battery trouble

[JohnRR]

Once the battery is discharged for whatever reason then the eye would show red and the battery does not necessarily have to be bad.

Go to a repair shop you trust (even a car repair shop) have them do a "load test" on the battery to check it's condition.

As a personal thought why does the battery always need to be replace when checked when you take it to be checked at a big chain store? In short that would be the last place I would want to have my battery checked.

You may want to have them do a "draw test" on the electrical system when the key is off, there's not telling how many amps your system may be drawing with the key off which would account for the low battery in the seven day period.

When you say it works fine for several days until it sits again makes me think excessive draw more than bad battery.

[Mopar1973Man]

Give you all something to think about...

Don't believe the eye(s) on your batteries... Do the proper testing by load testing and using hydrometer... My batteries in my 2002 Dodge Cummins pickup are the orignal batteries from the dealer that are going on 9 years old. The little eyes have been black now for over 1 year but the batteries continue to pass the load test without any issues.

Also keeping the batteries clean and the terminals clean make a huge difference in a life span of a battery. Even week when I wash the truck I wash the engine bay out including the batteries. Then afterwards I coat the terminal in a light coat of engine oil to protect them.

Then if I start the truck I never short trip it. Being diesel engine require a huge amount of AMPs to start I make sure to drive it at least 5-10 miles before shutting down. This insures the batteries are charged up again for the next start.

[cartech]

Have a private mechanic, new car dealership, auto parts store or [moderator edit] do a load test on the battery to see what its reserve capacity is. When you get the car started, stick an inexpensive hand held volt meter leads to the battery with the car running.