I stand corrected. I thought BC was also included in that now.
Arggh! Issues with starting battery in winter - any solutions?
- Thread starter swampdog
- Start date
Whelp. Car sat for 4 days since the weather was nice and I was riding my bike. Last night, attempted to put some stuff in the car, it was so dead that even the doors wouldn't unlock. Jumpstarted using a jumper pack, started no problem, no errors.
Charged from charger directly to battery for about 6 hours. Only got to about 75%. When I got back in the vehicle and turned it on, I got all the malfunctions, anywhere from drive systems to you name it. Reset using OBD11 and everything seems fine. I think that has something to do with this 20A charger going directly into the system. I'll test again tonight.
In the meanwhile, I'm starting to question my dash cam wiring.
I think it's wired to an accessory fuse, as I used @EOD Guy "s wiring guide, but now I'm starting to question it. Or I have some random parasitic draw from the factory. There was no extreme could this time, no reason for it to be dead.
Charged from charger directly to battery for about 6 hours. Only got to about 75%. When I got back in the vehicle and turned it on, I got all the malfunctions, anywhere from drive systems to you name it. Reset using OBD11 and everything seems fine. I think that has something to do with this 20A charger going directly into the system. I'll test again tonight.
In the meanwhile, I'm starting to question my dash cam wiring.
I think it's wired to an accessory fuse, as I used @EOD Guy "s wiring guide, but now I'm starting to question it. Or I have some random parasitic draw from the factory. There was no extreme could this time, no reason for it to be dead.
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It;s very frustrating! I too was disappointed after replacing my OEM battery with the Optima and finding it too seemed to go flat for no reason. With the solar charger and diligent door closing when not actually having my feet dangling out while putzing around, I've started trusting it again.
It's frustrating we have to go this far just to keep a new car running. Arrrgh. I'll figure it out eventually. I just keep thinking that if this was my wife, or any other person who doesn't have the patience or is not comfortable troubleshooting things, how disheartening it would be and how much wasted time going back and forth with the dealership.
If it makes you feel any better, many vehicles ship with an underwhelming OEM battery with a limited lifespan these days.
WookieBait
Active member
There's a higher capacity 12v Toyota battery but it's t isn't used for starting so not sure more crankimg amps really matters. I'd just get an everstart battery from Walmart due to the warranty myself.
I'm very satisfied with the Optima. I think what's important is the higher end variants, one that'll handle the constant parasitic drain. I had the Optima on my boat and the hours of radio playing while at anchor was a major part of my decision.
Is the Optima Yellowtop DH6 ($370) the one that you purchased?
Yepper, I think I paid under $300 tho'
WookieBait
Active member
Keep in mind with agm batteries don't have a proper charging profile in the LC to fully charge and maintain them properly. You'll need to put them on a maintainer or come up with another solution like solar if you want the full life out of them.
I have to apologize to the @EOD Guy for saying I followed his guide to hard wire the dash cam. I'm a dumbass. I had the screenshot of where the accessory fuses are... And I still wired the dash cam, and the backup battery into the always hot.
This explains 100% of all my battery issues. FML I'm an idiot.
I guess I have a nice yellow top now for no reason....
This explains 100% of all my battery issues. FML I'm an idiot.
I guess I have a nice yellow top now for no reason....
The smartest (and best) people are those that don’t shy away from admitting when they’re wrong. Glad you got it sorted!
No worries, I'd guess we've all got in a hurry at some point in our wiring endeavors. Just glad you got it sorted out.
I am hoping your nice new Yellow Top handles things once you get that (minor) wiring glitch sorted out
.I know this depends on your dash cam, but on my previous install (previous vehicle) I could always hear the camera notification when it switched to parking mode when vehicle stationary or ignition off.
I swapped out my OEM battery for the Odyssey AGM. Out of paranoia, before I ever had the OEM go dead by the way. Then it seems like it became a self-fulfilling prophecy, I started having dead batteries. The other thing I had done was disconnect that battery sensor cable. Lastly I have the 42.11 anti-theft relay solution with the Bluetooth remote, and I have a Garmin dash cam with a dongar power adapter. Between all of these things, something was the culprit that I think it may have been the 42.11 because I noticed it was warm to the touch several times. Anyway I have now reconnected the voltage sensor, uninstalled the 42.11, and disconnected my dash cam. I also put on a 30 watt solar panel from Amazon which I affixed to the roof using industrial magnets. Everything is good now and my battery is 100% full for the first time ever. I'm going to slowly start adding things back in and see what causes any problems. The dongar and dash cam are getting turned back on today. Anyway this is not exactly scientific because I have the solar in the mix which wasn't there before, but I just want to see what happens. Finally when my battery was dead, to get it started I used a wolfbox which worked pretty well, it's not as good as the noco but it seems to do the trick
Yeah me too. There's an in line Blackvue backup battery, so the parking mode is purely GPS controlled, and it doesn't activate until the car has been stationary for some time, I'm usually out of it by the time it switches over.I am hoping your nice new Yellow Top handles things once you get that (minor) wiring glitch sorted out
I know this depends on your dash cam, but on my previous install (previous vehicle) I could always hear the camera notification when it switched to parking mode when vehicle stationary or ignition off.
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