general maintenance spring and fall at a minimum.

good suggestion, but yes i already do that. sometimes things come up on the road that i need to address.  in fact i had the van gone over twice before i left town and general maintenance up to date. all mechanics  do not treat women the same as men (just a fact of life from my long years), so i thought i'd see if someone here would help.

 

[bullfrog]

Yes, preventive maintenance is a good idea! Most battery manufacturers recommend replacing the battery every five years I believe, although I actually have a gel cell battery that is ten years old and working fine. As long as you are not having any problems like slow cranking or dim lights and the voltage increases when you get the car running (showing a voltage increase when the alternator starts charging) with regular maintenance keeping the cables and connectors clean you should be fine. As I usually carry a battery Jump pack or have the ability to use my house battery to jump start the car I continue to use batteries well beyond the recommended replacement time to save money. Most auto parts stores can do the checks for you and for free as well if you want a second opinion.

 

[highdesertranger]

I wish you would have asked before replacing the battery.

where are you at? maybe someone who can help is in your area. it's kinda of hard to help over the internet all we can offer is suggestions. other than that if you are willing to learn and get some basic tools we can point you in the right direction.

highdesertranger

 

[crackedpan]

I wish you would have asked before replacing the battery.

where are you at?  maybe someone who can help is in your area. 

in quartzsite. i guess next time i go to parker i'll ask at one of the auto stores as bullfrog suggest. thanks

 

[highdesertranger]

ok who's in Q that can check out crackedpan's van and see if what if anything is up? could someone please step up. in January a lot of us will be there I don't know if you want to wait. highdesertranger

 

[Spicoli]

Those are cool little voltage readers that plug into cig lighter. I have two of them in my RV and they are great for a quick glance at battery level to see when to recharge (12.3 VDC). I keep one on my house battery and one on my engine battery. Note: Do not leave them plugged in all the time as they do draw a little current and could drain your battery if left in for days or weeks.

Also note: You shouldn't let your lead acid battery drop much below 12.1 VDC (50%) level otherwise you will shorten the life of the battery. In fact if you always stop at 12.3 VDC (65%) it will last significantly longer (many years).

The one thing that stands out to me that you mentioned is that your new battery is reading 12.9 VDC at shut down but the next morning it has dropped to 12.5 VDC. That tells me everything is not off and is continuing to draw power so you need to look for something that is still running after you turn everything off. 12.9 VDC is 100% charged and 12.5 VDC is about 80% capacity so a lot of power went somewhere overnight so you need to start looking for that. A battery that has nothing drawing current will not fall 20% just sitting there for 10 hours (or even 10 days) so you are correct to assume something is wrong.

Edit numbers

 

[highdesertranger]

voltage at the ciggy lighter is not battery voltage.
batteries always read high just after charging. they must sit for many hours to get a true reading. like overnight
voltage is a poor way to tell state of charge.
but like I said you must check the voltage at the battery.
I would be curious to compare battery voltage to ciggy plug voltage. I am almost willing to bet your low voltage is just the normal voltage drop at the ciggy plug.

highdesertranger

 

[Stargazer]

This sounds very familiar. In my E-150, with a one year old battery, after sitting for three days, battery was dead. Jumped and ran fine till it sat for another three days, dead. Took to shop where the battery had been installed. He said something was drawing current when all was off. I mentioned I had turned the power passenger seat around (unbolted, turned, rebolted). He checked it and sure enough, that was the current draw. We unplugged it and no problem after that.

You mention a problem with the power seat. Unplug it (after positioning it to drive) and see what happens.

 

[crackedpan]

...I mentioned I had turned the power passenger seat around (unbolted, turned, rebolted).  He checked it and sure enough, that was the current draw.  We unplugged it and no problem after that.

You mention a problem with the power seat.  Unplug it (after positioning it to drive) and see what happens.

thanks, i also had my passenger seat turned around.  tomorrow i will un-plug both seats then re-plug them and see what happens. can i do that without disconnecting the battery?

 

[crackedpan]

.... Note: Do not leave them plugged in all the time as they do draw a little current and could drain your battery if left in for days or weeks.

thanks..i have been leaving the gizmo in all night..i wake up multiple times at night and check that it is not dropping below 12.3 (i will try taking it out overnight and then plug it in and check it in the morning, maybe that is the problem.



The one thing that stands out to me that you mentioned is that your new battery is reading 12.9 VDC at shut down but the next morning it has dropped to 12.5 VDC. That tells me everything is not off and is continuing to draw power so you need to look for something that is still running after you turn everything off. 12.9 VDC is 100% charged and 12.5 VDC is about 80% capacity so a lot of power went somewhere overnight so you need to start looking for that. A battery that has nothing drawing current will not fall 20% just sitting there for 10 hours (or even 10 days) so you are correct to assume something is wrong.

thanks...your explaination i understand.  i will try removing the digital dash voltage gizmo overnight, and as another suggested..unplug - replug seats.   if those are not the draw i then will figure out how to do HDRs check. :thumbsup:

 

[abnorm]

YARC camp is available for a day-visit and a look-see...…………..check your messages

Doug and Paulette

 

[Spicoli]

Keep us posted CP 

 

[Stargazer]

CrackedPan,

When I turned the passenger seat around, it was a very tight fit. Seems the power control button on the side of the seat was pressing on the side wall of the center console and it was activated, "on" all the time. I didn't hear it nor was the seat moving. So we unplugged it "permanently". Never had another problem. It took the mechanic 1 1/2 hours to find the problem, using meters etc where all the wires came together under the hood (I don't know what that is called) to track it down to the seat. When he unplugged that seat, the power draw stopped. I think he said it was drawing a continuous 1.2 amps? 0.9? Don't remember exactly but it was enough that it took three days to draw the battery down to a no start condition.

 

[crackedpan]

result of removing digital volt gizmo and leaving it out all night.   12.9 when engine shut off to 12.7 this morning.  so some success.

i am going to take up abnorms' generous offer this weekend, so i will report back what he finds out.  won't be till later this weekend but i will post the outcome.

thanks everyone for all your input