Best battery deals in Canada? Solar chargers drain the battery in the dark?

Easy enough to figure out with a meter by pulling the radio fuse.

What's the gravity in each cell? That will tell you if there really is a shorted cell or not.

Not if it has a shorted cell, no.

Have you considered a real battery tender?

No, it has a diode to prevent that.

I would look in the yellow pages for wholesale battery distributors.

--scott

Yup... Plan on doing that shortly.

| >I tried to charge the battery up yesterday (out of the vehicle) and my | >battery charger reports that there is a shorted cell in the battery. All | >cells are full of fluid. | | What's the gravity in each cell? That will tell you if there really is | a shorted cell or not.

No idea... I don't have a tester for that.

| >Any idea if this battery can be saved? | | Not if it has a shorted cell, no.

That's what I figured.

| >If not, I'll be looking to purchase a new battery for the van. I'm looking | >at a deep cycle battery and will be adding a dashboard solar charger to keep | >the battery from going flat. | | Have you considered a real battery tender?

Does it need to be plugged in? I've no outlets where the van is usually parked.

| >I've been told that a solar battery charger will actually cause a drain on | >the battery when it's in the dark. Is this true? Can anything be done to | >make sure this doesn't happen? | | No, it has a diode to prevent that.

That's what I figured.

| >Also, I'm curious as to where the best battery deals can be had here in | >Calgary, AB, Cananda. Can anyone suggest where they've had the best luck | >with batteries, prices and warranties? | | I would look in the yellow pages for wholesale battery distributors.

Thanks for the info!

So, my battery definately has a shorted cell. Time for a new battery.

I know that my van uses a size 75 battery, but I'm having no luck finding a deep cycle battery that would fit in it's place.

Are deep cycle batteries sized differently? Any ideas what I'd be looking for to replace the current battery with a deep cycle one? The battery is a size 75, with between 525 and 720 CCA's.

I've made a few phonecalls to battery dealers and they all sound confused when I say I want a deep cycle battery.

The solar charger won't work backward in the dark, no worries there...

In my opinion, Canadian Tire had the best deal on the batteries. They have a good warranty that is easily cashed in on anywhere in the country.

They also carry the deep cycle spiral cell batteries with no loose liquid in them to leak out or go bad.

Canadian Tire also sells the hydrometer battery tester for your cells, but the charger's report means the battery is toast.

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build Photos:

| >I've been told that a solar battery charger will actually cause a drain on | >the battery when it's in the dark. Is this true? Can anything be done to | >make sure this doesn't happen? | | No, it has a diode to prevent that.

Almost forgot... Can a solar charger be left connected while using the vehicle?

Modern solar cells are diodes, and as long as the diode is in good shape the leakage should be minimal. Some solar chargers have an additional diode just to make sure, though that diode requires another cell to overcome its own volage drop.

There will ALWAYS be a slight reverse current, but it should be well below what the car draws when shut off. In addition to the battery self-discharge current, there are a lot of things- clocks, etc. that draw battery power even when ignition switch is off. You just need to ensure that reverse current through solar charger is significantly less than those parasitic drains.

You would have to see if the charger was protected for that or not. Standard battery chargers will fry when you hit the starter, the solar one would depend on who and how it was made.

In other words, read the manual....

Mike

86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 'New' frame in the works for '08. Some Canadian Bush Trip and Build Photos:

| In other words, read the manual....

Awww... That's no fun!

: )

Thanks... Going to be out today looking them over.