Sleeping battery discharge rate

[Phrede]

Does anyone know how much the current draw is on our cars after they totally "go to sleep"? I am trying to track down why my battery is going dead after just a few days. I suspect that it may be the Blue Star interface, but am just getting started.

How long does it take for the current draw to minimize? 30 minutes?

 

[carterchapman]

Phedre,

I don't know the answer, but how old is your battery?

I put in an Odyssey PC1230 AGM battery and have not had a single electrical problem - even after not driving it for a month. I'm now using my battery tender on our winterized waverunner!!!

(Bring your wallet for AGM batteries!! - but they are worth it IMHO)

 

[Phrede]

Phedre,

I don't know the answer, but how old is your battery?

I put in an Odyssey PC1230 AGM battery and have not had a single electrical problem - even after not driving it for a month. I'm now using my battery tender on our winterized waverunner!!!

(Bring your wallet for AGM batteries!! - but they are worth it IMHO)

It was replaced in July 2009 per the service records, I bought the car last June. I am suspicious of the battery as I just found out that my rate is 70mA. That may or may not be high for this car, but a fully charged battery should be able to handle that for a couple of days. About 5 amp-hours total in warm weather!

I will not be getting anything other than the OEM since the car is under warranty.

 

[Lola's Mom]

Phedre,

I don't know the answer, but how old is your battery?

I put in an Odyssey PC1230 AGM battery and have not had a single electrical problem - even after not driving it for a month. I'm now using my battery tender on our winterized waverunner!!!

(Bring your wallet for AGM batteries!! - but they are worth it IMHO)

Seriously??? I would not paying the extra $$ for a battery that will stay charged - I am sick of making sure that Lola has had her engine running long enough to keep her charged up. We have had 3 batteries in 4 years....

 

[XLRJIM]

good luck with oem battery

It is interesting to read the various reports concerning battery life. The origional battery in my 04X ran with out a problem until January 09. I had it replaced with another oem battery that is still going strong. In 2008 the x sat in the garage for over 3 weeks, no tender, and started right up. Most of the trips in the car are short and even then no battery problems.. However in my 07 Escalade I am on the 3rd oem battery..go figure

 

[carterchapman]

Seriously??? I would not paying the extra $$ for a battery that will stay charged - I am sick of making sure that Lola has had her engine running long enough to keep her charged up. We have had 3 batteries in 4 years....

Lola - AGM's are great batteries and worth the extra money. I put an AGM in my Allante 8 years ago and it is still going strong. My boat has two 11 liter diesels and uses two group 8D batteries. They are about $400 each as wet cells and $850 each as AGMs (they weigh 250 lbs each - fun to replace!). The AGMs last over twice as long as flooded wet cells - well worth the price.

I recall the Odyssey PC1230 for my XLR was $250 - but I have not had any battery problems since the replacement.

 

[Lola's Mom]

It is interesting to read the various reports concerning battery life. The origional battery in my 04X ran with out a problem until January 09. I had it replaced with another oem battery that is still going strong. In 2008 the x sat in the garage for over 3 weeks, no tender, and started right up. Most of the trips in the car are short and even then no battery problems.. However in my 07 Escalade I am on the 3rd oem battery..go figure

Now THAT's interesting to us! Just last weekend our 07 Escalade lost its battery power during having an oil change and tires rotated ... (doors open and hood up too long) .... they checked the cells said they were fine, but needed to put about 20 minutes of run time on it. This car gets driven over 100 miles a day. But we've been told several times that GMC started using undersized batteries around 05 ....
We sat at the beach this summer in the front seat of my daughter's Suburban to feed the baby (20 min) and had the driver's door open and the radio on ... dead battery and had to call AAA (interestingly again, AAA was able to respond to her faster than OnStar could) .... anyway ... same battery scenerio .... so, I guess both of us are having to install the 2nd battery option.

 

[XLR-V Lover]

I have to say Mercedes has GM beat when it comes to batteries, there is a separate deep cycle battery that powers only accessories. If that should die, you will only lose the accessories, start her up and the battery gets charged--pretty cool/smart!

 

[Crimson Pearl]

Odyssey AGM Battery

Shortly after purchasing Crimson Pearl, I read a lot about battery-related electrical problems that several other XLR owners had experienced. The original owner of my car had let the OEM battery die, and it had been replaced with a battery from Autozone.

Based on my prior experience with an Odyssey AGM battery in my motorcycle, I decided to install one in my car.

Since I installed the Odyssey battery, I have experienced no electrical problems with my XLR. I must clearly state that my car has had no modifications from stock, other than replacing some lamps with led lamps and the installation of the rear sway kit.

My car is only driven every few weeks, and I usually connect the Odyssey "Optimizer" on Saturdays, which charges and conditions the battery.

 

[Lola's Mom]

I would just like a clairification .... If we spring for the new battery is that or is that not going to eliminate the need of 'optimizers' - trickle chargers or any other battery boosters??? Even though Lola is my DD - any store I want is within 2 miles of me .... so, most errands are are less than 5 miles .... sometimes we take her out for freeway spins, but some weekends we don't .... I'd not like to have to think about her battery all the time.

 

[Crimson Pearl]

I don't believe that an XLR that was driven regularly would require a trickle charger or other device if an Odyssey AGM was installed. I use the optimizer to keep mine "topped off".

If I recall correctly, an XLR has 23 serial data modules, which certainly would contribute to battery drain.

Here is a picture of what the displays on the Optimizer show with a fully charged battery :


13.2 volts

Which is a 100% charge.

But let it sit for a few days and here is what you would see :

A 75% charge and 12.5 volts.

And let it sit for 7 days and this is what you see :

60% charge at 12.3 volts.

Now, granted that this "loss of charge" is what is often referred to as "surface charge", but it illustrates that there is a constant drain on the battery in an XLR.

I have little doubt that my XLR could sit for several weeks without ever being connected to the charger and still crank just fine. But I like to connect the Optimizer weekly to keep it at a high level of charge. The Optimizer slowly brings this charge back up, rather than a rapid recharge such as would be experienced by starting and driving the car.

It's just a personal quirk that I don't leave it connected all the time, but rather connect it usually on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon if she hasn't been driven.

 

[Lola's Mom]

I think you have convinced us .... sans Opitmizer

 

[carterchapman]

Here's some links to Odyssey Batteries:

http://www.odysseyfactory.com/documents/US-ODY-ALTV-002_0209_rev.pdf

Odyssey Drycell Car Batteries

I put the Odyssey PC1230 in my XLR and I put an Optima Red Top in my Allante. The Optima has lasted 8 years in a car that was not driven for over 3 months a couple of times a few years ago...

Optima RedTop Specs - Red Top AGM Batteries by Optima

Both are AGM (Absorbed Glass Matt) technology. The Optimas are available at AutoZone and Advance Auto Parts...

Here's a little "technical reading"

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#Major Battery Types

 

[Crimson Pearl]

The Odyssey PC1230 was also the model that I installed in my XLR.

 

[Crimson Pearl]

As a side note,

I have a 1976 Chevrolet L-82 El Camino that I bought new, the first new car I ever bought. Over the 35 years that I have owned it, I have had to replace the battery several times. I always replace it with an AC-Delco battery. They hold up pretty well, but I have an option with this installation that I don't have with the XLR. I have a battery disconnect switch. When I am not driving it, I open the switch to stop the very slow drain that the clock would cause.

Of course, the only ramification of this is that I have to set the clock each time I drive it, but that takes all of about 30 seconds.

Of course, this is NOT an option with an XLR, at least not a good one!

I just wanted to make every reasonable effort to avoid battery / electrical problems with the XLR, and so far, so good.

 

[b_pappy]

Thank you for the great info here. I replaced my battery with an OEM & Battery Tender because I couldn't find an Optima to fit it. I'll look into these batteries next time I need one.
Bruce

 

[BoughtTheXLR]

For reference, the service manual tests for a parasitic drain on the battery list the normal full-off drain as 10-20 mA. The car is expected to switch to full off 20 minutes after being shut off and the last door closed.

That would work out to no more than 1 amp-hour per 50-100 hours of the car being fully asleep.

 

[Phrede]

For reference, the service manual tests for a parasitic drain on the battery list the normal full-off drain as 10-20 mA. The car is expected to switch to full off 20 minutes after being shut off and the last door closed.

That would work out to no more than 1 amp-hour per 50-100 hours of the car being fully asleep.

Thanks for the info. I removed my Bluestar Bluetooth interface and the parasitic drain went to 22mA, pretty much normal for any car. 4 days later everything was still OK.

I am throwing the Bluestar in the trash and will recommend that everyone runs away from them.

IMHO, any vehicle put up for the winter needs a battery tender of some kind.

 

[b_pappy]

Well a few weeks ago the OEM battery was dead, so I sprung for red top Optima and put it on the Battery Tender. Last night I decided I would drive the car to charge the battery (and it's Friday so not everyone will see it). Anyhow, last night I unplugged the Tender, this morning it's deader than a door nail. I guess I have a draw somewhere.
I know I need to drive it more than I do, that's part of the problem.
I'll see what I can figure out this weekend.
Bruce