Batteries always dead after reset

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by malinorn, Oct 27, 2020.

  1. malinorn

    malinorn Light Load Member

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    I've always come back to my truck and the batteries being dead after a reset. The truck sits at a truck stop 20 miles away, so I'm not in the best position to keep going back every few hours to let it run for an hour. Would disconnecting the batteries be a better option? I've heard of kill switch, not sure if company would have one installed, though it might save them the cost of Road service jump starting the truck after every reset.
     
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  3. ZVar

    ZVar Road Train Member

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    Take it to the shop and get them to replace the batteries.
    Even with a cooler plugged in it should last a lot longer than a 34 with decent batteries.
     
    Last edited: Oct 27, 2020
  4. malinorn

    malinorn Light Load Member

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    Jan 1, 2010
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    Yea, i used to be able to let it sit in NC for 2 weeks without needing a charge, but now that I live up north where it's cold all the time, it seemed to die after only 5-6 hours. I had it at the house to try keeping it started intermittently, still died.
     
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  5. CrappieJunkie

    CrappieJunkie Wishin' I was fishin'

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    If it's a Freightliner it should automatically have the kill switch installed, no matter the company. It should be on floor behind the drivers seat, but if you have a cooler it will kill that.
     
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  6. flood

    flood Road Train Member

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    You have 1-2 bad batteries....
     
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  7. Flat Earth Trucker

    Flat Earth Trucker Road Train Member

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    neveready.jpg
    You definitely need new batteries. I once had batteries die on me just from having the tractor shut off during a 10 hour break.

    Had them charged via a jumpstart, then brought the tractor into the shop to have the batteries tested. The test indicated that the batteries were ok. But the batteries died once again after having the tractor shut off for my ten hour break.

    The Love's guy came out and attempted to jumpstart the truck with no success. New batteries were installed and life was beautiful once more.
     
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  8. Moose1958

    Moose1958 Road Train Member

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    I'm not a mechanic, but I believe this truck has a bad battery/s. Most every truck I drove had a battery protection device that automatically shut off the batteries once it got to a point of NOT having energy to crank the main engine. If the battery is dead to me it sounds like the battery is bad. Either way, do as @ZVar suggested and take it to a shop.
     
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  9. kemosabi49

    kemosabi49 Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

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    SW Arkansas
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    Make sure when they test your batteries that they disconnect them from each other and test them individually. If you have a bad one, it's better to replace all of them as a set.
     
  10. malinorn

    malinorn Light Load Member

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    Jan 1, 2010
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    Thanks all, I'll bring it up with breakdown to have the batteries checked and replaced.
     
  11. iceman32

    iceman32 Medium Load Member

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    Alternator might need to be replaced. If it has a bad diode, it will drain the batteries even when the engine is off. I always do a parasitic drain test once in a while. Reefer units are also prone to this, especially the new ones. A bad alternator can cause things like fuel pump error codes to be sent a thousand times, computer gets overloaded, Reefer shuts off.

    My rule of thumb is Fresh new batteries= Fresh new alternator, if you can afford it.
     
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