My truck has had a dead battery, due to leaving lights on or a door ajar, a few times. With a car, I just jump it, but I am under the impression that a Subaru should not jump start a 3/4 ton pick up.
Any recommendations on a good battery charger to keep around the house?
TIA!
Any trickle charger should do, granted its rated for auto use.it’s all generally the same, just the speed in which you’re trying to have it done
There is however no issue with trying to jump it with your Subaru. Let it charge the truck for 15-20 minutes and you should be OK.
And shut your doors
Thanks. This truck is new to us, and one of the doors seems to shut , but is not shut. We had it to the shop several times, but until we work this out, we need to have a way to recharge the battery.
We have two trickle chargers, one slightly more powerful than the other. They both work wonderfully. I think they’re both from an auto part store or sears or something. Just plug them in and hook them up, and they charge the battery in a few hours (or overnight).
I have this one for my truck. It’s also powerful enough to charge smaller batteries. I also added an extension line so the trickle charger can stay in the garage on a shelf and charge the truck while it is in the driveway (you can also set it up so the chrger part is wired to the battery and the plug in tail is outside the hood so you do not have to open the hood every time you want to plug/unplug it.
I use the brand Battery Tender for our tractor and lawn mowers.
We use my husband’s mustang to jump the truck regularly. No problems.
Thank you all. Next question. I know that with the new electronics, there are special things to do when you jump newer cars, like turn on the heater, any issue with that on trucks?
Never ran into such a thing.
Side note, my mom always had beaters that had issues with draining batteries. I would run some 12 guage wire from the battery positive (with a fuse) to a switch on the dash that would kill the feed to the vehicle. When she got to where she went, she’d click the switch and that’d kill whatever was draining the battery.
The electrical issues in cars suck. They’re not properly wired and there’s vibration, heat, chemicals, that can all be messing with the wires.
A trickle charger is designed to keep a charged battery topped off and puts out a small current approx 1.25 amps. It will take a few days to,fully charge a dead battery. A smart battery charger adjusts the amperage to an optimal dead charging current and backs off when the battery is full. A fast charger (20+ amps) is not very healthy for your battery but can put enough juice in a dead one to start it in a 30 minutes. You will only get 5-10 fully dead cycles out of a truck battery before causing permenant damage and premature failure.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D3SWXUA/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_t1_8hYdCb8N784XE
Exactly, worth repeating
Trickle chargers are meant for batteries on stuff that won’t and or don’t get used for long periods of time. Winter/summer storage, etc. Decent ones can be had for $20-$40±. I bought a $10 one that has worked well enough.
How much and what kind of battery charger depends on needs.
I have one of these types, not this brand. Mainly because I have some equipment/stuff that had 6 volt batteries also.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10290832}[/ATTACH]
The main charger I have been using for years is the larger version that has several charging settings. The most important feature to me is the “boost/start” setting for starting car/truck/tractor with a dead battery in a few minutes if not seconds. The one I bought is going on 20 years. Pretty much a one time investment that can be passed on in your will.
This one has more features and costs more then the one I have. The basic types can be had for around $100++ Even though the larger ones cost more $$ and may only be used the odd times. The times it is needed makes it worth every cent IMO.
When starting with a booster on a dead battery it is important that the vehicle is driven for at least 15-30+ minutes so the battery is recharged by the car charging system. If not most likely the car will not start.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10290833}[/ATTACH]
This type of charger has a battery in it and can jump without being plugged in. Depending on the features it can be used for charging also. I bought a cheap one and it was a POS. So I suggest spending proper money for a good one. Look for lots of good reviews before buying.
[ATTACH=JSON]{“data-align”:“none”,“data-size”:“large”,“data-attachmentid”:10290834}[/ATTACH]
Most newer vehicles have sensors that turn off interior lights, head lights that are left on by accident.
There are 2 ways to jump a battery depends on the vehicle. Attach the cables directly to the negative and positive battery terminals. On some vehicles the negative cable should be grounded/attached to the body, engine etc. Has something to do with sensitive electronics in some vehicles. The owners manual will give details on this.
If using a starter/booster charger on a very dead battery you may have to have to use the standard lower amp setting for a few minutes before using the start/boost setting. At least this has been my experience.
As Gypsymare pointed out batteries only have X amount of complete recharging cycles and usually have a life of 5 years. If a battery struggles starting that is a sign it is on its end of days. One day you will turn the key and nothing. Even though the vehicle started the day before. Older batteries, batteries that have needed to be completely recharged several times should have a load test done. This will tell you the “state” of the batter and how much life it has left in it. Load tester can be bought for around $20±. Or just stop in an auto parts store and they will do a load test for free.
gumtree, I’ve had several of those portable ones over the years. They all seem to have a fairly finite lifespan, but they are wonderful to take on the road (top off the spare you forgot to check in the last 6 months) or jump start the #$$ gator when it decides it will not start when you stop it to hook up the drag or a thousand other things. You can even rely on it to jump start your ford focus. But not your F250. 
But given the lifespan, I’m not sure it is worth forking out more than $100 (still not enough to start the truck or the tractor IME)
So I have a slow/fast charger, the trickle charger (it’s rated to charge smaller batteries but not a big truck battery, just trickle charge/maintenance level for big batteries), heavy duty extra long jumper cables AND that portable thing. Some people a cursed with tire issues. Mine are batteries, apparently.
I ordered the battery tender. Should arrive today. Checked the owner’s manual, and it says to run the fan while jumping the truck. Not sure if that applies to slow charging as well. The battery was replaced when we first bought the truck, for a similar issue. I hope the truck is not a battery killer. We only use it to haul.
remove the battery ground cable when parked
@IFG do you have any devices plugged in? Normally they do not drain, but a few years ago I added the wireless backup camera to my Garmin in my F250, hooked up through the backup lights (this is pertinent since the Ford trucks have some “always on” chargers, not sure about other trucks). I also had a winch plug wired through the battery (removable winch to get carriage in/out of truck bed). I started experiencing periodic low/dead batteries. When I finally took it in to check where the slow drain was, I was mostly sure it was the winch hookup or maybe that backup light wiring had a short and was doing a power draw.
After a fairly exhau$tive $earch the culprit was the garmin power cord. It was plugged in the “always on” power connector in a storage under the middle front seat so it was never unhooked. It has a special wireless receiver as part of the cord for the camera, so apparently it was doing a low power 24/7 “can you hear me now?” call to the wireless camera (who was heartlessly connected to the “off” lights and not responding).
By the time I was done with that round of stupidity I was out a few hundred dollars. And for grins and giggles, a few months later when I went out to hop in the truck to go to a show, guess who forgot to unplug the cord AGAIN? That time the battery finally died for good, so I got to spend a few more dollars and lift a battery out of a big truck and trot off to the auto parts store to replace it. My driveway is a 7 degree hill, so the step ladder was death defying and I ALSO opted to slip/step off it, stripping a fair amount of skin instead of falling off it and conking my head, so all in all the experience was just AWESOME.
On the other hand I have not forgotten that damn power cord since.
Moral of the story is battery drains come in strange forms!
Nope. There was a problem with one of the rear doors shutting properly. That drained the battery. We thought that we had it fixed, but maybe not. Once I have power again, I will see what is up–I hope.
Update! I got the Baterry Tender, but the info on it said the truck had to have some charge, and it was dead as a doornail. Per the F250 instructions, turned on the fans in both vehicles, and jumped it with the Subaru (thanks @Simkie for the encouragement on that!). I drove it for a half hour, and it starts again!!
Not sure what the problem was. These is something wonky electrically. The radio runs after I turn the truck off, the trailer was plugged in, and I may have left a door open. Trying to decide whether to keep the Battery Tender hooked up now that it is charged or not.
Much appreciate all the help!
Keep the “Battery tender” hooked to the truck. Remember to disconnect it before driving off. Otherwise this is you > :eek:
Tip: leave the truck keys on the battery tender…
You are making me nervous LOL! So far, so good. Left the electric on the trailer disconnected, and it started right up this AM. So maybe the trailer is draining it.
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
