12 volt battery question

After any event like that you really should hook the battery up to a smart charger, completely recharge it, and subsequently monitor it's voltage with a digital multimeter. It's likely "running on empty" now, but until you get proactive about monitoring it you don't really know.

Yeah, at this point I'd ask your neighbour to drive it, say every 4 days. And they should really use it, say run an errand or two, each time.

 

After 5 years with the original battery and after a total discharge, I'd replace it. Easier and cheaper to replace with a quality battery when it isn't dark, raining, not convenient, etc.

But I'd also look for something drawing current. A bad switch or some lights or anything plugged into the car that wasn't OEM.

 

Two things are working against you. First, the battery going flat and being boosted has probably damaged it to some degree, a situation made worse by the age of the battery. If it's going dead more easily than you expect, it could be discharging internally (a situation which could have been made worse by it going dead) or you could have parasitic drain from accessories.

It would be nice if the Prius used a deep-cycle battery, and it would also be nice if it had some sort of low-battery cutout protection, but I've already added those things to the wish-list for the Prius in this forum.

I'm reasonably sure that the power socket supplying your GPS also shuts off when the car is turned off.

 

It would be MUCH better to get a battery tender type small automatic charger and leave it plugged in while you are gone.

Just firing up the car takes a certain amount of current from the battery; then the car has to stay in the "run" mode for a while to replenish that......plus the vampire and self-discharge drain over X days. To break even, it might take 15 minutes.

Regardless, I agree that a new battery is going to be needed soon.

 

If he's parked at the airport though, for 16 days, likely the kiss of death this time.

 

Don't waste any time trying to charge the thing, it needs a new 12v battery, and soon.

 

get an oem, they're the best bet right now. 2010 are notorious for bad batteries. i leave my car every winter for 5 weeks, no problem.

 

Your battery is well past its prime. Same some $ and get a new battery from elearnaid.com and make sure its fully charged before installing. The 16 day trip should be no problem. Battery tender in an airport parking lot. How does that work?

 

It doesn't. Take a cab or have a friend drive the car back.

 

If I were leaving my Prius parked for 16 days anywhere without the battery on a charger, I'd worry about it the whole time I was away.

Last summer I had my Corolla parked for a few weeks before I sold it. The brake discs had rusted so badly they had to be replaced, and the battery was so dead, it couldn't take a charge. It cost me over $500, just for not not driving it for a few weeks.

 

I guess it goes without saying that that batteries nowadays can go flat when left idle for awhile, and when that happens, they can be damaged beyond repair.

 

Besides killing batteries, how are parking rates at your airport, they aren't prohibitive? Up here it's ridiculous; there's an alternative parking with shuttle bus INDUSTRY, people get friends to drive them to the airport, babysit their cars and so on.

 

yes, i park in an unheated attached garage. shut it off and walk away. my 04 battery lasted 8 years, my 08 battery is still good, but in those cases, i only had them 4 years and gave them to my kids. i contend that the oem batteries are fine, as long as you never drain them. but 2010 was a bad year because cars sat on the lot for awhile, and dealers didn't know you had to keep them charged.

 

It's convenient, especially when your employer pays the expense. The parking compounds are also more secure, with good lighting, closed-circuit cameras and security staff. They should be offering an outlet option for each stall, for block-heaters, battery-tenders and plug-in electric vehicles.