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| wishing we were congress |
I have a 2011 Silverado and a Garmin 65 nav system. My battery died and I couldn't start the pick up. Making a long story short, The Silverado lighter socket stays "hot" when the engine is turned off. I was leaving the Garmin nav system plugged into the lighter socket. Sometimes I don't use the Silverado for two or three weeks. The battery wouldn't start the truck. Voltage was 1.4 volts. Charged it for 7 hours. Got the battery back up. I am not certain if this problem is only when the Garmin is left on, or if it is also a problem when the Garmin is powered off. So I will be pulling the Garmin connection to the lighter socket when I turn the engine off. | ||
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Member |
Yep unplug it when you are not using it is the best practice. Also discharging batteries that low is hard on them. Sometimes they don't come back. If it's a older battery you may want to replace it especially if you are in the colder climes. "Fixed fortifications are monuments to mans stupidity" - George S. Patton | |||
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For real? |
Yeah, learned the hard way that GM stuff stays hot. had a dash cam installed in my daughter's buick and killed the battery. Not minority enough! | |||
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Member |
I’ve done it too. At last give me an option of switching my plugins. I'm sorry if I hurt you feelings when I called you stupid - I thought you already knew - Unknown ................................... When you have no future, you live in the past. " Sycamore Row" by John Grisham | |||
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delicately calloused |
I don't know if this would useful to you but I have a Blackvue dash cam. It can be used in parking mode if hardwired. To avoid discharging the battery too far, I have a device called the Power Magic Pro. It monitors the battery voltage and controls the dash cam power. When the battery voltage reaches the preset level the Power Magic Pro turns the dash cam off. It can also be programmed for time. If I want the dash cam to turn off after 6, 12, 24, 36, 48 hrs or never, I just set the little toggles as instructed. Perhaps you could use something like that for your application.  You’re a lying dog-faced pony soldier | |||
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| Smarter than the average bear |
If a vehicle isn’t being used two or three weeks at a time, you should put a trickle charger on it. That is long enough to severely weaken or kill a battery due to normal battery draw. I’m not sure when they started doing it, but most accessory outlets in newer vehicles have a cover on it, with an emblem of a key, or a battery. Key is switched on with ignition, battery means it’s hot all of the time. | |||
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| Page late and a dollar short |
There are a lot of small current draws that add up. VCM, radio for memory and clock, ABS module in addition to your Garmin. Five or six years is average life of a battery. -------------------------------------—————— ————————--Ignorance is a powerful tool if applied at the right time, even, usually, surpassing knowledge(E.J.Potter, A.K.A. The Michigan Madman) | |||
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Member |
Also, by drawing it down that far don't be surprised if you've killed the battery completely. "The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people." "Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy." "I did," said Ford, "it is." "So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?" "It honestly doesn't occur to them. They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates the government they want." "You mean they actually vote for the lizards." "Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course." "But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?" "Because if they didn't vote for a lizard, then the wrong lizard might get in." | |||
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| Muzzle flash aficionado  |
I discovered in 2005 that my laptop would discharge the car battery in a couple of hours. I was using it with software and a GPS receiver as my navigator (which worked very well), but a couple of times I left it running when I made a stop. Fortunately, I was able to find a way to get the car started when that happened. flashguy Texan by choice, not accident of birth | |||
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