Alternator/battery woes
#1
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Alternator/battery woes
Hello!
Last week, my GX470 would not start, so I got it jumped. Stopped at a stoplight, and the computer screen shut off. Drove about 15 minutes, left it for 3 hours, and it would not start. Then, got it jumped again, and drove it another 15 minutes, left it for 6 hours, and then it was able to start twice. Battery was at 11.5V, and then the next morning, was at 8.5V.
I got a new battery, but then it would still drop about 1V overnight. Autozone tested my battery and said a diode in my alternator had died. At best it would put out 13.1V when I was driving. So I replaced the alternator, and it's now up to 13.3-13.7V. Battery voltage still drops about 1V overnight.
TL;DR, is 2.5A normal when everything is off? Doors closed, lights off, everything off. Autozone and Pepboys told me 2.5A was normal. I don't exactly know the capacity of my battery, but assuming it's 50Ah, it would be drained in only 20 hours. Any thoughts?
Last week, my GX470 would not start, so I got it jumped. Stopped at a stoplight, and the computer screen shut off. Drove about 15 minutes, left it for 3 hours, and it would not start. Then, got it jumped again, and drove it another 15 minutes, left it for 6 hours, and then it was able to start twice. Battery was at 11.5V, and then the next morning, was at 8.5V.
I got a new battery, but then it would still drop about 1V overnight. Autozone tested my battery and said a diode in my alternator had died. At best it would put out 13.1V when I was driving. So I replaced the alternator, and it's now up to 13.3-13.7V. Battery voltage still drops about 1V overnight.
TL;DR, is 2.5A normal when everything is off? Doors closed, lights off, everything off. Autozone and Pepboys told me 2.5A was normal. I don't exactly know the capacity of my battery, but assuming it's 50Ah, it would be drained in only 20 hours. Any thoughts?
#2
Pole Position
2.5A parasitic draw is a lot. There is something that isn't shutting off. Did they wait 15-20 minutes before taking their reading? Because the body computer on many cars (not sure if the GX is one) will stay on that long after you lock everything up.
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...parasitic-draw
Chip H.
https://www.optimabatteries.com/en-u...parasitic-draw
Chip H.
#3
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Good point, I didn't check that. I'll check it tomorrow, but I have a feeling that it doesn't go down, because consistently, the battery drops by about a volt overnight.
#4
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Lol.
My turn to replace the battery. It's having a tough time turning over.
Water levels are fine, and it's just about 3 years old, but still might just be age. Not ruling out a bad alternator.
I have a service appointment at the dealer tomorrow morning, hopefully it starts.
Turns out the dealer had the same price as AutoZone (once you figured in AZ's environmental fees and so on) at $179, and has a 5 year warranty vs. their 3 year warranty.
Chip H.
My turn to replace the battery. It's having a tough time turning over.
Water levels are fine, and it's just about 3 years old, but still might just be age. Not ruling out a bad alternator.
I have a service appointment at the dealer tomorrow morning, hopefully it starts.
Turns out the dealer had the same price as AutoZone (once you figured in AZ's environmental fees and so on) at $179, and has a 5 year warranty vs. their 3 year warranty.
Chip H.
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