battery dead in 1.5 hrs, time to replace?

[mike lane lawn care]

ok, so i had my truck and trailer hooked up sitting at work, i left the 4-way flashers on because i was parked close to the edge of the road on a bad corner. I came back an hour and a half later and the lights were "half flashing" a lot faster than they should be. i turned them off, then went to start up the engine, and it wouldn't even turn over, it just "clicked". so the home owner used his car to jump mine. i ran it around the block and went home, turned it off, then back on again, and it started right up. The battery gauge was where is should be once the engine was running. Is it time to replace already? or was the draw from the trailer flashers too much for the battery? the current battery is from 6/2005.

oh, and once the battery charged up a bit, the flashers worked normaly.

[Chop Stuff Up]

use led's, or leave the regular flashers off and use strobes, or get a better battery.

[FearThisDeere]

I would say that you just drained the battery down using the flashers on both your truck and the trailer. It happens.

[dcondon]

Sounds to me like you need a new battery. You should be able to leave your flashers on for more then 1 1/2 hrs. we do!!

[mike lane lawn care]

Sounds to me like you need a new battery. You should be able to leave your flashers on for more then 1 1/2 hrs. we do!!
really? a new battery already, it's only a little over a year old, can they go bad that fast?

[john_incircuit]

I never measure the current consumptions on the 4 way flashers, but I know I left mine on a couple of times for over 2 hrs, without any issues.

Assuming that you have a worst case 35 watt bulb, 6 of them and that they would burn constantly (not on and off), they draw around 18 amps. Most trucks have a 66 Amp / hr or better battery. This setup will give you a run time of around 3 hrs.

The correct run time is difficult to calculate, as a regular bulb draws more amps during the "cold" startup, once the wire is hot, current drops down to the rated wattage.

John

[d&rlawncare]

Buy some orange cones or warning triangles and use them instead. IMO they are alot safer and give a better warning to bypassing traffic if you use them properly. Flashers to me means your broke down and being in law enforcement I will tow your vehicle if I think its a safety hazard and your not around.

[stevesmowing]

when you buy another battery get the biggest one you can.

[DBL]

before you go buy a new one charge it up really good leave it running for a bit and see how it goes for a while if it dies again then you need a new one

[Chop Stuff Up]

Try putting it on a 2 amp charge overnite

[Total.Lawn.Care]

Before you charge it, check the fluid level in it. I know most of them say "Maintenance Free" bettery, but they still lose water over time. If the chambers are low, fill them with distilled water the the bottom of the fill neck for each chamber, then charge it up with a charger over night. If the flashers kill it again, then yes, the battery is bad, but it might not be yet...

[J&R Landscaping]

What size battery is in the truck now? How cold was it when you left the flashers on? Also, what brand of battery is it, a cheapy or a good one?