Had a vehicle years ago that the battery kept dying on. Finally tracked it down to the lighted mirror on the passenger side sun visor. The cover for it when closed would shut off the small lights on either side of the mirror. The cover had broken and wasn't pushing down the contact to shut off the lights. I disabled the lights and my battery stopped dying.

Just telling you this because if you find you have a draw, check anything and everthing that lights up.....

I'm in AZ, so if I get more than two years or so out of a battery, I figure I'm doing good. I needed a battery yesterday. Went over to the local Wally World. Computer catalog said I needed a group 27, but a group 24 could also be used. Thought AHA! Since this is just my range vehicle, I'll save some money and go with the smaller group 24 battery. Not so much. The smaller battery was only about $2.00 cheaper;( Went with the bigger battery.

If / when I get a Battery Tender, is this cable adapter safe to use? I'd attach it permanently to my battery. Then plug it into the Battery Tender as needed.

The engine compartment has a cover. So:
1) a little hassle to take the cover on/off to charge the battery
2) seems like rings would be safer (less chance of accidental disconnect and shocks / shorts) than the large alligator style clamps

Thoughts? Is the 18 gauge wire good enough for the trickle charge?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

1. You should check your battery voltage the next morning before starting your car. You won't get a true reading right after turning the car off because the charging system uses a higher voltage (14+). It takes a while for the effect to go away. A fully charged battery should read 12.7-12.8 volts.

2. The battery you bought is a good one.

3. Heat kills batteries. Down here they seem to last about 3 years. I'd get six when I lived in Wisconsin. They only seemed to die on the first cold day because they were already weak from the summer heat.

4. No real functional difference between a 24 and a 27 for a starter battery. The 27 will have more cold cranking amps, so it would perform better below freezing. Longevity will be about the same since the heat will kill both at the same rate and that will happen faster than the wear and tear you will put on it from use.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
If / when I get a Battery Tender, is this cable adapter safe to use? I'd attach it permanently to my battery. Then plug it into the Battery Tender as needed.

The engine compartment has a cover. So:
1) a little hassle to take the cover on/off to charge the battery
2) seems like rings would be safer (less chance of accidental disconnect and shocks / shorts) than the large alligator style clamps

Thoughts? Is the 18 gauge wire good enough for the trickle charge?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

That will be perfectly fine. The Battery Tender will be putting out less than 2amps anyway.

Run the connector to the front grille if possible to make plugging-in easier.

Thanks much!

I'll check the battery in the morning. I'll also check for 14v+ with the engine running.

Good to know that Duralast Gold is gtg. And that I can use 24f from Costco, st least in a pinch.

I'll try to feed the ring leads to the front grill. I was thinking of just dropping it down to ground but I'd pull it back up after use. Permanent install up front may be better.

Johnson Controls makes the batteries for AutoZone and many others.

What matters about a battery is that it physically fits in the battery tray, has the terminals on the correct sides to match where the cables connect, and has sufficient CCA and reserve. The Group Size doesn't matter if all the above conditions are met.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:

Thoughts? Is the 18 gauge wire good enough for the trickle charge?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

That's the one I use a couple of places. On my wife's Sequoia, she just pops the hood after she parks in the garage. I ran an extended cable along the ceiling so it just drops down to where she needs it to plug in (Battery Tender sells a 25 foot extension cable). For my tractor, I use that adapter and it is able to come through the grill, as the battery sits right up front just behind the grill. I plug in the Battery Tender, and also can use the same plug to power my 26 gallon sprayer from the tractor battery.
 
BTW, I also live in AZ, and, yes, heat is hard on a battery. However, I got 5+ years out of batteries on three vehicles now. Parking in a garage helps considerably, and driving it enough to keep up the charge, or using a trickle charger. I also get 5 or so years on the tractor battery and the standby genset battery (both of these are automobile level flooded batteries, but just an odd size). Every one gets driven or trickle charged. We are not quite as hot as Phoenix, but almost.
 

In addition to the BT and new jumper cables, I got this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/prod...02_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

At home, BT hopefully will be sufficient. If not, then jumper cables and/or this booster hopefully will do the trick.

On the road, hopefully, this booster will be good enough with jumpers / AAA as backup. I was going to get the Noco version but this was on 30% sale. Hopefully this is good too. Reviews seem favorable.