Battery problem

[blockrockin]

the battery gaurd sounds like a great product what model number do you have ? i would like to get one. thanks alote !

[Scooter911]

I just got in from doing some current measurements and the results point to the battery.

Current measured at the battery was 35mA with the DVD player plugged in but not playing a movie.

The DVD only draws 1A when playing a movie.

Also, just being outside fooling with the battery and DVD player for 10 mins was enough to kill the battery to the point where I needed a boost... so it MUST be the battery.

I'm putting money on the fact that there must be a short between the cells causing the 'working range' of the battery to be very very small.

I never did try costco, but I'll go there today and see if they stock a battery that will fit. I want to get this fixed before next week because I'm back in school and don't have time to buy and install batteries!!

Thanks again to everyone for all the help!! Priceless!

Scooter

[ParchedMosquito]

Car batteries are not designed to be cycled (deep discharged) like that. When the voltage in the battery falls to <10V that is considered a deep discharge. The electrodes inside will begin to deteriorate badly.

After a while, the battery performance (its ability to return back to its original voltage after being charged, and its ability to deliver its rated current) will deteriorate.

How many times has your daughter done this?


Maybe find a marine battery (those are designed to be cycled, deep discharged) and put it in your truck?

[Scooter911]

I just got back from Costco and purchased a 900 Cold Cranking Amp battery for $84 Cdn. ParchedMosquito, I was actually looking at a marine battery just like you suggested, but none of the marine batteries had the ability to be side mounted, and I just don't want to be bothered right now to replace the cables on the truck - so I went with just a normal automotive battery.

My daughter doesn't go in the truck to watch DVD's too much - and when she does I'll make sure from now on that its only for a short period of time.

I'll post again in a few days to let everyone know if my problems have been fixed!!

Ps - I've attached a picture of the culprit!!

Scooter

[tower]

How does she reach the pedals?

(Adorable kid!)

[Scooter911]

Her 4 month old sister is on the floor operating the pedals! lol

Oh yeah - I forgot to mention that the only issue I ran into was that the new Costco battery was around 2" shorter in length, and now the battery is able to slide side to side. I'm going to have to rig something up to hold it in place. It certainly can't go anywhere - but I don't like the idea that it can slide even a little bit to either side.

Scooter

[dna]

My Costco battery was also about 2" shorter in length and thus had the ability to slide. Though the stock battery has a clamp that tightens the battery to the battery holder - I just made sure it was tight and that prevents it from sliding.