I never did anything more than checking the oil and filling the windshield washer reservoir. I was the designated detailer, though... I've always liked a spotless vehicle. For many years my husband did all the maintenance items, brakes, etc. out of financial necessity. Now we pay others to do everything from washing to mechanical repair, though my husband will drag out his tools to help a grandkid occasionally.
OK, this morning I jumped in the car and it made that battery doesn't want to start it noise. clickclickcklick... I tried again and got it going and said to myself, Whatever you do, don't turn the engine off at the barn. So, of course I did. Got it to go again and was going to drop some stuff off at the house but decided not to. Without cars recharging their batteries anymore and the mileage/outside temperature window flickering, I just decided to get home as fast as I could and hook up to a charger. Fingers crossed, I made it. Have to find my glasses so I can see how old this battery is. Better today than in the upcoming cold front.
Seems like this is "battery failure week." We had similar situations with BOTH our vehicles this week. The battery in my car is only a year old so we charged it and will keep it on a trickle charger since it's not driven very often.
I'm an old pro at auto maintenance/repair. Just last week I put air in all 4 tires! And today I cleaned the windshield with the spray thingie.
My handiman told me they are no longer putting generators (?) in cars so you have to manually charge your battery every few months to make it last. I am getting a three year guarantee on the new one. I wonder if it lasts that long or I have to keep charging it to make it last that long. I have a 1996 truck I have no problems with. I think I put in it's third battery since we've owned it, this year.
I wonder if he wasn't referring to the big batteries used to power electric cars and hybrids? I think the starter battery still charges when you drive, but I could be wrong. Anyone?
Perhaps the guy meant that there are now a/c alternators in vehicles and not d/c generators. Of course there's a charging system in cars. Mary needs to stop buying the guy booze for the holidays...he's getting his stories mixed up.
Hubby aka Jake here can fix anything, but me,, but we don't have a auto with a computer other than the brain on my van, the 1986 pickup is old school. Code reader is good for some older cars. Von did you get it fixed?
There must be something else that's draining these starter batteries. Mine have always lasted 5 or 6 years. This new Ranger has so many things that happen after you stop the engine, they might not last as long. I haven't figured out how to disable those things yet.
There could either be something draining the battery (I got that issue with my truck), or there's something wrong with the charging circuit and it's not keeping the battery charged. It's almost always the charging circuit that's got an issue. What happens after the engine is killed in your Ranger? The only thing my car does is to briefly display the mileage for that trip on the computer screen, and I had to change the settings to make it do that.
The only thing I can think of off the top of my head is the headlights stay on for a long period of time after you shut the engine off at night. I'll get back to you after the next time I drive it. The cabin lights used to stay on forever, but I disabled them and now can't figure out how to get them back on at all. But heck, I've only had it a year. The manual is only 450 pages long.
I thought generators in cars disappeared in the 1960s or so...? Anyway, I agree there's a parasitic drain. My car is 10 years old and does a lot of sitting since I retired. When I open the car door, all the lights come on (tail lights, head lights, inside lights, dash) and I suppose something stays live to keep the clock running, etc.
Yeh, my car's headlights do the same thing. I feel like a jerk when I pull up to a restaurant and my car is pointing at the windows. I also have daytime running lights that cannot be disabled without invoking a "hack," but those are only on when the engine is running. I put LEDs in my dome lights so that (a) they give off a nicer light, and (b) you could leave them on for days and they're not gonna draw too much juice.
The battery from my old '86 Ranger kept getting weak. I found out the glove compartment door was not closing properly and the light was staying on inside. Don't know if that was enough or not, but it helped to fix that.