voltage drop, Gryphon resetting?

[Northern Supercrew]

i can feel the love here:joy:

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by Northern Supercrew

i can feel the love here:joy:

Yea, group hugs all around!

- Jack

[Chris74]

Originally Posted by Groovy Chick

I LOVE when I know the technical stuff!

One side effect of the Gryphon is that it can detect battery issues before they actually BECOME issues. When it's in "sleep" mode, the Gryphon actually pulls very little current from the battery, so if it's shutting down completely, there may be something wrong.

I believe my gryphon must pull a surprising amount of current even when it's in sleep mode. It is affecting my trucks ability to start in very cold weather after sitting a while. Battery has been basically dead a couple times now and it should NOT have been.
It does seem like this factory battery is a pathetic POS though.........I think it only has 500cca.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by Chris74

I believe my gryphon must pull a surprising amount of current even when it's in sleep mode. It is affecting my trucks ability to start in very cold weather after sitting a while. Battery has been basically dead a couple times now and it should NOT have been.
It does seem like this factory battery is a pathetic POS though.........I think it only has 500cca.

Chris, you might want to look at this thread: http://dygytalworld.ehost-services13...read.php?t=259 In post #4 I talk about what I discovered regarding current draw on the battery by my 2005 truck. If the battery is weak or it's very cold, I think the symptoms would be exaggerated.

- Jack

[Power Hungry]

One thing that people forget is that as voltage drops, current draw goes up. This means that as the battery falls below 12v, the current draw form peripheral devices goes up and causes the battery to discharge even faster. I don't have any data on the slew rate of the discharge vs. time, but suffice to say that it becomes quite aggressive as the voltage falls.

[Chris74]

thanks for the info Jack and Bill............I am obviously a victim of this. My truck sat for a week (I was down south) at -30 degrees celsius.........when I got back and tried to start truck......click, click, click - no juice!
I guess I gotta unplug programmer next time or buy a much bigger battery!

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by Chris74

thanks for the info Jack and Bill............I am obviously a victim of this. My truck sat for a week (I was down south) at -30 degrees celsius.........when I got back and tried to start truck......click, click, click - no juice!
I guess I gotta unplug programmer next time or buy a much bigger battery!

You might also think about a battery tender for your truck if it is parked where you could keep it plugged in. I have one now and have not had any trouble since using it.

- Jack

[Cajun]

They're really cool little gadgets for sure. I use one with my motorcycle in the winter. They do just what they say, they charge your battery if it's low and then they monitor the voltage in your battery and give it a little trickle of juice when it needs a boost. There's a lead that you attach to the battery and tuck out of the way that plugs into the unit when you're parked. I have mine running through the frame of my bike under the seat pan and it pops out right in front of the rear fender. The plug is about the size of two Sharpie caps. They work great!

http://www.batterytender.com/

[Chris74]

Originally Posted by JackandJanet

You might also think about a battery tender for your truck if it is parked where you could keep it plugged in. I have one now and have not had any trouble since using it.

- Jack

Well actually Jack I was parked at an airport parking lot and there was no outlet to plug it in. It is very rare that my truck ever since more than a day or two.

[Jackpine]

Originally Posted by Groovy Chick

Hey Jack,

Can you explain what a battery tender is? I'm sure I could ask Billy, but if I have the question, I'm sure others do, too, but don't want to ask and sound stupid. I gather what it DOES, but what is it?

You'll NEVER sound stupid (unlike me), Corey! :o Here's a link to the page that describes the one I've got: http://batterytender.com/default.php?cPath=11_2 The nice thing about them is that they reduce the charging voltage so that the battery does not "gas" when it's being "maintained". Trickle charges don't reduce the charging voltage. They also charge the battery VERY slowly - about 1.25 amps, if I remember correctly, so they don't damage it like quick chargers do if the battery needs charging.

Like Cajun said, there's a "quick-connect" plug that makes hooking them up easy as pie. I have it permanently connected to my battery so I can just plug it in when I put my truck in the garage.

Darned thoughtless of the airport not to provide an electrical outlet where you were parked, Chris. However, If your truck is driven as often as you say, you should be fine. Mine often sits a long time between drives.

- Jack