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My Lexus car battery was in normal use since 2015 may, battery is a wet type battery, Panasonic brand, made in Japan. However, recently the car battery drains so quickly in one overnight. Have to do jump start.
Before driving at morning the car battery voltage is around 8.75V everytime, i have tested for several days.
After driving 2-3 the car battery voltage increased to 12.22V, this value obtained while car engine switch off.
And it dropped to 8.75V again, many times. Car battery voltage maximum can reach to 12.30V, not more than that.
And i also have measured car battery voltage while engine is running that the obtained values were around 13.85V. Car battery voltage value is about 12.20V when engine is off.
I also checked water levels of battery that it is just below lower level. So filled with distilled water till upper level. Charged and it giving 9.85V this after one overnight, 1V higher before filling it with water.
I am thinking that it may be the parasitic drain consuming my car battery in an overnight, so tested the fuse box one by one as instructed with multimeter and find there is only 30mA is running which will not cause so much drain.
Seems it is time to replace my car battery or need to perform further check to find out potential hidden parasitic drains? Looking answers from experienced one. Thanks in advance.
I can't help you with the parasitic draw question... if you need to replace the battery with another wet cell battery I can recommend one. Two years ago I put an interstate mtp-24 F in my lexus.. so far no issues... and just last week I replaced the Interstate battery in my 4 runner.. that battery was also an Interstate mtp-24f, but it was also 5 years old... I don't trust them much after 5 years so I just swapped it out for another Mtp-24F... I think the oem specs on the original battery calls for 585 ca's.... the mtp-24f has 750 Cold cranking amps and 940 cranking amps... The guy at interstate tested my 5 year old battery and it tested at 587 Ca's....Still working fine but like I said, after 5 years.. I almost always replace them.. The price for the new battery was 129.00 o.t.d. Hope this helps.
If you are a Costco member get the Kirkland battery. Long free replacement warranty. Can not beat it. It is manufactured by one of the major makers of battery. No need to sort out wet or dry.
And if you are not a member of Costco, you can try it. You can stop being a member and get you membership refund, nothing to lose.
My Lexus car battery was in normal use since 2015 may, battery is a wet type battery, Panasonic brand, made in Japan. However, recently the car battery drains so quickly in one overnight. Have to do jump start.
Before driving at morning the car battery voltage is around 8.75V everytime, i have tested for several days.
After driving 2-3 the car battery voltage increased to 12.22V, this value obtained while car engine switch off.
And it dropped to 8.75V again, many times. Car battery voltage maximum can reach to 12.30V, not more than that.
And i also have measured car battery voltage while engine is running that the obtained values were around 13.85V. Car battery voltage value is about 12.20V when engine is off.
I also checked water levels of battery that it is just below lower level. So filled with distilled water till upper level. Charged and it giving 9.85V this after one overnight, 1V higher before filling it with water.
I am thinking that it may be the parasitic drain consuming my car battery in an overnight, so tested the fuse box one by one as instructed with multimeter and find there is only 30mA is running which will not cause so much drain.
Seems it is time to replace my car battery or need to perform further check to find out potential hidden parasitic drains? Looking answers from experienced one. Thanks in advance.
How did you remove the individual caps for each of the battery cells? These seem to be a star type individual plastic caps as shown below. Wanted to start checking levels to ensure max battery life.
It’s just a battery, Some last 3 years, some last 10 years, luck of the draw. Don’t go looking for zebras.
Wasn't looking for zebras. Just haven't driven much over the past year on a relatively new car and was wondering what kind of maintenance the batteries needed, so it didn't just die when trying to start it up. The OP did mention the battery water level was low and a 1V increase after adding distilled water. Was thinking active checks might prevent it from going low and further degrading the battery. Did find that there's an odd tool typically used with golf cart batteries for this. Also looks like the Lexus Drivers site has some recommendations as well. Attaching the document here.
Wasn't looking for zebras. Just haven't driven much over the past year on a relatively new car and was wondering what kind of maintenance the batteries needed, so it didn't just die when trying to start it up. The OP did mention the battery water level was low and a 1V increase after adding distilled water. Was thinking active checks might prevent it from going low and further degrading the battery. Did find that there's an odd tool typically used with golf cart batteries for this. Also looks like the Lexus Drivers site has some recommendations as well. Attaching the document here.
hi, sorry, I wasn’t responding to your question about the caps, was in response to earlier question. These batteries are maintenance free, adding distilled water is not the norm, hence the sealed caps. The op only had 8.75 volts, the battery should be about 12 when not running. 8.75 volts even after running and charging by the alternator indicates a failed battery or a parasitic drain fault. Adding distilled water and getting a slightly higher voltage is not relevant.
Lexus advice is correct, but pretty basic. I note it doesn’t mention adding water. If your not driving your vehicle for an extended period I’d recommend disconnecting the battery and attaching a battery tender. They are designed to maintain the charge with a small amount of current, and not overcharging your battery, which a regular battery charger can do if left on after the battery is fully charged.
Also suggest sometimes it’s better to start a new thread than tag on to an existing one, in this case something like “How to remove battery caps”.
10-20-19, 10:41 PM
Time to replace wet car battery?
