Battery | Non daily-driven cobras

[SnkBit]

Do you guys use a battery maintainer? I only drive the car maybe once a week right now, so it sits a good bit of the time. But if the car sits for over 3-4 days without driving it, my battery dies. The battery isnt old, i replaced it last year, but i do have a small electrical drain thats the culprit. Just havnt had time to diagnose and fix it yet. I keep a small battery maintainer on it so I dont have to break out the big battery charger everytime I wanna drive it. I know this isnt a "fix" but it does temporarily solve my problem. Do you guys use anything to keep your battery charged, or am I the only 97 cobra with electrical gremlins? :cuss:

 

[COBRA97SVT]

sounds like the stock audio amps may be the culprit.

 

[PACIFICGREENSVT]

Charge it then unhook the neg cable. no more draw.

 

[SnkBit]

sounds like the stock audio amps may be the culprit.

Nah, those have been gone for years.

 

[SnkBit]

Charge it then unhook the neg cable. no more draw.

At that point its easier to use a battery maintainer. Reprogram radio presets, eq settings, etc..... No thanks.

 

[PACIFICGREENSVT]

its only an 8mm bolt. & my factory radio saves all the settings:shrug:

 

[SnkBit]

its only an 8mm bolt. & my factory radio saves all the settings:shrug:

I have an aftermarket radio. Plus, how is unbolting a battery terminal easier than a gator clamp on a battery post? :shrug:

Im sorry, not trying to argue, and dont want to get into an e-fight. This thread has gotten a little off topic. I was asking if others cobra owners, who dont drive their car on a daily basis, use a battery maintainer.

 

[PACIFICGREENSVT]

Thought I was helping:shrug:

 

[nckissfan]

Battery Tender is what I use

 

[StangmanRob]

I have the same problem, 3 to 5 days and i gotta jump start. I stated leaving a trickle charger on it.

 

[87lc2]

I use a battery tender over the winter on a few of my cars that are stored, no problems. I would, however, fix whatever is causing the battery to drain.

 

[PSUCOBRA96]

my car is not a fan of the winter, seems okay in the summer but winter it will drain faster, I thought the car had something drawing current all the time, but I cant find it, but I do have stock radio amps so that could be my issue. Anything aftermarket you have that's electrical in the car.

 

[MARK C]

Battery Tender is what I use

I use the same, Great charger never have to worry about!!

 

[Wynn]

Mine did it too until I pulled the audio fuse. I hardly ever listen to the radio anyway- the macs and o/r h are music to my ears

 

[mysteed]

sounds like the stock audio amps may be the culprit.

Agreed. We just diagnosed one in the shop today that had the stock rear amp's draining power. If you left them plugged in over night they would drain the battery.


My old 04 Cobra vert wasn't driven much and I used a battery tender on it.

 

[DVJ38]

Ugh I have the same problem lol, I only tried diagnosing it once and pulled every single fuse in the car during the parasitic drain test. It seemed to be very inconclusive, lots of fuses caused a large drop in the milliamps being used, no fuse stood out as the culprit. Then once I finished the test I realized I never armed the alarm. :bored: I'll be doing it again in the spring shortly after I take my car out of storage.

I battery is a new motorcraft that is less than a year old. I've had it tested and it's good. The alternator puts out good voltage and amp readings no matter how many times I test it lol. Then the battery voltage gets low and it seems to be getting worse as time goes on. All the grounds are good, and I think I was getting like a 140 mA draw (that wasn't even with the aftermarket alarm armed) ugh I need to fix that asap. I remember reading that after a period of time (45 mins or so) a module turns off and a significant amount of amps goes away (something like 70 or so mA). That happened with mine, but there was still wayyy too many.

Let me know if anyone makes any progress on their parasitc drain issues or has any advice for me.

 

[COBRA90GT]

...Do you guys use a battery maintainer?...

Yes, but not as a "band-aid." Trickle charger/battery tenders are great for longterm and winter storage. :thumbsup:

...i do have a small electrical drain thats the culprit...

LOL Find out what exactly is causing the electrical drain. Break out a repair manual that has wiring diagrams, a test light, and start chasing grounds so you don't HAVE to rely on hooking up a battery tender.

I'd put money on your aftermarket radio system wiring being a strong candidate to investigate...


G'luck. :beer:

 

[amorrow]

My '98 has never been driven on a regular basis, and it's always done the same thing. And as mentioned, a Battery Tender or even a quick disconnect at the cable would be my choices. I installed a simply quick disconnect on my trunk-mounted battery in the '65, but I did this mainly as a theft-deterrent, as that car never has trouble starting even after sitting an extended period of time (maybe the lack of radio and virtually all other accessories).

Frankly, I just never cared to do anything other than jump-start the Cobra when necessary. If I leave it sit more than a month or so, one jump-start and a bit of driving will solve the trick for another month or so of not driving it.

 

[SnkBit]

Wow, didnt know that many cobras had the same issue as me.

Once I finish painting my brothers fox I plan on tearing into it again to fix the drain. Im at work right now, so I dont have my notes with my electrical findings; but i remember it was one of the interior circuits that handles the dome lights and the like. Also, the PATS system had a significant amount of drain too. It could be that. :shrug:

But, a battery maintainer is working great for a short term fix, but I cant stand it when something is wrong with the car; so a permanent fix is definitely in order.

 

[Gallows]

its only an 8mm bolt. & my factory radio saves all the settings:shrug:

Mine are gone if the cable is off even for a minute. My Cobra is stored for 5-6 months at a time and I keep the negative cable disconnected and put it on the charger once a month.