My Bulldog Security system has a provision to run the vehical for 25 minutes everytime the battery is detected below 11.8 volts. It does use more gas in the winter though. John Ferrell 6241 Phillippi Rd Julian NC 27283 Phone: (336)685-9606 johnferrell@earthlink.net http://DixieNC.US NSRCA 479 AMA 4190 W8CCW "My Competition is Not My Enemy" ----- Original Message ----- From: "Nate Duehr" To: Sent: Wednesday, December 31, 2003 1:52 PM Subject: Re: [EE]: Interesting automotive battery falure > On Saturday 27 December 2003 10:10 pm, James Cameron wrote: > > > Having moved into the outback about four years ago, we go through > > lots of batteries. I had a new one today, it had been installed in > > May. The failure rate appears to relate to high temperatures and > > vibration on dirt roads. > > I would agree with this experience. I do a lot of 4x4 backcountry > driving in my Jeep Cherokee and my battery failure rate is twice what > my wife's is in her Honda Civic. (She got 6 years out of the original > manufacturer's battery, I got 3. We're both on our second > non-manufacturer OEM batteries now.) My dad also does a lot of > backcountry driving and his battery failure rate in his GMC Jimmy has > been about 3 years to a battery also. > > The "one cell shorted, voltage low" also seems to be the most common > failure for both of us. > > I purchased a "off-road/4x4" version of the DieHard brand from Sears > recently. I'll let you know in 3 (or more) years how it stands up. > ;-) > > Their claim is that it's better suited for off-road activity, looking at > the case, it appears to be a much more rugged construction, but not > sure internally how much difference there is. LOL... hopefully some. > That or I'm a typical idiot consumer who'll buy anything. :-) > > I would have liked to have tried the Optima brand cylindrical batteries, > but the battery picked a bad financial time of the year to die, so I > "splurged" an extra $30 to get the "off-road" DieHard and we'll see how > she goes... > > As a side note, I'm VERY hard on batteries and electrical system > components. I have a bunch of Amateur radio transmitters installed or > not installed at various times of the year, depending on communications > needs. All pull high current from the battery system, and I do > regularly use them with the engine off, so my battery tends to get > "deep cycled" more than it would in a typical use vehicle. As a > comparison, my wife's car has a single transmitter in it and it's > rarely used except when the vehicle is in motion and the Alternator can > take up the load it creates. > > -- > Nate Duehr, nate@natetech.com > > -- > http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! > email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body > -- http://www.piclist.com#nomail Going offline? Don't AutoReply us! email listserv@mitvma.mit.edu with SET PICList DIGEST in the body