Battery's (again)

[POPEYE]

Well looks like my pair are stuffed once more, it was flat this morn and after a 3 hour charge it's still flat, so a few questions, first any reccomendations as the best place to buy, last time i found the dealer the cheapest but mayby someone knows of a better seller, i dont mean the cheapest but the best price for a fair quality battery,
it's been getting bad for a while and going off the aftermarket voltmeter it's been reading 12v on startup but after a while it drops to 11 or even 10, so i thought either the alternator aint pokeing out enough or the batterys aint taking it properly, starter is turning after a charge but slow and then the dredded click's and thats it, the present batterys have been on around 7 years so i'm guessing their about up to their sell by date,
secondly could there be another cause i'm overlooking, connections are all good and like i say the starter seems to want to work ok, so just thought i'd ask, cheer's, ian

[Dobbslc]

7 years ain't bad!

[tintin]

Get a quote from yota mate, mine were as cheap as anywhere else but proper batts

Al

[POPEYE]

Get a quote from yota mate, mine were as cheap as anywhere else but proper batts

Al

Prob will do Al, that was the case last time, far cheaper than my friendly, known him for 30 years local shop,

[POPEYE]

7 years ain't bad!

no it's not really, trouble is i want em live forever for my 130 bucks
seven years!!! seems like only yesterday

[Kwakka666]

Try http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/MF31-1000/

[MWS]

Hey, Ian. If you want to opt for some really powerful batteries, especially to help with all your additional electrics, try these brutes. they're the size of the single one, fitted to the UK 4Runner. They fit really neatly. I've had them on for more than a couple of years, now. Hope this link to a previous post helps. http://www.hiluxsurf.co.uk/showpost....56&postcount=1.

[Ben_D]

If replacing mine again, I would get genuine Toyota Batteries. Changed mine about 2 years ago for some Yuasa batteries (can't remember where I got them) which have been fine. At the time I didn't even price genuine batteries as I thought they'd have been really expensive. Turned out they were about the same price and a higher spec.

CHeers

Ben

[Webbo]

What I would do Ian is get the Truck started, then check the alternator output. If thats Ok then must be batterys ? I have learned its best to go for best you can afford like the longest warranty. I think they go like one two or three years. Your seven years sounds good to me Mate. What I have also been doing is using my Optimate charger I used to plug my Fireblade into just to keep batterys up to charge etc in the cold weather. Short journeys with the initial starting lights and AC/DC full blast seems to kill them.

[POPEYE]

Cheer's guys, sounds like seven years is really good then, i will check out those Varta batterys against toyota ones for price and spec etc, like i said the proper one from toyota alst time were a much better price than my old mate at the local shop (he retired now anyway) i will get the alternator checked Dave , i have had my suspicions for a while about it but as my batterys have been in seven years i think its a safe bet that they are fooked,
just odd that they seem to have gone more or less overnight, i know i have had problems for a long time with them needing a charge if i dont use the truck for a few days but always after a charge theres enough to spin it over ok, i do do normally short runs so that dosen't do them any good i know,
wondered for a while if the chargers knackered but it reading an output of between 5 & 10 amps,
sod's law that i need to get to the doctors monday early so needed the truck but my daughter takeing me now,
anyway thanks for the comments guys, ian

[tweak'e]

how cold does it get there?
and do you use an electric winch?

a cost saving option is to just use one bigger battery. i put a longer one in. had to trim the battery tray a little bit and remove the part of the intake.
works well at half the price but no good if your in a really cold area or run a winch.

[POPEYE]

The trucks kept in a garage (with a rad) so it never gets left out in the cold, and i do use a winch but its only being used to power the side step (for my wife) so it used in short bursts of a few seconds a time and useually with the engine running,

well this morning it started up fine!! spun over fast, and all i did after yesterdays attempts at charging was to connect the charger to the other battery (the N/S one) and leave the charger on all night, i useually charge the O/S batt as its easier to reach when the trucks in the garage, so any ideas why this would happen? it just seems like an intermittant fault that shorts out and leaves it flat,

this happened a few weeks back,,, i went out to start up, it spun over fine and fired but didn't catch, i turned the key again and it was just like flat batterys, turned over slowly and got the clicks, turned the key once more and it spun ove fine again and started this time, so what could possibly cayse this? the battery termaials are all clean and good/tight, i've had no probs with the starter sticking or slipping,
i haven't been out again today as my legs been playing up so i'll try it again tomorrow, i guess as a first step i should get the batterys tested and possibly the alternator output checked, we may just get new batterys as they have been in a while but it annoying the shite out of me as i cant rely on the fecker to start up and i have a doctors appointment mon, (early ) so i have to get my daughter to drop me off there,

[Dobbslc]

A battery can just die overnight, We had a Honda CRV (bomb proof!) that was totaly fine untill the boys left the interior light on one night and killed the battery. I charged it but the car still would not start so £70 for a new Halfords one and it was ok again.

[Karma Supra]

I fitted these recently as part of a twin battery upgrade (which I keep meaning to write up, I have pics)


http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/57024/
http://www.batterymegastore.co.uk/product/57029/

Seem ok so far.... They fit, it starts.....

[tweak'e]

well this morning it started up fine!! spun over fast, and all i did after yesterdays attempts at charging was to connect the charger to the other battery (the N/S one) and leave the charger on all night, i useually charge the O/S batt as its easier to reach when the trucks in the garage, so any ideas why this would happen? it just seems like an intermittant fault that shorts out and leaves it flat,

depends on how you hook it all up. its not a good idea to charge up just one battery. charging both at the same time can be a little hard on smaller chargers. ideally you need two chargers and disconnect both from the surf and charge both of them.

the two batteries tend to work together, if one goes faulty it often will damage the other one. one of the bad things with the surfs battery arrangement is one battery tends to feed the starter more than the other. un equal discharge of the batteries is a common way to stuff them.

what some do is separate the two batteries and fit an isolator (switch or vsr). so one battery starts and runs the surf, the other does the winch and any other accessories. the plus is that you now have a built in jump starter.