01-03-2015, 10:01 AM
0
The battery that I replaced was a 900 CCA. The difference from 900 to a 1050 isn't enough to offset the timing of the starting power drain that was occuring.
It would drain the 900 in 36 hours to the point that it would barely crank enough to start and in 48 hours it needed jumped or to sit on a charger. It was a new battery and despite my advice Forrest never replaced it opting instead to blame it on some undiscovered electrical fault in the vehicle like a device or malfunctioning switch.
The 1050 battery I put in is 5 years old and the reason I went with that one is that it's my old reliable.
There isn't any parasitic drain from devices as it turns out. We can let it sit for 3 days now and it cranks normally. This is why I suspect resistive case drain. Basically, the battery it had although new is a piece of shit.
I haven't done it yet but I'm going to charge the battery that WAS in it and then put the multimeter on it between the negative post and the case. If I have any current at all it will confirm case drain. In the past I have bought new batteries with this problem and once I exchanged them for different ones the problem was solved.
The other possible problem is that I think he let the battery sit dead in freezing temps which may have damaged one or more cells. Generally this will show as a "bellied" case but doesn't always.
Parasitic drain of up to 100 mA is acceptable but yes 50 mA is the norm. Even at 100 mA draw it would take over 300 days to drain a battery below minimum starting level.
I plan on getting a nice shiny new 1000 CCA for it and reclaim old reliable back to it's original vehicle...Capt. Fugly.
Just a note here.......an internet falsehood is that there are only 3 automotive battery manufacturers in the US........Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls. I know there is at least one more and they are local to me. East Penn Mfg is located in Lyon Station, PA and they are the world's largest privately owned single site battery manufacturer. Most of their products are geared toward industrial use but I have been a big fan of their Deka line of automotive batteries for many years. This is the brand of my old reliable 1050 CCA. Regardless of where I buy it I have the option of taking a bad one (has only happened one in 30 years) straight to the factory and they will replace it with the same, or in the case of the lone bad one I got, a better one no questions asked.
Twitch....I've had that problem too. The van was the last vehicle to have a "sneaky" alternator. Fortunately the one in the van will swap right into the Tahoe so if needed I have one at my fingertips!
A known oddball problem with Chevys is the starter causing nearly untraceable parasitic drain. If replacing the battery had not worked that was going to be my first suspect part to be replaced. I have 3 known good Chevy small block starters in my possesion so it would have been just a matter of getting under the Tahoe and doing the job.
So far I'm a very happy camper with this vehicle.
It would drain the 900 in 36 hours to the point that it would barely crank enough to start and in 48 hours it needed jumped or to sit on a charger. It was a new battery and despite my advice Forrest never replaced it opting instead to blame it on some undiscovered electrical fault in the vehicle like a device or malfunctioning switch.
The 1050 battery I put in is 5 years old and the reason I went with that one is that it's my old reliable.
There isn't any parasitic drain from devices as it turns out. We can let it sit for 3 days now and it cranks normally. This is why I suspect resistive case drain. Basically, the battery it had although new is a piece of shit.
I haven't done it yet but I'm going to charge the battery that WAS in it and then put the multimeter on it between the negative post and the case. If I have any current at all it will confirm case drain. In the past I have bought new batteries with this problem and once I exchanged them for different ones the problem was solved.
The other possible problem is that I think he let the battery sit dead in freezing temps which may have damaged one or more cells. Generally this will show as a "bellied" case but doesn't always.
Parasitic drain of up to 100 mA is acceptable but yes 50 mA is the norm. Even at 100 mA draw it would take over 300 days to drain a battery below minimum starting level.
I plan on getting a nice shiny new 1000 CCA for it and reclaim old reliable back to it's original vehicle...Capt. Fugly.
Just a note here.......an internet falsehood is that there are only 3 automotive battery manufacturers in the US........Delphi, Exide and Johnson Controls. I know there is at least one more and they are local to me. East Penn Mfg is located in Lyon Station, PA and they are the world's largest privately owned single site battery manufacturer. Most of their products are geared toward industrial use but I have been a big fan of their Deka line of automotive batteries for many years. This is the brand of my old reliable 1050 CCA. Regardless of where I buy it I have the option of taking a bad one (has only happened one in 30 years) straight to the factory and they will replace it with the same, or in the case of the lone bad one I got, a better one no questions asked.
Twitchin Kitten Wrote:Last time we had battery issues like that it was the alternator regardless of multiple tests on it. Spent more money charging, buying and jumping that truck.
Twitch....I've had that problem too. The van was the last vehicle to have a "sneaky" alternator. Fortunately the one in the van will swap right into the Tahoe so if needed I have one at my fingertips!
A known oddball problem with Chevys is the starter causing nearly untraceable parasitic drain. If replacing the battery had not worked that was going to be my first suspect part to be replaced. I have 3 known good Chevy small block starters in my possesion so it would have been just a matter of getting under the Tahoe and doing the job.
So far I'm a very happy camper with this vehicle.
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