1999 Ford Taurus-dead battery any experience with a "Jump N Carry" car battery jumper

[dennis thompson]

My grandson is getting an older (1999) Taurus which has been in the family since it was new. It has 70,000 miles on it. I have two questions on it:
1-if the cars sits for a couple of weeks the battery (Brand new) goes dead, any thoughts on what can be causing this? If started every day it seeems to be OK
2-anyone have any experience with the "Jump N carry" battery jumper? (It's $60 at Amazon)
Thanks
Dennis

[Dan Hintz]

It should be okay for a couple of weeks, but if not, you have a higher-than-average power draw. The only way to track it down is to the separate portions of the electrical system and measure their power draw. After-market stereos (amplifiers, particularly) are notorious for this, you can also check alarm systems, check the ECU, etc. It will be tedious, but it will tell you what the problem is.

One other possibility is a failing component that's allowing a high-resistance short to ground. It leaks enough current to drain the battery, but not nearly enough to pop a fuse (or even be noticeable in average use). Dirty battery tops/contacts are one culprit.

[Chuck Wintle]

My grandson is getting an older (1999) Taurus which has been in the family since it was new. It has 70,000 miles on it. I have two questions on it:
1-if the cars sits for a couple of weeks the battery (Brand new) goes dead, any thoughts on what can be causing this? If started every day it seeems to be OK
2-anyone have any experience with the "Jump N carry" battery jumper? (It's $60 at Amazon)
Thanks
Dennis

i have heard from some car mechanics it's a bad idea to use the charging system to recharge a run down battery...to much strain on the alternator and other components. the battery should be removed and charged with a battery charger.

[Curt Harms]

The best idea would be to figure out what's causing the discharge. A good battery should last a couple weeks easily. The quickest way might be one of these-assuming your battery has posts:
http://www.google.com/products/catal...ed=0CGYQ8wIwAA

[Myk Rian]

It should be okay for a couple of weeks, but if not, you have a higher-than-average power draw.

Not so.
Cars have computers that constantly draw power. Batteries go dead in 2 weeks.
Put a trickle charger on it.

[John Coloccia]

When I was traveling, I would routinely leave my cars for 1+ month at a time with no problem. I think Dan is on the right path. Think of all the cars on new and used car lots. They're not all dead every two weeks, are they? Think of all the cars at airports. People go on vacation for two weeks...all those batteries aren't constantly dead.

[Myk Rian]

Then check for a light staying on.

[John Coloccia]

Then check for a light staying on.

This too.

He may also have a regulator problem. The voltage needs to be somewhere around 14V when the car is running or the battery will never really charge. It can also be the victim of many very short little trips, like maybe if you work only a mile or two from home. That can keep the battery in a perpetual state of almost dead...and then 2 weeks is certainly long enough to kill it.

[Jeff Monson]

A 99 Taurus should be able to sit for 2 weeks without battery issues. You need to have it checked for for a draw. Given the amount of time it takes to drain it down, you are dealing with something small (vanity light in the visor, glovebox light, etc.) The easiest way to accomplish this is to disconnect the negative battery cable and install a volt meter between the post and the cable. With the meter set on amps you should have .02 to .04 amps after a minute or two (it takes a little bit for the modules to go to sleep). If you have more than the specified amps, then its time to start pulling fuses to find the circuit on which the draw exists. Fords are great for GEM modules causing battery drains, radio's are also on the list. Some can be quite a challenge, especially when you are dealing with small drains.

[Dan Hintz]

Not so.
Cars have computers that constantly draw power. Batteries go dead in 2 weeks.
Put a trickle charger on it.

A typical battery would be 100Ah... to drain it completely over two weeks, you'd need to be drawing 300mA. If your ECU is drawing more than a couple tens of mA while sitting there, you have bigger problems.

[Joe Angrisani]

Not so. Cars have computers that constantly draw power. Batteries go dead in 2 weeks.

Absolutely wrong.

He may also have a regulator problem. The voltage needs to be somewhere around 14V when the car is running or the battery will never really charge.....

I doubt it's the voltage regulator. The regulator caps the high end. When a regulator fails, the alternator will make something like 18V or higher, and overcharge/boil the battery. If you check the output and you're only seeing 12V or 12.5V (or lower), then the alternator is dying and needs to be replaced (or PROPERLY rebuilt, which is very difficult to have done circa 2011 - slapping in a set of brushes is NOT rebuilding).

A 99 Taurus should be able to sit for 2 weeks without battery issues. You need to have it checked for for a draw. Given the amount of time it takes to drain it down, you are dealing with something small (vanity light in the visor, glovebox light, etc.) The easiest way to accomplish this is to disconnect the negative battery cable and install a volt meter between the post and the cable. With the meter set on amps you should have .02 to .04 amps after a minute or two (it takes a little bit for the modules to go to sleep). If you have more than the specified amps, then its time to start pulling fuses to find the circuit on which the draw exists. Fords are great for GEM modules causing battery drains, radio's are also on the list. Some can be quite a challenge, especially when you are dealing with small drains.

Jeff is dead-on with the diagnosis technique.

[John M Wilson]

Along with all of these excellent troubleshooting tips, I would like to offer one other minor tidbit.

Typical automotive lead-acid batteries (not marine style or deep cycle) HATE to be run all the way dead & then revived. Even a few such incidents can cause a battery to permanently lose overall capacity.

Once you have the cause of the mystery drain resolved, you may (I hate to say) still need a new battery to get back up to snuff.

I wouldn't get the new battery until the leak is plugged, so that you can enjoy the full cold cranking power of a fresh unit.

Good luck!

[Carl L Goff]

I have a 2002 buick. Went to start it and batt. was dead. Put in a new batt. after 7 day's it was dead again. I took it to the dealer and they checked it out for two days. They said the computer was to go to sleep after 20 min. and it wasn't doing it. They put in a new computer and it has been all right so far and it has been a month. Yes I bought a batt. jumper and it worked fine. I have left this car set for a month in the winter before and it would start fine. So it might be the computer not going to sleep and running the batt. down. It could be a dozen different things causing your problems, but this solved mine.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have a Mustang that sits for 3 or 4 months at a time with no issues with the battery.

[Larry Edgerton]

Its not a solution, but the jump packs are handy. I carry one in my work truck all the time.

Two things, sometimes I leave the door open and the interior lights on, my bad. My jobs are usually on Lake Michigan in the middle of nowhere. Jump Pack gets me going.

Two, if done wrong jumping a car from a car can cause computor damage, and not necessarily to the car being jumped. I hand them my pack and have them hook it up unless they are absolutely clueless.

So for sixty bucks.... Mine is about 5 years old and still working, but I do charge it every once in a while. I use it to charge my cell phone sometimes too.