13 thoughts on “Early Signs Of Spring”

  1. I use battery minders on my Kubota and my summer car. Allowing the battery to discharge causes crystallization of the lead sulphate on the plates which reduces the capacity and lifespan of the battery. My Kubota’s battery is 15 years old and still starts the engine at 0F. It’s also much more convenient if I can start and move the summer car immediately so I can put my daily driver on the hoist.

  3. If I don’t drive it daily it gets a Battery Tender on it. My last riding lawnmower from Wally World lasted 8 years and it had a 30 day guarantee. The last battery in the Electraglide lasted 7 years and it was a 2 year battery. The last battery in my 04 Ranger lasted 10 years and it was a 48 month battery. Back in the early 90’s I had a motor pool guy tell me that they were getting 2 to 3 times the life on batteries after they had done that.

  4. Yup, same here, I keep my mower and stored cars on minders all winter. They “usually” start in spring, but not always. I find most mower batteries are marginal when new and barely last 3 season.

  5. Phil- I know you’re a mech and know “stuff” but do you ever disconnect the batts for long term idleness?

    • Only if it has a computer or a clock in it.
      Otherwise there is no point because there is no draw on the battery.
      Newer rigs with computers will kill a battery in about two and a half weeks because of the radio memory, clock and the Keep Alive feature in the computer that saves the adaptive settings it has set from your driving habits.
      That’s why whenever you disconnect a battery on a computer controlled rig it reverts back to factory settings on everything.
      Back in the 90’s I measured that draw and it was about a quarter of an amp or 250 Milliamps.
      It doesn’t take long to kill a marginal battery at that rate and it’s a constant draw.
      That also makes it hard to find bigger draws that are battery killers because that one never goes away so if you are using a test light, it’s always on.

      • An easy way to find a non-parasitic (non-“normal”) drain on the battery, Phil, is to remove ALL the fuses in the fusebox, connect the ammeter, then start plugging back in all the “gotta have” fuses first then the “accessory” fuses. That’s an easy-peasy way to find the problem. Works every time.

        I’ve used this method after the garage mechanic threw up his hands trying to find the problem. That’s why he lends me his tools and sometimes his shop – because I assist him with the hard electronics problems and I DON’T leave behind a mess when I *do* use his shop! Which is seldom.

        • Also, disconnect the battery and use THAT as the point at which you connect the ammeter – I have found (over the course of 45 years of doing this) a bad Voltage Regulator (INSIDE the Alternator) and a bad “diode stack” (also inside the Alternator). This technique will also catch that event/problem.

          • One method I use is to take the clamp from a 12V test light and clamp it to the negative lead with the cable disconnected. Then use the point to touch suspect wiring. If it lights up you have either found a draw or a hot wire.
            Start pulling fuses and if it goes out you have narrowed down your culprit to that circuit.
            The 1/4 amp draw will light the test light up faintly, when it gets bright you will notice it right away.

  7. That Western Auto charger is an oldie and any more you cannot find them at yard sales or auctions. Hang on to it as they are solid.

    • Somebody left it sitting on the rim of a dumpster at the recycling depot at the dump and I snagged it.
      Not a damn thing wrong with it and it looked like it had just been sitting in someone’s garage for the last fifty years.
      I would wager some old fart died and his kids were cleaning it out and someone actually felt bad about throwing it away so instead of just tossing it in the scrap metal bin, they set it up on the rim for someone like me to snag.
      It works perfect.

  8. Yep, hen bit been showing for a few days now which means the morels should be out.

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